In 2002, Jose Latour fled Cuba with his family, ending his long career in finance with the Cuban Treasury, its Central Bank and its Ministry of Sugar. Latour had started writing while still in Cuba — even serving as vice president for the Latin American branch of the International Association of Crime Writers. Now a resident of Toronto, Latour is considered one of the premiere writers of hardboiled fiction, and his later, “Hidden in Havana,” looks to be another winner. Besides its hardboiled plot, it also allows readers an inside look at Cuba.

Also new this month is the sophomore effort from Cecilia Samartin, also a native of Cuba. She grew up in Los Angeles, went to school at UCLA, and released a book, “Broken Paradise,” that won praise. Now she has released “Tarnished Beauty,” a novel about Jamilet, a girl born with a freakishly large birthmark that covers her like “a bloody veil.” Weary of the cruel taunts from people in her hometown, she crosses illegally into the United States, ending up as a worker in a mental hospital.

On a more academic note, Walter A. McDougall, a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, offers “Throes of Democracy,” a detailed look at the turmoil experienced by the country from 1835 to 1876.