Bitter Lemon Press: 76 books

The previous two Padura novels, Havana Red and Havana Black were widely praised in the US and the UK and are in their third reprints. They are Bitter Lemon’s best selling titles with sales of over 15,000. Padura’s masterful prose and eye for detail evoke the Havana that millions of tourists have...

Praise for Ben Pastor's Lumen: “Pastor’s plot is well crafted, her prose sharp. . . . A disturbing mix of detection and reflection.”—Publishers Weekly "Rivets the reader with its twist of historical realities. A historical piece, it faithfully reproduces the grim canvas...

Spellbinding multi-layered crime novel set in Poland during the Nazi occupation. Controversially, the hero, Captain Martin Bora, is an aristocratic German officer in the Wehrmacht. With echos of Claus von Stauffenberg, he is torn between his duty as an officer and his integrity as a human...

1.A novel written by an insider. Mallo is a former militant, pursued by the dictatorship as a member of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias, which was later absorbed by the Montoneros guerilla movement. The second crime novel in a trilogy with police Superintendent Lascano. The first two...

The fourth in the Martin Bora series. Spellbinding multi-layered crime novel set in a fascinating period and place. Set in Ukraine as the Germans regroup after the disaster of Stalingrad. As the Wehrmacht prepare for the Kursk counter-offensive, a Russian general defects aboard a T-34, the most...

A tightly plotted mystery novel set in contemporary Argentina and recently made into a film (“Betibu”, directed by Miguel Cohan) acclaimed at the 2014 London Film Festival. The author has won the Clarin Prize and is South America’s bestselling crime novelist (selling over 250,000...

A tightly plotted, short crime novel (186 pages) set in contemporary Buenos Aires. The story of two deaths, one seemingly accidental and one a cold-blooded murder, a portrait of a wife betrayed, at first desperate to save her marriage but then intent on violent revenge, also an unrelenting dissection...

The third in the Martin Bora series. Spellbinding multi-layered crime novel set in a fascinating period and place. Set in the first months of 1944, Rome is declared an ‘open city’ as the Allies steadily get closer. The German occupying forces know their days are numbered and yet the SS, the...

This tautly crafted spy thriller is clearly written by an insider. James Wolff is the pseudonym of a young English debut novelist who “has been working for the British government for the last 10 years”. Bitter Lemon Press cannot use him (or a likeness of him) for the promotion of the novel. The...

Bitter Lemon’s first Nordic crime novel but it’s not a Stieg Larsson “The Girl who ate my shoe…” wannabe. Laced with humour, the story is set in Helsinki and the Jewish community plays a central role in the story. It is spellbinding as it describes Finnish society, the world of Arab immigrants...

The previous three Padura novels, Havana Red, Havana Black, and Havana Blue were widely praised in the US and the UK and are in their third reprints. They are Bitter Lemon’s best selling titles with sales of over 50,000. 2. An insiders view: Padura lives in Cuba, writes often scathing novels about...

Padura’s best novel. Assured in pace and style. A suspenseful mystery, a cruel family saga and an ode to literature and his beloved island, all rolled into one. 2. The titles in the Havana Quartet, Havana Red, Havana Black, Havana Blue and Havana Gold were widely praised in the US and the UK and are...

The godfather of contemporary NZ crime writing has brought back (the bestseller was published in 2012 locally) offbeat local hero Detective Sergeant Tito Ihaka. Thomas has been described as “Elmore Leonard on acid”. Set in New Zealand, written by the most famous crime writer in the...

The first book in this series, Havana Red, is the best selling Bitter Lemon title. Prize winning novel. Beautiful, sexy rendition of life in Cuba in mystery format. But also a deep, cutting, yet uncensored critique of the Cuban regime from within. Padura has elected to stay, remains in love with his...