Chanel Cleeton conjures up a glamorous world of heiresses, con men, jewel thieves and gun runners in her 1930s-set novel, THE CUBAN HEIRESS. At the heart of the book are two women: Catherine Dohan, an heiress, and Elena Palacio, a Cuban woman with a mysterious past. Both are traveling from New York City to Havana aboard the SS Morro Castle. Neither is exactly who she seems to be. For both them and the other passengers, there’s “the sensation that they are all embarking on uncharted territory, the voyage brimming with unlimited possibilities.”

"Where Cleeton excels is in brisk, clever plotting.... The result is a delicious cocktail of a book that goes down as easy as an ice-cold mojito."

Catherine is traveling with her fiancé, a wealthy widower named Raymond, and his young daughter, Ava. They’re enjoying the luxurious first-class accommodations on the liner. Elena, who boards the ship with a fake passport, is in tourist class. As they make their way toward Cuba, both women find that their pasts may be about to catch up with them. Catherine, we learn, is only playing the role of an heiress. Another passenger, a light-fingered thief named Harry, immediately pegs her as a fellow grifter. Catherine would prefer to keep him at arm’s length --- he’s a complication she can ill afford right now. “He’s a bounder, and an unapologetic one at that,” she thinks when they meet on the first day of the ill-fated cruise. But when events conspire to bring them closer together, she finds herself increasingly drawn to the handsome criminal.

Meanwhile, Elena skulks about the ship, crossing paths with Julio, a gun smuggler. (The book is set a year after the Cuban Revolution of 1933, and the country’s political upheaval is a backdrop to both Catherine and Elena’s personal turmoil.) She collects a pistol from him in the book’s first chapter, but why exactly she needs the weapon won’t become clear until she’s on her return journey to New York. What we do know is that she has a troubled past and has spent the last of her savings on the ticket that got her on board the Morro Castle.

Cleeton, the author of WHEN WE LEFT CUBA and NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA, draws from a familiar well in her latest effort, spinning an engaging tale set against the backdrop of real historical events involving Cuba. The story is inspired by the real-life disaster of the SS Morro Castle, which sank off the coast of New Jersey in 1934. The mix of romance and intrigue on the high seas gives the book a dash of Titanic-esque drama.

Both Catherine and Elena are compelling heroines. However, Cleeton foregrounds the former’s story through a first-person point of view and a more fleshed-out backstory. Some readers may find themselves wanting to hear more from the just-as-intriguing Elena, who doesn’t come to life on the page in the same way as her counterpart. Raymond is the book’s obvious villain, but he’s a shadowy presence throughout, making it somewhat less satisfying when he gets his inevitable comeuppance. We can’t hate him as strongly as we should because we barely know him.

Where Cleeton excels is in brisk, clever plotting. She slowly draws Elena and Catherine’s stories together, taking her time as she reveals the true connection between the women. THE CUBAN HEIRESS is a story of two people from vastly different backgrounds, each determined to transform her life, no matter what it takes. And it’s easy to sink into the story of luxurious ocean travel, as Cleeton evokes lazy days spent lounging on deck and evenings spent swilling champagne and twirling around a well-appointed ballroom. The result is a delicious cocktail of a book that goes down as easy as an ice-cold mojito.