I found the premise interesting. It is not a topic I have had much experience with before and thought this would be a good opportunity to become familiar with something new.
I flew through the first half of the book and really enjoyed it, but the second half I felt got bogged down with the personal matters of the main protagonist in the current timeline. This is a dual timeline story, with the focus being Sam Ackerman being a young boy in New York who was working for the wrong man and was in the wrong place at the wrong time. With so many 'wrongs' stacked up against him, he is shipped off to Miami. This is where his story begins. Years later, a History of American Crime professor Liz Reams stumbles on a photo of a person she knows nothing about but feels could be the key to her next book. She has had writers block after her last book on Al Capone. She starts digging up on him and is led to a journey from Miami all the way to Cuba and back. She works out her personal life during this journey. 
As I mentioned before, if there was more of Sam's life and less of Liz I would have rated this book higher.
The topics discussed show the power of money and a version of Jews in the USA that I knew nothing about. All the historical points would be good discussion points for book clubs. I would recommend this to everyone who is interested in the possible repercussions of being related to the mob and US crime history.

Miami Days Havana Nights
Guns, mobsters, bootleggers, oh my!!! It's 1926 and 17 year old Sammy Ackerman is witness to a murder, not only that, but he helps dispose of the body. Fearful that the police know who he is, he has to leave...Miami, here he comes! Having no choice, he is forced into leaving New York by the mob's bookkeeper. No money, no place to live, no place to hide he does what he is told and becomes a bootlegger.
Present day...Liz Reams, History of American Crime professor digs deeper into the relationship of Sam and the mob bookkeeper, Moshe Toblinsky. Both Liz and Sam seem to have something in common, a debt owed and a debt to be paid.
It is interesting to see the Jewish side of mob history and there were many. The story is fascinating and one that was very enjoyable.
My thanks to Netgalley for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest exchange.

A great historical novel giving the the view of how the Jewish people lived and how monster life was
Delighted to get an early copy from netgalley in return for an honest review
Can highly recommend.

To grasp history, we have to understand the common man’s place in it.  Miami Days Havana Nights is not a historical mystery in the typical genre sense.  It is something quite different, and all the more captivating for it. The story of a young Jewish man unwittingly ensnared in the Miami mob alternates with that of a young University of Florida professor seeking the man’s story.  Her intellectual scavenger hunt not only leads her to Tampa and eventually Cuba- it leads her to examine herself and her relationships with others.


Miami Days Havana Nights is a must read for anyone interested in Florida history (particularly UF Gators). Miami Days Havana Nights will appeal to fans of historical novels, as well as those interested in mob history and the Jewish role in Florida.


5 / 5


I received a copy of Miami Days Havana Nights from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.


— Crittermom