Seventeen years ago, someone whose opinions on books NEVER matched mine recommended Lion’s Game by Nelson DeMille, and I LOVED it. Since then, I’ve grabbed every new DeMille book and been puzzled by the inconsistency: for example, Night Fall was terrific. The Panther? Not so much. And don’t even get me started on Radiant Angel. I kept thinking, “what happened?”

But I can’t quite give up on any author who has provided me with so many hours of entertainment, so I had a positive attitude when I received an advance copy of DeMille’s latest, The Cuban Affair, in return for my honest review (thanks, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley!)

Having thought quite a bit about why I had been so disappointed reading some of his recent books (was it him? Was it me?), I had concluded that the John Corey character was the problem. In the earlier books, he was witty and could be charming. In the more recent books, his wisecracking had become constant, and was more annoying than entertaining, and it seemed to have become his dominant characteristic, to the point where it came across as somewhat cartoonish. So, I was pleased to read that the latest book was introducing a new protagonist, Daniel Graham MacCormick (aka “Mac”). A native of Maine, Mac has seen two tours of Afghanistan and left a career on Wall Street out of boredom and moved to Key West, Florida where he owns a boat that is chartered for fishing, romantic cruises, parties, etc. Mac doesn’t accept every charter request of his boat, so when he is approached by a smooth attorney from Miami who wants to charter his boat for a ten-day fishing derby to Cuba, he initially turns it down.

Once the offer is explained further by the attorney and the plan includes a beautiful Cuban-American woman, AND the fee becomes multiple millions, Mac decides to accept and the adventure begins. Along the way, there are shady characters, guns, booze, sex, crooked police, jealous boyfriends, a chase through swamp and jungle, and a tour group comprised mainly of academics and pseudo-academics (sort of a classic “educational” travel group). Without giving anything away, I suspect we will encounter Mac again for more adventures.

The story is pure entertainment, and DeMille has clearly done his research into Cuban-American relations and politics in the South Florida area. This allows him to explore the passionate feelings of Cuban-Americans and the conditions in contemporary Cuba just as relations between the US and Cuba were being re-established.

The pace is good, and the writing is crisp and entertaining, re-establishing DeMille as one of my favorite thriller writers. A friend who is unable to participate in his usual level of physical activity due to recent open-heart surgery BEGGED me for a book he could get lost in – one that would totally hold his interest. This one met the criteria, so I give The Cuban Affair a solid four stars.

Once again Nelson Demille shows us his mastery of the fast moving, clever thriller.
In a way this book harks back to the old fashioned caper, but goes much deeper in terms of history and modern politics.
Cuba’s exiles and in some cases their descendents have neither forgiven nor forgotten the Castro brothers and the crimes they committed against most of Cuban society. Heartbreak and memory run deep as does a desire for vengeance and reparations.
As this novel is set in the beginning days of the Cuban Thaw, there are just as many if not more Cuban-Americans who are against this idea as those who are for it. Some will do most anything to derail it. Cuban-Americans, politicians, business, and of course the CIA who have yet to have a win in Cuba. All have their own agendas concerning Cuba.
Three Cuban –Americans make an offer he can’t refuse to Daniel McCormick, an army vet still carrying the scars from his times in Afghanistan. He currently runs fishing charters out of Key West on his heavily mortgaged boat.
It’s not that he can’t really refuse this offer to enter than leave Cuba carrying 60 million dollars and documents worth many times that amount; with an offer of two million on the table and a beautiful woman to accompany him, its just that Mac doesn’t really want to. Mac also hankers after the days of danger and what he might not admit to: making a difference. Little does he know that his trip to Cuba with the beautiful Sara Ortega does make a difference and will honor his background.
It reads as if DeMille did more than visit Cuba and do research, he writes with an assurance of Cuba and her people that make it sound as if he were a citizen. Cuba’s beauty, her decay, her resilient citizens are all rendered in DemiIle’s masterful prose. But not forgotten and even more striking are his reminders of Cuba’s dark history under the Castro brothers’ iron fists.
DeMille hits another home run with this moving yet exciting story. Mac, has DemIle’s characters’ signature smart ass attitude to life, the Universe and everything. The back stories of the characters are sympathetic and make their actions understandable. The action is fast paced. The last quarter of the book will have you hoping you only ever swim or fish in lovely blue waters with nary a storm in sight.

Editorial review for Library Journal not for public viewing

Usually, DeMille's action novels are deeply situated in a complex and conspiracy-strewn past, like The Talbot Odyssey or Charm School, and involve a rich cast of characters. This one is a little simpler, drawn from DeMille's own trip to Cuba with a tour group, and is a straightforward action/romance storyline--cynical veteran of Afghanistan with a big boat mortgage agrees to go with a beautiful Cuban-American woman to Havana to retrieve family treasures left behind in 1959. There's a twist, but it isn't a big game changer, and the CIA functions as a deus ex machina. Summer paperback, but not up to standard.

DeMille continues his trademark face paced thriller with this 19th entry. While the action is non-stop, the premise is flawed from the start. If I, neither experienced in any aspect of this operation nor a vorious reader of the genre, could figure out from the start that something wasn't right about this operation, then sur.ely our hero Mac could and should have. A good read, but not a superb one.

LOVED this book! In this new series, the author introduces us to Mac, a military veteran who now owns and captains a boat that can be hired for fishing trips, etc. He's a bit world weary and full of sarcastic humor that made me laugh, even while the circumstances wouldn't have normally been funny.

Mac is hired/coerced into taking a job in Cuba by joining an "educational tour" organized for Yale alumni. While he's on the tour, his employee will be captaining the boat while it participates in a fishing tournament in Cuban waters. However, this is all a front so that Mac, and his new partner, can get retrieve important treasures from Cuba and return them to their rightful owners. With his boat as their ride home, what could go wrong? Of course, the answer is just about everything.

I loved how the author made Cuba feel real and illustrated just what it means to be in a police state. Cuba was so well described that it almost seemed to become a character of its own. Even though visiting a police state requires an entirely different set of rules and is a serious undertaking, the author still found a way to add humor while making it feel real.

Mac is a great new character and I can't wait to read what his next adventures are in future book.s Fans of the genre will love this book - and if you're not a fan, this just might change your mind. The author is on my must read authors' list.