To the best of my recollection I have never read a previous novel by Nelson DeMille. If the Cuban Affair is typical of the quality of his output it’s unlikely I will be reading another.

Whilst DeMille has managed to string coherent sentences together into a clear narrative, The Cuban Affair fails by pretty much every other measure.

To be honest I’m not even sure what this book is meant to be. It purports to be a thriller, but for about three quarters of its length it lacks any thrills what-so-ever. Only by shoe-horning in a highly implausible and morally-questionable, action-packed finale does it generate any excitement or tension, and even then these are limited at best.

What the book feels more like is both a travelogue and a chance to brag. It feels as if the author has had the opportunity to visit Cuba and wants to show off to everyone his knowledge of the place. Once the story gets going most of the book is spent following the two key protagonists on a tour around Havana, and describing in some detail the sights they see. This might be fascinating for some people, but does not by itself make for a tense thriller or rip-roaring action-packed adventure. There are simply too many pointless episodes of our heroes visiting local sites, that do nothing to move the plot forward but do allow DeMille the chance to demonstrate his knowledge of Cuban cultural and political history. Yes, the stage-managed visits are probably typical of the sort of ‘Cultural Tour’ of Cuba that our protagonists are using for cover, but there isn’t any need to recount each one in such detail, slowing down the pace of story and padding it out to an unnecessary degree.

Of course if he’d cut some of these narrative dead-ends then DeMille wouldn’t have had as many opportunities to slam the Castro regime or provide negative commentary on the state of Cuba, which seems to be another purpose of this book. Now, I’m not going to defend the Government of Cuba or all the damage they have done to that beautiful country, but to describe the opinions expressed about the country and its people (and not just the politicians and employees of the state, but seemingly ALL Cubans) as ‘wholly negative’ is an understatement. From the state of downtown Havana to the attitude of the local population to the state of the countryside I cannot remember any aspect of Cuban life being portrayed positively by this book. The result is a book that feels both meanspirited and one-sided.

It also has the distinct whiff of if not racism then certainly outdated cultural attitudes. This is most obvious in the fact that despite the story being entirely about Cuba the hero and only truly honest character is a white, all American Man and the entire book is recounted in the first person from his perspective.

Every Cuban or Cuban American character by contrast and without exception, is either a straight-up bad guy, untrustworthy to some degree or at least keeping secrets from the hero. They also seem to be there purely as stereotypes or as plot devices, rather than real, rounded characters with their own agency.

So, you have the beautiful Cuban-American architect who drags the hero into the action and within 24 hours of being in Cuba jumps into bed with him and then falls in love with him despite being in a relationship with another Cuban-American back home. It smacks of both wish fulfilment and implausibility.

Other characters straight out of central casting include the slimy, duplicitous Cuban tour guide who threatens our hero and his lover, the old Cuban exile who wants to overthrow the Castros and set Cuba free and a variety of minor Cubans there simply to aid or hinder the American hero. None of them are more than one dimensional sketches, and all are portrayed with a degree of negativity.

The same can be said of the few Western characters who appear; mostly members of the tour party the book’s hero joins. They’re all flawed in some fashion, from the snooty novelist to the stereotypically bleeding-heart liberal tour organisers. Again only the noble, All-American Hero and his Vietnam-Veteran Side-Kick (who’s allowed to be because of Vietnam, but also remains loyal and brave) are willing to do what has to be done and see the job through,

That includes essentially murdering a bunch of Cuban border guards in something close to cold-blood. Yes, they work for a pretty reprehensible regime but I’m not sure that they quite deserve to be gunned down simply so an American on the island under false pretences and whose sole original motivation for being there was personal enrichment can escape their clutches. Again it smacks of the old and out-dated stereotype of the heroic American hero taking on and conquering swarthy, nameless henchmen in the name of freedom and Capitalism.

By the time the book concludes with the reveal of a hidden conspiracy that feels tacked on and half-baked and the standard cliché of ‘girl seems to leave the guy but returns right at the end’, what the reader has been offered is a slog of a book that is outdated, unexciting, reactionary and mildly offensive. I made it to the end purely to see how bad it could get. This review summarises what found.

Avoid

A Predictable Yet Enjoyable New DeMille
I’m having a hard time deciding whether I liked “The Cuban Affair” more than I was disappointed by it. On one hand, it’s a brand-new Nelson DeMille, an author I grew up reading his novels, and full of action. Moreover, its free from the over-exhausted John Corey (thanks g-d!); On the other hand, it’s cliché-stricken, and unsophisticated.

Daniel MacCormick, Mac, is a veteran US Army officer, who nearly lost his life in Afghanistan, now running his own charter boat and wasting his life away in Key-West. He is approached by the lovely Sara Ortega, along with her compatriots, a Cuban-American bunch, who are asking him to lead a mission to retrieve Sara’s grandfather long lost bank money (60 mil dollars – aren’t the notes old and revoked??) along with deeds to communist-confiscated Cuban property. All this is set to take place while his first mate, Jack (another veteran only from Vietnam), is to wait for them at sea with their boat, symbolically named the Maine. The Maine has been chartered to participate in a “Fish for Peace” tournament which takes place in light of the warmer US-Cuba relations, labelled “the Cuban Thaw”.

So just like it sounds, this is a typical head-on mission, in a head-on combustive situation. Mac is a regular “no-bullshit” DeMille protagonist. They all drink all the time, and we in for a treat, 80s/90s at their best (only set in 2017).

I can’t say I didn’t enjoy “The Cuban Affair”. It’s “what you see is what you get” adventure novel. No sophistications and no innovations. You like Mac, you root for him, you hate the Cuban guide/chivito (informant) and you laugh from Richard Neville, the DeMille-like author (also with a pretty younger wife) who joins the group in Cuba, probably like DeMille and his wife did a couple of years ago (I saw the photos on his website, not a stalker!)

But the first few chapters of “The Cuban Affair” really had me expecting more – maybe something that will live up to “By the Rivers of Babylon” or “Charm School” which were DeMille’s golden novels. The more “The Cuban Affair” dragged-on, the more it became predictable, with a predictable action scene at the end a predictable conclusion. Issues that surfaced during the novel were tied loosely and a few (microscopical) plot-holes were recognisable.

I enjoyed the novel, but I set myself up for more. I’d recommend it only if (like me) you are a Nelson DeMille fan. ***½

This was a fun ride of an adventure story with lots of style but not much substance. It tells the tale of Mac, an ex-soldier who now lives in Key West and runs boat trips. When approached to enter Cuba and retrieve 60 million dollars, he finds it an offer he can't refuse. First off, I really enjoyed Mac's voice. He is sardonic and cutting and has a boyish charm that works really well. Some of the conversations between Mac and Sara were hilarious, if totally unrealistic. The plot is simple and well constructed and paced, albeit a little long in places. Many of the other characters are pretty one-dimensional, but it strikes me that this is not the kind of book you read for searing character studies. I think that if you are looking for a good book to read on a long trip or for some easy escapism, this is great for that. Don't expect too much in the way of depth and you won't be disappointed.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group Uk for a review copy of The Cuban Affair, a stand alone adventure set mostly in Havana.

Daniel "Mac" MacCormick runs a legal charter hire boat in Key West so he is rightly suspicious when the mysterious Carlos wants to meet him about a hire. He turns him down but with a fully fledged plan to liberate $60m of hidden money and a proposal that Mac go to Cuba with the lovely Sara Ortega he wavers. The promise of $3m if he helps Sara seals the deal.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Cuban Affair which was recommended to me by a friend. I'm glad that I took up this recommendation as it is many years since I read Mr DeMille's work and I'd forgotten what fun they are. It is told in the first person by Mac, an ex-soldier with a good line in sarcastic humour, in a style which takes a bit of getting used to as his real thoughts immediately follow his speech. The humour is not just restricted to Mac with a running gag about his crew mate Jack's slogan t-shirts.

The plot is the usual thriller hokum with hero and heroine escaping various improbable hair raising situations although in this case the action doesn't really happen until the last 20% of the novel. It is more of a tense, slow burner with the danger of being discovered on every page. I was impressed with Mr DeMille's ability to keep it going and introduce some imaginative twists.

What makes this novel stand out is the setting as physical Cuba really comes to life in the author's hands. The politics of the Cuban Thaw and its past history with America are well explained but there is a strong American bias and a certain jingoism throughout. It gets annoying after a while.

I like Mac as a protagonist. He can be juvenile in his attitudes but his humour is a strength in the novel and he is fairly clear sighted in this thinking. I'm not so sure about the romance between him and Sara as it seems a bit contrived and out of place.

The Cuban Affair is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Nelson DeMille has written a rollicking good thriller underpinned with an impressive amount of detailed research on Cuba and its history and relations with the US. Daniel 'Mac' MacCormick is a 35 year old military veteran with tours in Afghanistan that have left their mark on him. He is currently living the good life on Key West running charter boat trips on The Maine which has burdened him with considerable debts. Whilst drinking in the Green Parrot Bar, he meets a slick Cuban-American lawyer, Carlos, representing anti-Castro forces, wanting to charter the boat and hire Mac to get $60 million dollars and papers out of Cuba. Mac enjoys his laid back lifestyle but commits to the enterprise upon meeting architect Sara Ortega, whose grandfather hid the money in a cave before fleeing to the US. As well as Sara being a draw, Mac needs the money and wants the thrill of adventure back in his life again, despite all the dangers the job represents.

The Cuban thaw adds urgency to the mission as the consequences are likely to lead to a speedy discovery of the hidden loot. Mac and Sara enter Havana posing as part of the educational Yale travel group members who get romantically entangled, something that pans out in reality. Their act seems to be successful although suspicions from the tour guide begin to challenge this perception. As with all the best laids plans for the heist, not much survives the reality. Mac and Sara discover that their actions and words are being listened to and reported. In a story full of chases and intrigue, Mac discovers that he might not have been apprised of all the facts. Has Mac taken on more than he can handle? And will he live to tell the tale?

The author has written a tense and suspenseful thriller that is a fun and entertaining read. It is full of wit, humour, sarcasm and terrific one liners. Where the book really excels is in the detailed descriptions of Cuba, the dilapidated nature of Havana, its architecture, life, culture and its people. Mac is a great central character and I loved his relationship and banter with his colourful first mate, Jack Colby, a Vietnam veteran with a great line in t-shirts. There is a strong focus on Cuba's history with the US, along with a social and political commentary, although I am not convinced the author got the balance right on this. As long as you don't take the story too seriously, this is a wonderful action packed read. Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.