The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille
The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille is the latest book by this popular political thriller author.
When you are reading the Nelson DeMille books in order, you will notice that the author has several series under his belt, including his famous John Corey series. The Cuban Affair starts right now as a standalone novel. However, the author admitted that at some point he would like to continue the adventures of Daniel (Mac) MacCormick in a second novel of a possible series.
Mac is 35 and is a civilian. He is back from two tours in Afghanistan (he is a decorated war veteran with plenty of PTSD to show for) and now he owns in Key West a fishing boat that he named The Maine, which he uses for charter cruises, for fishing, and basically live his rather simple life in peace.
When Carlos, a Miami-lawyer who has ties to the anti-Castro underground proposes him a deal, Mac will eventually take the job as he realizes that he could do with a bit more money in his pockets.
What Carlos wants is for Mac to enter a 10-day fishing tournament in Cuba with his boat. Initially, Mac declines, however, eventually he accepts the job. Afterall, two million dollars are nothing to sniff at.
Sara Ortega is a Cuban-American architect whose grandfather hid several years ago (before the Cuban Revolution) a huge chunk of money (over 60 million dollars) and Sara wants Mac to find and recover the money, which is seemingly hidden in a cave in Cuba.
So Mac and Sara pretend to be part of a study group from Yale going to Cuba and set off their adventures together. He is also eyeing Sara since she is quite pretty, so Mac is happy to spend time alone with her. What he doesn’t realize, however, is that Sara didn’t tell him the full story.
The book is a delightful and often funny adventure story, one which gives quite a few details about the current political climate and relationship between the US and Cuba. In a way, it is an educational book as well. The author has done some thorough research before writing it, by actually going to Cuba for a few weeks in 2015.
The book starts initially a bit slow, but it does pick up around the last ¼ of the book. Unlike previous Nelson DeMille books, The Cuban Affair has a rather humorous side to it as well. The author has shown us here a different side of himself and his writing genius. Mac is often witty, funny, and has a rather ironic and even sarcastic way about him. The book is also a slightly shorter book for Nelson DeMille, at less than 500 pages, when most previous books are at least 600 pages long.
The author mentioned that after The Cuban Revolution, the next book will not be about Mac; it might be instead about John or something new entirely. However, he is hoping to bring Mac back to yet another set of adventures in the future.
The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille
Published by Simon & Schuster
Published 2017
Genres: Adventure, Thriller
Source: Purchased
