I've read a number of DeMille's books through the years—The Charm School, The Gold Coast, The General's Daughter, Cathedral to name a few—and while I enjoyed all of those, I don't remember them being funny. But in his newest book, The Cuban Affair, he displays a playful side I haven't seen before, and it brought a new dimension to his writing.
"Being captain of your own fate doesn't mean you always make good decisions."
Daniel "Mac" MacCormick is a decorated war veteran with more than a few scars to show from his two tours in Afghanistan. Although his patrician family back in Maine hoped he'd amount to something after recovering from his wounds, Mac has different ideas. He spends his days in Key West as the owner of a 42-foot charter fishing boat, and he specializes in sunset cruises, fishing trips, drinking to excess, and perhaps more than a little womanizing. It doesn't seem like such a bad life for a 35-year-old.
Well, maybe he could use a little more money. And that's why he agrees to meet Carlos, a Miami lawyer with connections to anti-Castro groups of Cuban citizens wishing to someday make it back to their country. Carlos tries to hire Mac and his boat to work a 10-day fishing tournament in Cuba, but Mac turns him down because he doesn't think the job is on the up-and-up. Undeterred, Carlos sweetens the deal, offering Mac two million dollars instead. And although Mac knows if a deal seems too good to be true it usually is, he decides to hear Carlos out.
When Mac meets Carlos' clients, including a beautiful Cuban-American architect named Sara Ortega, the chance to spend time with Sara plus make more money than he has in his lifetime proves enticing. It turns out that years ago, Sara's grandfather hid more than 60 million dollars in a cave in Cuba so it didn't fall into the wrong hands, and Sara and her colleagues want Mac's help to rescue the loot and return it to its rightful owners, Cuban exiles all. It's a mission that could make Mac a wealthy man—not to mention a wanted one, or worse, a dead one.
The Cuban Affair follows Mac and Sara on their mission to Cuba as part of a study group from Yale. They know what they need to do, and have their plans set, but Mac doesn't realize how many loose ends there are to deal with—and of course, he has no idea what he doesn't know, or what he's not being told. All he knows is he wants Sara and he wants his money, and he doesn't know if he'll get either.
This is a meticulously researched book, providing a tremendous amount of information about how the relationship between Cuba and America deteriorated through the years, and how the anticipated "Cuban Thaw" between the two countries could change everything—for both better and worse. It's also an in-depth look at the anti-Castro forces both within and outside Cuba.
I really liked Mac's character, and found Sara to be a bit of an enigma (as did Mac). I also enjoyed some of the supporting characters, including Mac's first mate, Jack, a cantankerous and perhaps slightly crazy Vietnam vet with a penchant for slightly twisted t-shirts. DeMille definitely generated some good suspense in the book, because I kept expecting everyone to double-cross everyone multiple times over, and you want to know how everything will be resolved.
At times I felt the book got bogged down with all of the history and factual details, so it seemed more like a nonfiction book than a thriller. And while once the action got going the book really crackled, it took a little too long to get to that point—I felt a little too much time was spent setting up background and painting the scene. But DeMille's storytelling talent, and Mac's dry, slightly ribald sense of humor definitely helped add levity.
I'd love to see another book featuring Mac some day. I believe he's a terrific addition to the cast of memorable characters that DeMille has created through the years. While this book is a little uneven, it's still great to see a master at work, and experience a new side of him.
NetGalley and Simon & Schuster provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
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