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Book Summary and Reviews of The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille

The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille

The Cuban Affair

by Nelson DeMille

  • Critics' Consensus (2):
  • Readers' Rating (2):
  • Published:
  • Sep 2017, 448 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

Nelson DeMille's blistering new novel features an exciting new character - U.S. Army combat veteran Daniel "Mac" MacCormick, now a charter boat captain, who is about to set sail on his most dangerous cruise.

Daniel Graham MacCormick - Mac for short - seems to have a pretty good life. At age thirty-five he's living in Key West, owner of a forty-two-foot charter fishing boat, The Maine. Mac served five years in the Army as an infantry officer with two tours in Afghanistan. He returned with the Silver Star, two Purple Hearts, scars that don't tan, and a boat with a big bank loan. Truth be told, Mac's finances are more than a little shaky.

One day, Mac is sitting in the famous Green Parrot Bar in Key West, contemplating his life, and waiting for Carlos, a hotshot Miami lawyer heavily involved with anti-Castro groups. Carlos wants to hire Mac and The Maine for a ten-day fishing tournament to Cuba at the standard rate, but Mac suspects there is more to this and turns it down. The price then goes up to two million dollars, and Mac agrees to hear the deal, and meet Carlos's clients - a beautiful Cuban-American woman named Sara Ortega, and a mysterious older Cuban exile, Eduardo Valazquez.

What Mac learns is that there is sixty million American dollars hidden in Cuba by Sara's grandfather when he fled Castro's revolution. With the "Cuban Thaw" underway between Havana and Washington, Carlos, Eduardo, and Sara know it's only a matter of time before someone finds the stash - by accident or on purpose. And Mac knows if he accepts this job, he'll walk away rich…or not at all.

Brilliantly written, with his signature humor, fascinating authenticity from his research trip to Cuba, and heart-pounding pace, Nelson DeMille is a true master of the genre.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. A line from the novel perfectly describes this page-turner: 'Sex, money, and adventure. Does it get any better than that?' " - Publishers Weekly

"Starred Review. DeMille's (Radiant Angel) latest is a timely stay-up-all-night, nail-biting page-turner featuring his iconic tongue-in-cheek, articulate, rhythmic narrative. His affably irreverent protagonist, fantastic believable supporting characters, and tense, realistic Cuba-set scenes including some jaw-dropping revelations make this a must-read for his many fans." - Library Journal

"DeMille visited Cuba in 2015. He took a binderful of notes and displays them throughout this story of a Key West charter-boat owner who accepts a dangerous but well-paying job: he's to help Cuban expatriates recover millions of dollars stashed when they fled the island as Castro was coming to power. This is powerful, mythic stuff." - Booklist

"A good day's work from an old pro." - Kirkus

This information about The Cuban Affair was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

terre tulsiak

stands the test of time
I am writing about all DeMille books- they either reflect events you remember or teach about history as it may have been- along with entertaining charactors who have some self- awareness but take dumb chances anyway! His women are not as nuanced as the main protagonist- I hope that doensn't reflect anything but this 'mystery of women' as he seems to respect and enjoy their intellect, humor and other attributes.

Glia

Good book!
I really like this book, from beginning to end. The audiobook is very good too. The book's protagonist, Mac, has a very good sense of humor and the character has been very consistent throughout the story. There are annoying characters like in real life, of course, but they are very true to the nature of humans.

There's still open-ended question which I want an answer (more like because I am concerned if Mac and Jack got the money... they deserve it!), however, in life a lot of people don't get what they deserve. Oh well. Overall, I really like this book and you should give it a chance! Very fresh, funny, and an interesting read

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Author Information

Nelson DeMille Author Biography

Photo: Sandy DeMille

Nelson Richard DeMille was born in New York City on August 23, 1943 to Huron and Antonia (Panzera) DeMille. He moved as a child with his family to Long Island.

DeMille spent three years at Hofstra University, then joined the Army and attended Officer Candidate School. He was a First Lieutenant in the United States Army (1966-69), saw action in Vietnam, and was decorated with the Air Medal, Bronze Star, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.

DeMille returned to the States and went back to Hofstra University where he received his degree in Political Science and History.

DeMille's earlier books were NYPD detective novels. His first major novel was By the Rivers of Babylon, published in 1978 and still in print, as are all his succeeding novels. He is a member of The Authors Guild, the Mystery ...

... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Nelson DeMille's Website

Name Pronunciation
Nelson DeMille: duh-MILL

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