The Cuban Affair

Nelson DeMille’s heroes tend to have something in common that is rare in crime novels: They’re wiseacres, quick to crack a joke even in desperately dangerous situations. It’s an endearing quality and one that makes his tales especially fun to read. This time around, the comedian is “Mac” MacCormick, a banged-up ex-Army officer (with tours in Afghanistan and Iraq) now running a charter fishing boat out of Key West. Tempted by the promise of a big payoff—and by a beautiful Cuban-American woman named Sara Ortega—he agrees to use his boat in a scheme to liberate some $60 million in wealth hidden by her grandfather and others when they fled Cuba following its takeover by Fidel Castro. It’s an elaborate plot involving a gang of anti-Castro zealots, a university-sponsored tour group and some nasty Cuban cops hot on his trail, and it doesn’t take long for Mac to kick himself for getting involved. But then there’s all that money … and Sara, too.