The Cuban Affair
Written by Nelson DeMille
Narrated by Scott Brick
4/5
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About this audiobook
Daniel “Mac” Graham MacCormick 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. But after serving five years in the Army and purchasing a boat with a big bank loan, Mac’s finances are more than a little shaky.
One day, Mac is sitting in the famous Green Parrot Bar, 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.
Nelson DeMille
Nelson DeMille is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-two novels, seven of which were #1 New York Times bestsellers. His novels include The Maze, The Deserter (written with Alex DeMille), The Cuban Affair, Word of Honor, Plum Island, The Charm School, The Gold Coast, and The General’s Daughter, which was made into a major motion picture, starring John Travolta and Madeleine Stowe. He has written short stories, book reviews, and articles for magazines and newspapers. Nelson DeMille is a combat-decorated US Army veteran, a member of Mensa, Poets & Writers, and the Authors Guild, and past president of the Mystery Writers of America. He is also a member of the International Thriller Writers, who honored him as 2015 ThrillerMaster of the Year. He lives on Long Island with his family.
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Reviews for The Cuban Affair
289 ratings29 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Adventure, romance, good story, love this narrator, moves fast... fun
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book was a fun adventure story but for lots of it nothing happens and then the end was copied from Captain Ron and was just so predictable.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Entertaining but predictable... interesting tidbits about Cuba... abridged version. Worth a listen.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Normally, I really enjoy Nelson DeMille books but this one just felt far too long. It was an interesting story that takes place during the thawing of Cuban and American relations. A group of anti-Castro Cuban Americans devises a plan to reunite former Cuban citizens with the money they had left behind in Cuba. At least that is the plan according to what Daniel MacCormick is told when they offer him $3 million to take them on a boat trip to Cuba.
There were many twists and turns in the story that made it interesting. I just think the book could have been 5-10 chapters shorter and it would have been perfectly fine. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Daniel “Mac” Graham MacCormick 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. But after serving five years in the Army and purchasing a boat with a big bank loan, Mac’s finances are more than a little shaky.One day, Mac is sitting in the famous Green Parrot Bar, 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.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille
September 2017
I received this soft cover ARC from GoodReads giveaway and Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first book by Nelson DeMille that I've had the pleasure to read. An extraordinary writer with witty, daring and interesting characters. Daniel Graham MacCormick, "Mac" for short is a 35 yr old, Army vet surviving two tour of Afghanistan. He settles in Key West to run a deep-sea fishing charter boat, The Maine, which he named for his home state.
Life is calm and relaxing running his charter boat with the assistance of his friend, Jack, a retired Vietnam vet. Until one day, he receives an unexpected visit from Carlos, a Miami lawyer involved with anti-Castro groups. Soon he is presented with an offer too good to be true. All he has to do is agree to help an older exiled Cuban, Eduardo retrieve some documents and $60 million dollars from a cave in Havana.
Although an extremely dangerous proposition he is heavily persuaded by his $3 million payment and the seductive Sara Ortega who provides the cover story to get them into Cuba. The story is filled with adventure and suspense. The story is rich with authentic details which must have required extensive research. I can't wait to read more books by this author. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love the way he writes! His characters are just the right amount of funny (or sarcastic). So he wasn't John Corey, but I really enjoyed it! Daniel MacCormick died. Boat for sale. SO FUNNY!
I had a different ending in mind, but what else is new? hahahah HOW LONG UNTIL HE WRITES ANOTHER??? - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Not his best but I don’t know why. As a captain, his boat is bought and he is promised several millions for collecting treasures left in Cuba. Along the way he falls in love. The best part wS the description of the modern day Cuba. I don’t want to go there anymore.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5DeMille introduces his readers to a new character, Daniel MacCormik. After two tours in Afghanistan, Daniel “Mac” MacCormick has been through hell, so he knows what it looks like. He now lives in Key West Florida and rents himself and his boat out for ocean fishing and sight seeing. He is approached by a new client, Eduardo Valazquez, and a beautiful young woman, Sara Ortega. As suspected, the charter involves more than one innocent purpose. Seriously needing money, Mac decides to take on this new charter not to mention the beautiful woman Sara who is to sail with them. Eduardo’s mission, Mac discovers, is all things anti-Castro. Sara’s is more personal. Her grandfather fled Cuba before the revolution but managed to hide 60 million dollars which he hid from the bank he owned at the time. Having to flee Castro, he has been waiting for his chance to return and smuggle it out of the country. It’s just waiting for them down there in a cave. Help her retrieve it, and Mac is in for some big bucks
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The first 370 pages of this book are basically a chronicle of a guided tour of Cuba with a tepid love affair thrown in. It's boring and slow moving. The main character, Daniel MacCormick (Mac) is a wiseass and has some good lines, but I prefer John Corey who performs at a much higher level. It is only within the last 60 pages that we finally see some action - if only the entire book could have been that good. I usually love Nelson DeMille's books - this one, not so much.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm a huge fan of Nelson DeMille and was happy to find this new release. But, and only by previous very high standards, I'm somewhat disappointed. The main character is new to us, however, inherits characteristics of his predecessors - mainly he's a smart-ass but not with the same success and overdone. The story moves along and steadily - it's only at the end where the pace hots up and it get's lively. Nicely lively and well done. There is a very good twist near the end and I just managed to see it before that ball dropped.If you like DeMille then read it and you'll enjoy it - but nostalgically.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One of his better novels. A subplots would have improved it even more.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5"The Cuban Affair" is an above average sorta kinda heist book. Daniel MacCormick is very similar to one of Nelson DeMille's other main characters (and my favorite) John Corey. They're both smart asses, intelligent, quick witted, and all-around good guys. Here, Mac is persuaded to go on a "tour" to Cuba with a young lady who really wants to bring back millions of dollars stashed away by her grandfather as Castro's revolution was happening. As they work their way through the plan, which gets revealed in small steps, they run into many adventures.SPOILER ALERT!The boat chase at the end is the most exciting part of the book. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to make the end satisfying as they basically accomplish nothing. The CIA recovers the two trunks they did manage to smuggle out of Cuba (one being property titles to help prove who owned what before the revolution, and the other containing bones of 17 US Vietnam vets who'd been taken to Cuba, tortured, then killed). While there's some satisfaction that these items are at least in the hands of the US, whether they'll see the light of day remains to be seen.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille is a 2017 Simon & Schuster publication. Fast paced adventure and international intrigue-Daniel MacCormick, formerly of Maine, is a military veteran, now residing in Key West, and is the proud part owner, along with the bank, of a boat he has cleverly dubbed ‘The Maine’. When he is approached about a possible job, he knows immediately this is not an ordinary client out for a fishing expedition or romantic cruise. Sure enough, Daniel is offered the chance to hit pay dirt, with a multi-million -dollar payday attached. Naturally, there is a catch- a big one. Daniel will have to take his clients into Cuba in search of a huge stash of cash. His partner in crime is the beautiful Sara Ortega, whose grandfather hid the cash they are out to retrieve, now that there has been a ‘Cuban Thaw’. Thus, begins the harrowing, but life altering adventure that will end up meaning a lot more than the promise of instant wealth. I’ve read several DeMille novels over the years, but this one has a slightly different tone to it, but still employs some of the DeMille’s trademark themes. Daniel is a character I was slow to warm up to. I wasn’t quite sure how to take him at first, as he seemed immature one minute and an old soul the next. But, I eventually caught on and soon began to appreciate his internal dialogue, which was often sarcastic, witty and funny and kept the mood from becoming too somber or heavy. The story takes on a very serious tone, however, once the setup is complete, but I liked the noble cause behind the adventure, which made the mission seem more important and more suspenseful. The story paints a very complex and complicated and eye opening view of Cuba, which is not altogether flattering. Sara and Daniel are constantly tip toeing around potential land mines, as they are monitored very carefully, while they also find themselves coping with the unexpected feelings developing between them. The story is filled with international intrigue, and adventure, pulling off a caper or heist-like tone, which kept the pace moving along at a brisk pace, and kept me engaged in the story from start to finish. Overall, this is a quick, suspenseful, and entertaining read. I think I’d enjoy hearing from Daniel MacCormick again someday. 4 stars
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Overall, the writing was fair to good. The author has a great sense of humor but sometimes the jokes get a bit old when they come too quickly. Although the plot was exciting, the ending was a bit disappointing for me and seemed to be somewhat manufactured rather than falling naturally out of the story. The description of the trauma experienced by soldiers in war zones, and how it affects their lives after war, was very compassionate and well-described.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is an immensely popular book that I thought was only mediocre. The main character ruminates too much. The plot is slow-moving, and the premise is pretty thin.I received a review copy of "The Cuban Affair" by Nelson DeMille (Simon & Schuster) through NetGalley.com.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Having read a dozen of Nelson DeMille's books over the years, and having thoroughly enjoyed each one, it pains me to say "The Cuban Affair" does not qualify as one of his better works. I've usually viewed DeMille's books as fast-paced, with snappy dialogue and plenty of non-stop action. I once said the thing I liked most about DeMille was there was no 'fat' is his books, everything went to advance the action. Now I know where all the 'fat' went - he apparently saved it all up for "The Cuban Affair". I waded in, expecting the usual action page-turner but found myself immersed in a travelogue, an unending travelogue that continued for almost 3/4 of the novel. The journey through Habana and environs was initially entertaining, but then it showed no sign of relenting. The table was set, but where was the meal? Time and place was well done, and the look at Cuban culture and politics was entertaining, but the story line advanced glacially. If you have all the time in the world to spend waiting for something meaningful to happen, and you just like a realistic view of Cuba, this is a book you will enjoy. Otherwise, you might find a way too slow in developing the action.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Cuban Affair, Nelson DeMille, author; Scott Brick, narratorDaniel Mac Cormick, in his mid thirties, owns the fishing boat, The Maine. He is a macho guy, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. His older First Mate, Jack Colby, not as polished as Mac, was a veteran of the Vietnam War. Both, in their separate fields of war, had been injured. When Mac became involved with Cuban Americans, who were decidedly anti-Castro, he was offered an amount of money that was hard to refuse, to recover and reclaim millions of dollars in documents, jewelry and money that had been hidden in a Cuban cave by a banker, the grandfather of a beautiful woman, who would participate in the recovery. She was Sara Ortega. Mac asked Jack to join him in this possibly dangerous, well-funded clandestine effort to recover property nationalized by Fidel Castro’s Cuban government.The plan was for Jack to take a group of fisherman to a fishing tournament in Cuba, a tournament that was meant to encourage a warmer relationship between the United States and Cuba. Jack would take this group on The Maine, which would be renamed Fishy Business in order to cover its history in Key West and provide him with an alibi. Mac, on the other hand, would be going to Cuba, presumably on a tour with Yale University. Sara Ortega would be on that same tour, but they would pretend to have never met before. To provide them with their alibi, they were supposed to pretend to become romantically involved when they got there. This is where the novel began to be disappointing. It seemed to devolve from what could have been an action-packed story into nothing more than a romantic escapade.Although the book was infused with humorous dialogue, an admirable skill of this author, many of the conversations and comments seemed either too melodramatic or too filled with clichés. The story seemed very repetitive and overly long. For the majority of the book, it seemed to go in circles, almost going nowhere, and I kept waiting for something exciting to happen. Near the end, finally, there was some action, but still, it seemed to be more about the budding romance between Sara and Mac than about any kind of thrilling adventure. It seemed to be setting up a series that would follow the two of them into their future.Although I found the book a bit disappointing, it introduced information I previously knew little about. Apparently, Cuba and Viet Nam had participated in a joint effort in which a group of American POW’s were brought to Cuba and tortured before their deaths. Their bodies were never returned. DeMille also inserted his political views into the narrative, indicating his distaste for the CIA and some of its methods, of which I had not been aware. Even Ernest Hemingway made an entrance with interesting little tidbits about him dropped here and there into the story. Still, I felt that far better than the book, was the narration. Scott Brick does an amazing job interpreting the novels of DeMille and this one was no exception.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love all his novels
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Oh Nelson Demille how I have missed you! Your great writing style, your humor and wit! This story involves one place I've visited, and one place I haven't, both adversely affected by the hurricane season of 2017. Key West will rebuild and be non changing in attitude, but Cuba you don't know where it will go or if change can be good or bad for the country. The book covers both shores with romance, Nelson Demille style, mystery and excitement. Just read it!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Army veteran Daniel “Mac” MacCormick, now a charter boat captain in Key West, sails to Cuba at the behest of Sara Ortega and her associates, on a dangerous smuggling mission. Ostensibly in the country as part of a tour group, Mac and Sara have a plan to retrieve a stockpile of cash, paperwork, and valuables stashed away in a cave by her grandfather when he fled Cuba during Castro’s revolution. Things get a bit dicey when it appears that the Cuban authorities may be on to their deception, but Mac and Sara are determined to carry out the mission. Despite limited information, will Mac and Sara find a way to ditch the tour and retrieve the valuables? And if they are successful at recovering this half-century old cache, just how far will the Cuban authorities go to keep them from reaching the United States with the treasure?Witty dialogue and an intriguing plot keep the skillfully written adventure on track; well-developed, believable characters populate this action-packed tale. Mac’s first mate, Jack, is a perfect foil and the witty camaraderie between Mac and Jack provides readers with a much-needed respite from the tension of the story. Another strong element is the author’s meticulous research; descriptions of Havana, its people, and its culture add a strong dimension of authenticity to the tale. With its twisting plot, frantic pace, and ever-building suspense leading to a gripping climax, readers are likely to find it difficult to put this book down before turning the final page.Highly recommended.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nelson DeMille has a new publisher and a new character. The snarky John Corey has been replaced by Daniel Graham “Mac” MacCormick. Born in Maine Mac has served his country with several tours in Afghanistan as a combat infantry officer and he is now a charter boat captain in Key West, Florida. It is October, 2015 and Mac is waiting for a prospective charterer in his favorite bar, The Green Parrot. Carlos, a Cuban lawyer from Miami, has a proposition and fishing isn’t part of it. A deal is offered, a beautiful woman flirts and the probability of success is too good to be ignored and as the old saying goes probably too good to be true.DeMille has filled the pages of The Cuban Affair much like his other books with “Sex, money and adventure. Does it get any better than that.” In many ways it does because for those of us who have not visited Cuba we are given a close-up and critical view of what a communist police state looks like. The fear and constant paranoia are manifest in every action and interaction. There are frequent references to Hemingway and the time he spent in Cuba. There are also many reminders that the Cubans always double cross each other and why isn’t that lesson ever heeded?DeMille sums it up best in his Letter to the Reader: “The people who populate this story fall into two camps: those who are happy and hopeful about the Cuban Thaw, and those who are trying to derail it.” Well written and very well researched the few leaps of “coincidence” seem to be set in reality. There are definite sides and the issues raised have very few good answers. What became self-evident is that at some point some large parts of history are going to be rewritten.There was one sentence that took my breath away: “Fate whispered to the warrior, ‘You cannot withstand the coming storm.’ And the warrior whispered back, ‘I am the storm.’”This is a fast moving, sometimes hard to believe this can really be happening, political thriller that held my attention from cover to cover.Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In the late fifties/early sixties, it seems that every pulp/ espionage writer put out a book on traipsing back into Fidel's post-Revolution Cuba and liberating a hidden treasure. There are literally half a dozen such books I have read. Fifty years after the Cuban missle crisis, Cuba is no longer in the center of a American consciousness (outside of parts of Miami) and moves have been made to thaw relations. DeMille's book hardens back to those earlier adventure novels.
DeMille has given us a fantastic adventure that sends a fishing boat captain ( of course ex-Army with experience in Afghanistan) to Cuba on a seemingly suicidal mission with a bunch of Cuban exiles to liberate a cave full of money and treasure. On the way, the story takes us through today's Cuba, still a brutal dictatorship where every block contains a police informant and there's no bill of rights. The buildings are falling apart and everyone drives Frankenstein cars built from every mixed up spare part imaginable.
Mostly though this is a rock-solid adventure, skillfully written, perfectly paced, and simply a great read. The tension of the secret mission can be felt on every page. There's no wasted pages, no meaningless dialogue. This is the first DeMille book I've ever picked up, but not the last.
Thank your Simon & Schuster for providing this advance copy. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I loved the main character in this book. Daniel "Mac" MacCormick was such a curmudgeon but aslso very funny. I hope this is not the only book he appears in.The story takes place in Key West (loved that) and Cuba. I hadn't read a book set in Cuba before. It sounds beautiful but full of a lot of shady characters who are called chivatos. They will do anything for a buck. It's also sad that the country is so depressed that they have to live like this.The story is full of action and I sped through the pages enjoying every minute.Huge thanks to Simon & Schuster and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Another page turner from Nelson DeMille! The Cuban Affair features a new character, Daniel 'Mac' McCormick, an Army vet escaped to Key West and running a heavily mortgaged fishing charter. When he's approached by Cuban Americans interested in retrieving some cash and papers from the Old Country, he thinks maybe the adventure--more appropriately mission--could fill the void and need for adventure that he's been feeling. And pay off his boat. And maybe some extra cash. And his parter in this adventure, Sara Ortega, was motivating in her own right! THE CUBAN AFFAIR is classic DeMille. A fun, witty, smart assed protagonist; a beautiful, confused, less than honest with Mac but honest in her cause partner; rich and colorful characters; and a peek into the unknown in descriptions and experiences in Cuba. While there's not a lot of new ground in the style or tone of this book, it is a fun and easy read that will keep you up at night to finish!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nelson DeMille's first book with Simon and Schuster is The Cuban Affair. I had previously read several of DeMille's books, including The General's Daughter.DeMille's character-driven story introduces Daniel "Mac" McCormick, a veteran of the Afghanistan war who has settled in the Florida Keys to run a chartered fishing boat. His mate Jack is a Vietnam Vet. Mac is up to his ears in debt, and frankly, he's a little bored.Mac is contacted by an anti-Castro group of Cuban exiles who want his help for a covert mission to recover money hidden by exiles when they fled the revolution. "Behind every great fortune is a crime," Mac thinks, not wanting to know how the money had been made. It's a dangerous mission, but the idea of the reward of three million dollars is enticing--as is Sara Ortega who will be his accomplice.After a trip to Cuba, DeMille wrote this book to give a portrait of the country and to show the tenuous 'thaw' in American-Cuban relations. Readers tour the island along with Mac, Sara, and the Yale tour group. The island is full of Hemingway places and references, including Islands in the Stream where Hemingway wrote, "The Cubans double-cross each other."The 'affair' is a double entendre, for not only is this an episode or event in Mac's life, he also has a love affair with Sara. The story is told in the first person by Mac, who has a welcomed dry sense of humor, but a decidedly masculine sensibility that did not always sit well with me. Sara is a character who will appeal to women: strong, sure, smart, and brave. As a thriller, there is more an atmosphere of threat for most of the book, with a thrilling sea chase conclusion. Character, place, and the love story are the hallmarks of the bulk of the book.Will the love affair survive Cuba, land of daiquiris, danger, and palm trees? Or was it a holiday fling more based on proximity and an awareness that death could be waiting for them? Read it and find out.I received a free book from the publisher through a Goodreads giveaway.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nelson DeMille has written a winner. And introduced a wonderful new character—Mac McCormick. Witty, sarcastic, and tough, Mac is a veteran of Afghanistan and now runs a charter fishing business in Key West. His life is more or less on auto-pilot. Then Carlos, a Miami lawyer who is deeply involved in the anti-Castro movement, and the beautiful Sara Ortega appear. They want to hire Mac for a fishing tournament to be held in Cuba. The price is right so Mac considers it. The kicker? Mac learns that the tournament is a smoke screen and that while in Cuba, Sara plans to retrieve sixty million dollars her grandfather had secreted in a cave. Mac’s cut is three million. Well, that changes things. Mac is in. He quickly learns that there is more to the plan and more danger involved that he could have imagined. Mac is an amazing new character and this story is well plotted and told. It’s Nelson DeMille at his best. Don’t miss what is surely the beginning of a new series.DP Lyle, award-winning author, lecturer, and story consultant
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The name Nelson DeMille on the cover of a book conjures images of an excellent story. "The Cuban Affair" keeps this legacy going. This is a great read: it has intrigue, a bit of romance, adventure, gun play, good guys -vs- bad guys... All the DeMille trademarks! This tale is a page turner, grab a copy and lose some sleep! You'll be glad you did!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I was delighted to be able to read an advance copy of The Cuban Affair as Nelson DeMille is one of my all-time favorite authors. This book did not disappoint. I love his new main character, and I hope that there will be a continuation of his story. As with other DeMille characters, I found his sarcasm very entertaining. It was interesting to have the story be situated in both Key West and Cuba. I think the author captured the life of people living in Key West as well as the dynamics of group tours. I haven’t been to Cuba, but his descriptions seemed very realistic to me, based on my travels to other Communist countries.The book had “something for everyone”. I learned a lot about Cuban-American relations and politics. There was adventure and danger on the high seas and in Cuba. There was also romance, complex relationships and humor. I also appreciate books that appeal to both men and women. I would recommend that people planning to visit Cuba who are unfamiliar with traveling in Communist or Third World countries read this book as a cautionary tale so they behave appropriately when traveling there. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an exciting read.