Usually, DeMille's action novels are deeply situated in a complex and conspiracy-strewn past, like The Talbot Odyssey or Charm School, and involve a rich cast of characters. This one is a little simpler, drawn from DeMille's own trip to Cuba with a tour group, and is a straightforward action/romance storyline--cynical veteran of Afghanistan with a big boat mortgage agrees to go with a beautiful Cuban-American woman to Havana to retrieve family treasures left behind in 1959. There's a twist, but it isn't a big game changer, and the CIA functions as a deus ex machina. Summer paperback, but not up to standard.

DeMille continues his trademark face paced thriller with this 19th entry. While the action is non-stop, the premise is flawed from the start. If I, neither experienced in any aspect of this operation nor a vorious reader of the genre, could figure out from the start that something wasn't right about this operation, then sur.ely our hero Mac could and should have. A good read, but not a superb one.

LOVED this book! In this new series, the author introduces us to Mac, a military veteran who now owns and captains a boat that can be hired for fishing trips, etc. He's a bit world weary and full of sarcastic humor that made me laugh, even while the circumstances wouldn't have normally been funny.

Mac is hired/coerced into taking a job in Cuba by joining an "educational tour" organized for Yale alumni. While he's on the tour, his employee will be captaining the boat while it participates in a fishing tournament in Cuban waters. However, this is all a front so that Mac, and his new partner, can get retrieve important treasures from Cuba and return them to their rightful owners. With his boat as their ride home, what could go wrong? Of course, the answer is just about everything.

I loved how the author made Cuba feel real and illustrated just what it means to be in a police state. Cuba was so well described that it almost seemed to become a character of its own. Even though visiting a police state requires an entirely different set of rules and is a serious undertaking, the author still found a way to add humor while making it feel real.

Mac is a great new character and I can't wait to read what his next adventures are in future book.s Fans of the genre will love this book - and if you're not a fan, this just might change your mind. The author is on my must read authors' list.