BY BRYAN REESMAN
WHEN I VISITED acclaimed
best-selling thriller author
Nelson DeMille for The
Costco Connection, he and I
sat in the library room of his
six-room office in Garden
City, New York. The room
features a wall-size map of
the world, with pins inserted
into foreign locations where his characters have
journeyed, and it is lined on three walls with
numerous books and photos. Even though he
now does a lot of online research, he remarks
that “books are a different kind of research.
When you open a book, you find things seren-
dipitously that you don’t find when you’re spe-
cifically looking for something online.”
By similar good fortune, DeMille fell into
the scenario for his ;;th and latest novel, The
Cuban Affair. The author did not want to revisit
Russia, had no interest in China and was tired of
exploring the Cold War and the war on terror.
Intrigued by a Yale alumni mailing to his older
son, Alex, he joined a Yale Educational Travel
group tour of Cuba that sparked his imagination
and his latest book.
“I would’ve loved to have gotten behind the
wheel of a car and done that whole island,”
declares DeMille. “The country is so big, and what
you could see from the tour bus was absolutely
fascinating.” He visited everywhere from rural
organic farms to the urban center of Havana.
The Cuban Affair, DeMille’s first standalone
novel in years, focuses on ;;-year-old Afghan
war vet Daniel “Mac” MacCormick, a smart-
alecky yet shre wd soldier with two Purple Hearts
and a Silver Star. He enlists his ;;-something
buddy Jack Colby, a Vietnam vet, to help ;;-year-
old Cuban-American insurgent Sara Ortega and
a close-knit group of associates smuggle out ;;;
million in cash—plus land deeds belonging to
Cuban exiles—from a remote cave in Cuba. Mac
and Colby stand to get rich from this covert mis-
sion, but the risks are great and much of the intel
is sketchy. Mac also feels strongly attracted to
Sara, which could create an unnecessary entan-
glement in a situation where many of their con-
tacts could be double agents.
Having spent eight days in Cuba, DeMille
added rich details about the country, incorporat-
ing characters and situations inspired by, and
even named after, people he knows. (Mac joins a
Yale travel group as cover for his mission.) The
author’s imagination was further fueled by recol-
lections of hearing about the Cuban revolution
when he was a young teen. “It stuck in my mind
and had a small impact on my life as a ;;-year-
old,” recalls DeMille. “Jack Colby is old enough
to remember those days himself.” A Hofstra
University graduate who majored in political sci-
ence and history, DeMille wanted to build on his-
tory while working in a contemporary context.
When he was Mac’s age, DeMille was a
Vietnam vet who had become a bit cynical in the
late ’;;s. He says, “The [Vietnam] War certainly
changed my perspective on a lot of things.” He
believes in honesty and accuracy in his character
portrayals, although he had to extrapolate for
the character of Mac as he does not know any
;;-year-old Afghan vets. And while he did not
know what a Cuban-American woman of that age
sounded like, his interactions with Cuban
friends in Miami helped flesh Sara out. He felt it
was important to be realistic across age, gender
and socioeconomic background.
“It’s easy to stay in your comfort zone and
write contemporary books set in New York where
everybody’s a New Yorker, like a tough-talking
wiseass,” DeMille says, referencing his own
work. But he pushed himself. “I put this whole
thing together after so many [John] Corey
books, and to write another standalone was a
challenge that I hadn’t done in a while. It liberated me from John Corey. I was a little tired of
Corey, and I think Corey was a little tired of me.”
DeMille is pleased with how The Cuban
Affair turned out. “Ironically, a lot of people can
set out to write a series character and the character may not be that good,” he observes. “It’s better to start out writing a standalone. If this guy
[Mac] becomes a series character, fine, but if he
doesn’t, that’s OK too.” C
Bryan Reesman is a regular Costco contributor and
published author.
PENNIE’S PICK
I DON’T often choose suspense
or action-adventure titles as
my pick, but Nelson DeMille’s
The Cuban Affair seemed like
an obvious exception. First, I
enjoyed his descriptions of
Cuba, a country that is still a
mystery to many of us.
I was also charmed by the
introduction of a new charac-
ter: U.S. Army combat veteran
turned charter boat captain
Daniel “Mac” MacCormick. I
really love that Mac is sarcastic
but also self-aware when it
comes to his shortcomings.
When a deal to hire Mac
for a fishing tournament turns
into a hunt for $60 million left
in Cuba at the beginning of
Castro’s revolution, Mac and
his companions hope to find
the stash before anyone else
finds it—on purpose or not.
The Cuban Affair (Item
#1189627) is available now in
most Costco warehouses.
For more book picks,
see page 83.
—Pennie Clark Ianniciello,
Buyer, Books
ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT
A Cuban affair to remember
Tropical intrigue
Nelson DeMille
J
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Costco has 50 signed copies of Nelson DeMille’s
The Cuban Affair to give away. To enter, go to
costcoconnectionbookgiveaway.com.
NO PURCHASE, PAYMENT OR OPT-IN OF ANY KIND IS
NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS SWEEPS TAKES.
Purchase will not improve odds of winning. Sweepstakes
is sponsored by Costco Wholesale, 1045 Lake Drive,
Issaquah, WA 98027. Open to legal residents of the U. S.
(except Puerto Rico) who are age 18 or older at the time of
entry. One entry per household. Entries must be received
before the November issue is available online, which will
happen around October 26, 2017. Winners will be randomly
selected and noti;ed by mail on or before December 1, 2017.
The value of the prize is $28.99. Void where prohibited.
Winners are responsible for all applicable federal, state and
local taxes. Odds of winning depend on the number of
eligible entries received. Employees of Costco or Simon &
Schuster and their families are not eligible.
SIGNED BOOK GIVEAWAY
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everybody’s a New Yorker, like a tough-talking
work. But he pushed himself. “I put this whole
thing together after so many [John] Corey
challenge that I hadn’t done in a while. It liberated me from John Corey. I was a little tired of
The Cuban
turned out. “Ironically, a lot of people can
set out to write a series character and the character may not be that good,” he observes. “It’s better to start out writing a standalone. If this guy
Buyer, Books
OUR DIGITAL EDITIONS
Click here for a video of Nelson DeMille
talking about his writing process. (See
page 10 for details.)
