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While the United States and Cuba have moved toward the reestablishment of diplomatic relations, there are people inside both the U.S. and Cuban governments who don't want that to happen—at least in Todd Moss's fictional world.
When four American sport fishermen are arrested by Cuban officials after straying into Cuban waters, everyone has a stake in the outcome—and a plot. Judd Ryker, professor-turned-State Department crisis manager, is drawn into the fray, as is his CIA wife, Jessica. Although the Rykers had promised each other to always be honest, the lies start piling up, with Jessica deceiving her husband time after time. Will this case be the end of their marriage?
Moss's thriller adds twist upon twist, with shadowy characters that include the CIA's deputy director of operations (so deep is his cover that his own employees don't know his name) and the ruthless Oswaldo Guerrero, the Cuban military intelligence chief who was raised on patria o muerte, nation or death. Both of these hard-liners want a return to the old status quo when the countries were staunch enemies, and will do anything—up to and including killing others—to get their wish.
Ryker, a brainy and mild-mannered academic who hardly seems suited to be an action hero, is thrown into this political pit, while his wife is ostensibly vacationing in Florida. In fact, it's a bit mystifying that Judd Ryker would become the linchpin of a plan upon which rests the lives of four men. His wife is the true action hero in this book, doing much more chasing and fighting (and in a slinky dress, to boot). As in many thrillers, some of the action seems over-the-top or unbelievable.
Nevertheless, Moss, a former deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of African Affairs, writes a book full of historical tidbits and plausible scenarios. It is a fast-paced, engaging read—and very topical given recent events between the two countries.
§ Lourdes Venard is an independent editor who divides her time between New York and Maui.
Reviewed by Lourdes Venard, September 2016
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