Cuba Strait
Author: Carsten Stroud
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
First released: 2004
Genre: Suspense/Crime
Format: Fiction/Paperback
ISBN: 0743463935

----- Plot Outline -----

Note: This novel is based on real events that took place over a two-week period in 2002.


For ex-cop Rick Broca life is a sequence of carefully avoided disasters. After an up and down career in the New York State Police he was forced to leave after a disastrous hostage negotiation went wrong. After his wife left him he traveled to the west coast for a new job and a change of scenery. Now living the fast life as an “executive consultant” to a Hollywood producer (Jake Siegal), it seems at last circumstances have returned to normal, or as close to normal as Rick will ever see. As Cuba Straight opens Rick is cruising the Florida Keys in his boss’s Hinckley 44’motor yacht, Cagancho, just finishing up a 3-week vacation on the water.

His peaceful daydreaming is interrupted by a weather bulletin dropping out of the fax machine, apparently a major tropical storm is approaching very fast. His choices are either run with the storm and try to make the leeway of a distant Key or weather the storm out and head straight into the center. Being a rather impetuous fellow Rick decides to take the latter option, a choice that will change his next few months inexorably.

The storm is soon upon him and as he pilots the Cagancho into the waves he is surprised by a low flying Marine Corps Hercules transport plane skimming less than 900 feet above the waves. As it thundered overhead Rick recognizes it as the twice-weekly shuttle from our Cuban military base at Guantanamo Bay. With difficulty he refocuses on maintaining his course into the waves only to see a second plane roar out of the cloud bank only 150’ over his cabin. This seaplane was obviously in trouble as the sputtering engines were choking on sea spray and barely running. As it disappeared into the storm Rick mentally gave the pilot a slim chance of survival in the next few minutes. Searching for the plane on radar he soon realizes the fuselage has been coated with some type “stealth” coating making it nearly invisible on radar. Obviously a plane running from Cuba to the Florida Keys in the middle of a near hurricane and attempting to hide from radar isn’t on a Peace Corps mission. Being afflicted with a sense of duty that often put him in death’s path, Rick turns his ship around and starts to search for the ailing craft.

Much to his surprise hours later he does find the plane after registering several large parts strewn across the seabed. After rescuing Charles Green, the plane's pilot, (who was the only survivor) Rick begins to understand there’s something going on here that’s bigger than he could have imagined. Soon he’ll have to make a choice between forgetting about this whole event and try to return to his life or attempt to solve a mystery and save an enigmatic stranger he’s only just met. While attempting to interrogate Mr. Green about the cargo aboard his plane a large motor yacht filled with Cuban mercenaries tries to board his boat. When that fails they launch an all out attack and soon the Cagancho is running for her life.

The situation continues to escalate as the United States demands the return of Jake Siegal and Cuba threatens to prosecute Siegal in a court of law. In the middle of this mess are Rick, Charles, and Rick's girlfriend Zeffi. There's plenty of black operations, espionage, and sticky situations for any suspense junkie. This is where I stop the story and plead with you to just read the book.

----- Bottom Line -----

As the second Carsten Stroud book I’ve finished this was much better than I expected. An atypical plot and plenty of intrigue kept the suspense level high and thankfully the ending didn’t disappoint. It’s not a full-throttle action fest and does slow down at times but that’s okay by me. At just over 600 pages long this is a long book for a paperback, you’ll definitely get what you paid for.

I recommend Stroud for anyone who enjoys reading international intrigue, suspense, or mystery novels. Both Black Water Transit and Cuba Strait are excellent books with a unique plot in a market crowded with similar books. Give Cuba Strait a try and I'll be you’ll like it as much as I do.

Related book links:

•Carsten Stroud: Black Water Transit

•Ted Dekker, Frank Peretti: House
•Ted Dekker: Black
•Ted Dekker: Red
•Ted Dekker: Three
•Ted Dekker: Blessed Child
•Ted Dekker: A Man Called Blessed

•Matthew Reilly: Scarecrow
•Matthew Reilly: Contest
•Matthew Reilly: Area 7
•Matthew Reilly: Ice Station

•Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child: Still Life With Crows
•Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child: Cabinet of Curiosities
•Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child: Brimstone
•Douglas Preston: Tyrannosaur Canyon
•Lincoln Child: Utopia

•Dean Koontz: The Taking
•Dean Koontz: Dragon Tears

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment!

© Openroad 2006

Recommended: Yes