North of Havana

Randy Wayne White

Cuba... Does Tomlinson really need help in Cuba? Doc Ford, a marine biologist, doesn't want to go to Cuba. He knows that is one place he should never revisit. But Tomlinson and a young woman with him sailed too close and his boat was impounded. Now he needs Doc to bring $10,000 to (hopefully) get his vessel released and get them out of the country. It is almost Christmas. Dewey has visited Doc at his home on Sanibel Island to help her recover from a broken heart. He's enjoy helping her do that. But now he has to go to Cuba...

Doc prepares himself and returns to Cuba. Dewey insists on accompanying him, although he tries to talk her out of it. He should have tried harder, told her more of the truth of the situation. When they arrived, Tomlinson and the woman aren't at the hotel where they are supposed to meet Doc. The pair have disappeared. Instead they meet a Canadian businessman who knew Tomlinson. After the Canadian gives them a tour around Havana, Doc and Dewey return to the hotel. Then Doc starts exploring on his own in the back alleys of the city. He knows it's only going to get worse when someone tries to kill him.

Soon Doc, the mystic Tomlinson, and Dewey are caught up with revolutionaries who are trying to overthrow Castro - or at least regain wealth lost almost 40 years earlier when Castro came into power. With the fall of the Soviet Union the Russians are no longer a presence in Cuba, but it is still dangerous. As Castro and his brother get older, the factions within the country grow.

Randy Wayne White makes the 1990's atmosphere of Cuba real to the reader. I don't know the true politics of the country, and it is now at least ten years after this book was written, but the scenarios are realistic. Like all the books in the series, North of Havana is told in first person narrative by Doc. That gives the reader the insight of the man who used to be part of a government special ops group and is trying to leave all that behind. He just wants to run his sea creature supply business and do his own research. But things keep happening. North of Havana keeps the reader going and enjoying the ride. It's action suspense with the ironic insights from the main character.

Sanibel Flats
The Heat Islands
The Man Who Invented Florida
Captiva
North of Havana
The Mangrove Coast
Ten Thousand Islands
Shark River
Twelve Mile Limit
Everglades
Tampa Burn
Dead of Night
Dark Light
Hunter's Moon
Black Widow
Dead Silence
Night Vision
Chasing Midnight