The Cuban Connection    by M. L. Malcolm Order:  USA  Can Good Read Publishing, 2015 (2015) Softcover, e-Book      Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth I opened The Cuban Connection with mixed emotions. I was ready for a good read but felt the subject matter in this novel by M. L. Malcolm would be a little too turbulent. As many of us, I had a faint memory of the Cuban Missile Crisis with JFK. Malcolm is the award-winning author of Silent Lies. That enticed me to start The Cuban Connection and I realized after the first few pages, that this book would be hard to put down. In 1960, ace reporter Katharine O'Connor inveigles her editor to send her to Cuba. She plans to write articles about the human condition in Cuba, specifically Havana. But her main objective is to get as close to Fidel Castro as she can and learn some of Castro's plans as far as the outside world is concerned. Is he making a pact with Russia which would give the Russians a base for missiles ninety miles from the United States? She works undercover as she meets some very interesting characters whom she feels can help her with her goal. Raul could become a love interest if she had the time. Emilio is a ten-year old con man, whose mother and grandfather live for the day when Emilio's father returns home (he is in Castro's prison for no other reason than that his captors decided he was too dangerous to be on the loose.) We learn about Castro's Cuba at the time of JFK's presidency - the closed businesses, the food shortages, the old American cars in beautiful shape, the deplorable conditions that many must live under, and a truly good story of a woman and the depths she will go to achieve her ambitions. The Cuban Connection is a very good read. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Mystery books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews