Havana Harvest - Robert Landori

Havana Harvest tells the story of the hidden dealings between the CIA and the Cuban government. The CIA is trying to frame the Castro regime with accusations of drug trafficking so that the Cuban government will crumble. In order to carry this out, they take advantage of a senior Cuban military official, General Patricio Casas, who has become disillusioned with the Castro government. The CIA sends Robert Lonsdale on a mission to find proof linking the Cuban authorities with the drug trade, but what Lonsdale finds instead is evidence of the Agency's unethical behavior and allegations of corruption in the highest ranks. Lonsdale soon sets out to extricate Casas from Cuba and publicly expose corrupted officials within the CIA.


I decided to review Havana Harvest because I'm usually a fan of spy thrillers and action stories. But with this book, I was just not able to get interested in the story, and the 400 pages felt like 1600 pages. I think this was largely due to the fact that the book contained too much detail. Usually that's not a bad thing, but in this case, I honestly didn't care what the characters were doing every waking moment. I would much rather have read about the significant bits of the story rather than the day-to-day pasttimes of the characters. Lonsdale also seemed a bit two-dimensional, and although Landori tried to build a personal side to the protagonist, I felt like I was reading about a robot, not a human. Havana Harvest would be an alright read for those who are particularly interested in US-Cuban relations, but for those looking for a simple spy thriller, it doesn't make the cut.

Note: This book was sent to me by the author for review through the third party Bostick Communications.