From Publishers Weekly
This audacious foray into Elmore Leonard/Donald Westlake literary territory begins in Cuba in 1955, when American mafioso Don Bonafaccio decides to "make an example" of Victor Salazar, the embezzling owner of a Mafia-controlled Havana nightclub. Victor is killed, but his son Raul is spared and allowed to flee to America with just $1000. Eight years later, Raul is the owner of his own nightclub in Miami. After an encounter with two patrons, freshman Republican congressman Wesley Trent Cameron and Cameron's cigar-loving, rich father-in-law Cornelius Gessleman, Raul glimpses the outline of a perfect con, one that will make him enough money to rejoin his love, Rosa Solero, in Cuba, and help out with the revolution at the same time. He persuades the congressman to finance a plan whereby Raul will steal 1000 cigars from President Kennedy's private stock, which Cameron, who is eager to prove his mettle, can present to Gessleman. After JFK is killed, Raul contacts the pair to advise them of his successful theft. He also mentions that he was able to pull off the job due to a "distraction" he createdAi.e., the assassination. Seeing a chance to make more money, Raul blackmails Cameron and Gessleman. Meanwhile, Joseph Bonafaccio Jr. discovers a long-kept secret: Victor Salazar took the money he embezzled and turned it into diamonds rolled in three boxes worth of cigars made by Grandfather Jennaro Salazar. The cigars, which were briefly in President Kennedy's possession, now sit in a motel room in Massachusetts. Raul, tailed by a Bonafaccio hit man hired by Gessleman, learns the story of the diamonds, and an elaborate chase ensues. The plot is sometimes slowed by ponderous flashbacks, but McKinney's tale of crime and revenge features an appealing set of quirky eccentrics and the perfect denouement for a comedic crime novel. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Although McKinney begins with an interesting premise, his first novel soon devolves into a typical tale of trickery and deception, with an inordinate number of esoteric cigar references thrown in. The story begins in mid-1963 and centers on 1000 Cuban cigars that JFK has ordered for his personal collection shortly before placing an embargo on all things Cuban. When the cigars are stolen, a complicated tale of multigenerational revenge unfolds, taking the reader from Cuba to Miami to Hyannisport and somehow attaching the theft of said cigars to Kennedy's eventual assassination. While McKinney shows a deft touch in writing about family relationships, the story often seems disorganized, and he too often allows cigars to move from a complementary role in the tale to one of prominence. Overall, this is a rather disappointing effort, especially since the story shows promise in its early stages. Recommended only for large general fiction collections.ACraig L. Shufelt, Lane P.L., Hamilton, OH
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
