"Castro's Daughter", by David Hagberg

Castro's Daughter - David Hagberg

Book 16, in the Kirk McGarvey series

I picked this book up with blinders on from my local library, not knowing anything about this author and even less about the series. I was curious about the title and the synopsis sounded interesting, so I gave it a go. Rarely do I let myself be lured in such a way, I usually read a bit about authors new to me….not this time…I should have dug a bit deeper. 

To my disappointment, this book was pure fiction. The story is of Maria Léon, a Cuban Intelligence colonel and Castro’s illegitimate daughter and her quest to fulfill her dying father’s wish and seek the help of Kirk Mc Garvey in her search for Cibola, the fabled Seven Cities of Gold. 

The lead character is Kirk McGarvey, the legendary former director of CIA now resting on some Greek island after the death of his family (apparently in one previous installment). To pull Kirk in, Maria needed to get through to Otto, a CIA computer geek and Kirk’s friend, and to get to Otto, she needed a ruse and Louise, Otto’s wife was the star candidate….and the ball started rolling…and rolling….and rolling and the story got heavier as it moved along in a series of contrived events.

The first part was terrific with lots of conniving action but soon the plot grounded to a crawl almost stopped and completely fell apart towards the end. Apparently to make matters worse we can expect the subject to be rehashed in the future. The main character is boring or maybe tired after a long series or simply was caught in a very bad executed plot. The personalities of the secondary characters, almost too many to keep them all straight, were weak in their manipulation and deception. On a positive note, although I found this story unreal and over the top I was curious enough to never have let my mind meandered too far….:) and I stayed with it to the very last words. I may not think this story to be the best but apparently this author is very well liked for his wonderful style and captivating storylines…..Too bad I choose the know him with a so late installment I may have otherwise loved this one. My lost……