The Drop by Iohamil Navarro Cuesta

This review first appeared on Reader Views. Read the Reader Views version here. 

Tino Font is on vacation in Spain with his wife and his children. While Tino’s wife knows that he works to protect their home country—Cuba—she is unaware of the full extent of his undercover work. This has understandably put a strain on their marriage—especially when his secretive work makes itself known on their vacation. Scurrying his family away to safer harbors, Tino returns to Cuba to handle the mess that he has helped create due to his possession of compromising material on the president of the United States. Thus, kicks off a thrilling adventure of motives, politics, and spy work.

The Drop is a 138-page novella, that packs quite a punch. Author Iohamil Navarro Cuesta has expertly crafted a fast-paced espionage tale that deftly weaves in subtle and more overtly political and social commentary. Tino’s tug of war within himself between his duty to his family and duty to his country (and, to a lesser extent, a duty to his role as an agent) plays out realistically and compellingly. Meanwhile, the recent and less recent political climate in Cuba, the United States, and Russia unfolds in this fictional and tense series of events relating to an illicit tape of the president of the United States.

The various settings in The Drop are all quite clearly depicted by the author. Readers will find themselves immersed in a vacation-y Spain and then in the intrigue-rich world of being an undercover agent in Cuba. Much like the settings, the characters are also clearly depicted. While Tino is the main character and driver of the story, his family, colleagues, and counterparts feel very real and read as such.

This action-packed book is best for those who love political spy thrillers or those who are looking to dip their toe into that genre. I believe The Drop serves its genre well but is also quite welcoming for a newbie to the genre. This is because The Drop is immensely readable in the best way: quick, engaging, and clearly written.

The Drop by Cuban author Iohamil Navarro Cuesta is a slim adventure packed with espionage, thrills, vital historical and political context, and commentary, as well as visceral characters and settings. Readers new and old to the political spy thriller genre will race to finish this fantastic book.

The Drop by Iohamil Navarro Cuesta, UriArte Publishing & Consulting