Havana (novel)

''Havana'' is a novel by the author

Stephen Hunter Stephen Hunter (born March 25, 1946, Kansas City, Missouri) is an American novelist, essayist, and film critic. Life and career Hunter was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. His father was Charles Francis Hunter, ...

. The third novel in the Earl Swagger series, it was released by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

in 2003. The story is set in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

during the emergence of

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

. Earl Swagger is recruited as a personal

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, w ...

for an Arkansas politician who is visiting

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Cuba. Swagger is met by Frenchy Short who is now a CIA intelligence officer in Cuba and is coerced into a black bag operation to assassinate Castro. Along comes an unnamed former inmate from the Gulag to help the young Castro with wisdom and encouragement for the Communist interests. After the historical attack on the military barracks in the failed attempt by Castro to take over the country, Swagger is put on the trail. He tracks and finds his target only to abandon the mission due to the shady nature of his former subordinate. Left to fend for himself in a country that no longer tolerates Americans, Swagger must evade and survive to return home to his wife June and son Bob Lee. Swagger is given a safe haven by a Havana prostitute whose life he saved. The Gulag inmate appears again to offer him transportation back to Florida, but when Swagger realizes that the prostitute's life is in danger he must return to Havana for a final showdown. While Swagger has been away, Bob Lee has been at home spending days at a time refining his marksmanship ability, thinking his father's absence is due to him unable to shoot a deer at the opening of the story. Bob Lee meets his father walking along the road on his way back home from his daily target practice, and is eager to tell him all about his newfound ability to shoot. 2003 American novels American thriller novels Novels by Stephen Hunter Novels set in the Cuban Revolution Simon & Schuster books {{2000s-thriller-novel-stub