Broken Odyssey by Noel Carroll

From the Publisher

Cuba, after so many years of Castro's iron hand, remains a land of mystery. This latest work by Noel Carroll takes you into that enigma in a tantalizing way. The story will linger in your mind long after you put the book down.

About the Author
NOEL CARROLL is a husband and wife writing team. Noel's background includes two stints as a CEO. Carol was a nurse before joining her husband, first in business then in co-authoring stories. Their published works include novels, short stories and satiric essays.

BOOK PLEASURES REVIEWS; 5 STARS - Molly Martin

Broken Odyssey is a masterfully crafted work. The narrative is told in the first person through Carl's diary. The relationship between the two men, Pat and his son Carl is plausible. Discord resulting from the addition of Nicola is ample The conflict is resolved in satisfactory, if not completely agreeable manner. The writers Noel Carroll mix a well known political figure, political games, gritty dialogue and enough descriptive prose to bring the story alive. Carl's diary, written as he is adrift at sea, tells of the meeting with Nicola and his unplanned trip to Cuba, his mother's homeland. The book is filled with exciting characters. CIA agent Alex' comments sprinkled throughout the book prove a glimpse into the games played between America and Cuba.From the opening lines Broken Odyssey is a fast paced page turner carrying the reader on a blasting adventure filled with mystery, intrigue and machination. Bloody fingerprints catches reader interest. A keenly focused tale captured with wit and style carries the reader forward in this masterfully engineered tale. Voices of the principal characters are natural, believable, and well thought out.

First class dialogue, spine tingling action and pleasantly puzzling incertitude Broken Odyssey has it all. Excellent book for a long evening spent in front of the fire while a storm rages outside Enjoyed the read. Recommended.

Sime Gen - Linda Nelson

excellently crafted... kept you on the edge of your seat... wear loose-fitting clothes when you come to this feast. You will leave the table satisfied.

Adventure for Ebooks - Michael L. Thal

I doubt I'll ever take a trip to Cuba, but the author team of Noel Carroll made me feel I was there in their thrilling new novel, Broken Odyssey.

Carl McCormic, recent college grad, and his father, Pat, a retired Philadelphia police captain, decide to take a year off and go sailing. Both men needed time to mend. Carl's mother, a Cuban immigrant, had recently passed away.

Broken Odyssey is told in a first person narrative through Carl's diary, written as he drifted alone at sea. He writes about the events that led to meeting Nicola, how he and Pat rescued her from Cuban thugs, and his unplanned trip into his mother's homeland. He would help Nicola rescue her mother from her politically connected father.

Carl is the reason I enjoyed this book. His voice makes me see and feel an island nation Americans are banned to visit. I got a flavor of Cuban life, its vibrant people, and the poverty so many of them endure as a backdrop to this political thriller.

The novel is filled with interesting characters. Alex, the CIA agent is in charge of the McCormic case. His comments throughout the book give us some insight into the cat and mouse game Americans play with our Cuban neighbors. His Cuban counterpart, Tomas, shows us a man respectful of power while avoiding the trappings of abuse. Then there's the enchantress. The author writes, "Nicola has had a difficult life, not in a material sense, but emotionally." She's beautiful on the surface, but beneath the beauty bubbled a troubled soul.

Broken Odyssey is a page-turner. The author team goes to great lengths to delve into the minds of their characters and describe a Cuba most of us will never see. Like their previous book, Never by Blood, the reader is blessed with a thriller that can't be resisted. I highly recommend Broken Odyssey.

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Alex brushed his fingers over the diary's surface as if in appreciation of the delicacy with which its contents, gruesome to say the least, must be handled. In time he moved to massage his unshaven face, a face that mirrored a private anguish that the diary's young author, Carl McCormic, would never know.

If the contents of the diary were to become known, even to others within the Company, the shit would hit more fans then he could count. Alex was sure his younger partner knew this as well. Like himself, Noel would want the thing squelched, and if that meant squelching the author at the same time, then that's the way it would have to be.

Who would know? Only three people in the world were aware of the diary's existence: himself, Noel, and the Cuban who found it, a Company man who was smart enough to pocket the damn thing before anyone saw it. That diary was trouble, big trouble, and if, God forbid, the public got wind of it, tons of fingers would point to the Company and scream bloody murder-dammit, it always worked out that way! And the irony is, the United States wasn't even involved.

Damn!

Thinking of the father-who still had to be dealt with-Alex gave a quick shrug of dismissal. Like his errant son, Pat McCormic had brought it on himself. An ex-cop, he should have known better. He's lucky others were willing to hush it up. With a scowl that made no attempt to hide his contempt, Alex stared at the closed door beyond which sat a tired and defeated old man. Captain Pat, they called him in Philadelphia, the Pat a clumsy play on pat-ience, something the guy was supposed to know nothing about. McCormic would have to be told something, but what? How could blame be hurled at him unless he was also told what his son had done?

There was no confirmation from Cuba as yet, nothing to indicate how its aging government was reacting to all this, whether they were still in shock or planning revenge-it was this last possibility that bothered Alex most of all: The possibility of a reaction from Cuba was good argument for passing the diary along. The Company did not like to be blindsided.

Alex turned to the beginning and began to read, as if in doing so again he could change what was there. As before, he chuckled at the writing, tiny with each page being used twice. Short on paper, McCormic had turned the diary ninety degrees and had patiently written over what he recorded earlier. Smart! He used a pen in one direction and a pencil in the other, thus making each stand out, easier to read. Only thing he didn't figure on was the seawater.

And, of course, the blood, some of which had to be hers.

Still not ready to bring in the older McCormic, Alex continued to scan the pages, seeing but not seeing, or at least not wanting to see. His brow paled with the pressure he exerted upon it as his eyes touched on the first mention of Nicola. Beautiful Nicola. Beautiful, troubled and deadly as hell.