For Charlie Hillier, a posting to Cuba could be the perfect place to start his new life — if he survives it.

With his career stalled and the office abuzz about his soon-to-be-ex-wife’s indiscretions, Ottawa bureaucrat Charlie Hillier is desperate for a change. So when the chance at a posting to the Canadian embassy in Havana comes up, he jumps at it, grateful to get as far away as he can from his ex and his dead-end job at Foreign Affairs headquarters.

At first, exotic Havana seems just the place to bury his past and start anew, but he didn’t count on finding a couple of kilos of cocaine under his bedroom floor, the kidnapping of a fellow diplomat, or the unsettling connection he uncovers between the former occupant of his house and a Colombian drug-runner. Before long, Charlie’s only concern is whether he’ll survive his posting at all.

A bit of romance, a bit of gentle humor, several bits of official corruption and drug-related violence, and a chance for the mild-mannered hero to rise to an impossible challenge. * Kirkus Reviews *
Readers who stay the course, whether drawn by curiosity or Wilkshire’s masterful prose and sly humor, will get their reward. * Booklist *
A highly entertaining, fast-paced mystery. * Publishers Weekly *
There is a kind of wry humour to Escape to Havana, as the bumbling protagonist succeeds and in the process becomes the hero of his own story. * reviewingtheevidence.com *
The humour and watching a Canadian in Cuba is the real gem of the book. * The Book Trail *
Wilkshire may be among Canada’s most humorous writers. * The Sun Times *
Escape to Havana is a likeable page-turning cocktail of drugs, geopolitics, greed, (some) sex and murder in a diplomatic pouch full of all the ingredients of what is to become a popular series. * Bynoe on Arts *
If you thought diplomacy was all play and no work, this book will confirm those opinions. It’s not the image Foreign Affairs aspires to perpetuate, but it’s plenty of lightweight fun. * Ottawa Magazine *
Escape to Havana is immensely readable and great fun. * Deadly Diversions *
A fast-paced, entertaining, and cautionary tale about the glamorous life of the diplomatic set, peopled with believable toughs and an engaging protagonist * Ottawa Review of Books *

Nick Wilkshire is a lawyer originally from St. John’s, Newfoundland. He is a graduate of Memorial University and Osgoode Hall Law School. Escape to Havana is the first book in his new series featuring fledgling diplomat Charlie Hillier. Nick lives in Ottawa.