Newman’s Rubicon – a globe trotting thriller

I (Alex) met Finn in the backyard bar of a good friend of mine.

We talked, we drank.

Finn recently finished his first book and was planning on writing a second one.

I told him about my blogging experiences.

Finn talked about flying helicopters in combat.

We seemed so alike…

He gave me a copy of his novel and I promised to read and review it for Sam and the dunes.

Well, here it is.

Meet Hank Newman, a wild and crazy guy with a knack for long-distance running and long-hour binge drinking. Like his creator, Hank (obviously an autobiographical character) is a former marine aviator who has seen some serious shit in his life.

After leaving the Corps, he travels between Thailand and the US and quickly he runs out of money. One day some weird character approaches him in the US and offers a serious amount of cash to deliver a memory stick to Bangkok.

Hank takes on the job and that is when the fun starts. Being a resourceful chap, Hank figures out pretty soon that this might end up being his last employment, if you know what I mean. So, to stay alive, he has to come up with some ingenious plans outsmarting the other guys at almost every corner.

Trust me, it’s an entertaining read and more adventures with Hank are soon coming to a bookstore near you (OK, to www.amazon.com).

Oh, I forgot to mention, the novel is called Newman’s Rubicon and it is written by Finn Farnsworth (pseudonym). But I must admit – the story seems terrifyingly real.

You can buy the book and check out more about Finn Farnsworth and Newman’s Rubicon here.

Tourist Season – a sunbed thriller

What does a man-eating crocodile nicknamed Pavlov, a terrorist cell, an anti-Castro group called First Weekend in July Movement and a beauty queen have in common? Weeell, we will not tell you, only suggest that if you want to have a really fun time while lounging next to the pool pick up Carl Hiaasen’s first novel Tourist Season (published in 1986).

Hiaasen, a journalist for the Miami Herald, has written over a dozen books, most of them satirical crime capers centered in south Florida. In Tourist Season, as in his future novels, funny and violent mix seamlessly and the author’s concerns for the environment are always in the forefront. Greedy condominium developers, crooked politicians, unsavory tourists are in the crosshairs of his wicked pen, lampooned and despised.

Tourist Season is about two journalists, one turned private eye and the other – an eco-terrorist, who battle it out with comic gusto leaving dead bodies along the way. Hiaasen’s lively novel has many bizarre twists and unforgettable characters, some of whom will migrate to his other novels.

Basically, Tourist Season is a highly entertaining and wacky book and we can promise one thing: Hiaasen’s weird heroes will boggle your mind and will get stuck in your head for a long, long time.

Rating: 4/5

Welcome to Kepler’s Nightmare!

If you are traveling and happen to be stuck in an airport with never-ending flight delays announced, or if you finally make it on board and “look forward” to several hours being cramped in a tiny seat, we have found a solution on how to make those hours run faster, and faster, and faster.

Stieg Larsson, Camilla Lackberg, Jens Lapidus, you probably heard of them already. But did you know that there is a new kid in town, and this kid rocks!

The Nightmare is the second book by a Swedish literary couple, Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril, who write under the pseudonym Lars Kepler. It is an absolutely unputdownable thriller in the best traditions of Robert Ludlum and John Sandford.

Follow Joona Linna, a likable detective with a sense for clues that are out of the ordinary and an ability to connect dots that at first don’t seem to connect, in his adventures in hunting down a ruthless killer. Together with his sidekick, the young secret service agent Saga Bauer (who shoots like a world-class sniper), they also try to bring to justice powerful men involved in illegal arms deals.

This is not a book for the faint-hearted. It involves murder, international intrigue, kidnapping, torture, weapons smuggling – a true Nightmare that creeps under your skin.

Also, don’t miss Kepler’s first thriller – The Hypnotist.

Rating: 5/5