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Fiction. Mystery. Humor (Fiction.) HTML:***Shortlisted for the CrimeFest Last Laugh Award*** ***Book of the Year in The Times*** Things don't go entirely to plan when undercover ace detective Jan Nyman is sent to the 'hottest beach in Finland' to investigate a suspicious death. Fargo meets Baywatch in a mesmerising, poignant dark-comedy thriller by the King of Helsinki Noir 'A roller-coaster read and extraordinarily poignant' Guardian 'Tuomainen is the funniest writer in Europe' Marcel Berlins, The Times 'Right up there with the best' TLS ������������������������������������ Sex, lies and ill-fitting swimwear ... Sun Protection Factor 100 Jan Nyman, the ace detective of the covert operations unit of the National Central Police, is sent to a sleepy seaside town to investigate a mysterious death. Nyman arrives in the town dominated by a bizarre holiday village � the 'hottest beach in Finland'. The suspect: Olivia Koski, who has only recently returned to her old hometown. The mission: find out what happened, by any means necessary. With a nod to Fargo, and dark noir, Palm Beach Finland is both a page-turning thriller and a black comedy about lust for money, fleeing dreams and people struggling at turning points in their lives � chasing their fantasies regardless of reason. ������������������������������������ 'Inspired meld of crime and dark comedy ... Colourful characters and awkward situations, as when Nyman becomes a person of interest to the locals, enhance the zany plot. Tim Dorsey fans will have fun' Publishers Weekly 'A sort of Fargo in Finland, if you can imagine such a thing' Crime Reads 'Finnish criminal chucklemeister Tuomainen is channelling Carl Hiaasen in this hilarious novel set in a bizarre Florida-style beach resort on Finland's chilly shore. There are comically inept dim-crims, inventive psychos, a hot babe and even a blow-up pink flamingo � which is a lot for ace detective Jan Nyman to deal with when he arrives, undercover, to investigate a mysterious death' Sunday Times 'Tuomainen's crime comedy is frequently compared to Fargo-era Coen Brothers, but Florida's Carl Hiaasen is likely a strong influence too ... A full-blooded, off-kilter caper-gone-wrong that also serves as an acerbic commentary on the crime genre' Irish Times 'A tightly paced Scandinavian thriller with a wicked sense of humour' Foreword Reviews 'Like Fargo before it, unfortunate events take place and people get in over their heads ... The off kilter, black comedy tone is perfect for such a far-fetched story, guaranteeing plenty of spontaneous bouts of laughter' CultureFly 'You'll laugh, you'll cry with laughter, what is there not to like? Welcome to a classic new holiday resort!' Crime Time'A quirky, smirky, entertaining slice of fabulous ... A wonderful wave of dark humour rolls through this novel gathering raised eyebrows and snorts'� LoveReading �Antti Tuomainen always steps into the new with each novel and Palm Beach Finland, in this assured translation by David Hackston, takes a Finnish slice from the comic, crazy, greedy, crime world of the likes of Get Shorty or Fargo. Where will Tuomainen�s imagination take us next? I don�t know but before that � read this one. Absolutely recommended� EuroCrime �Tuomainen is one of those authors whose books are an automatic must-read, so pick up or download a copy as soon as you...… (more)
User reviews
I really thought about DNFing it at about 70% because it just had gotten so slow and boring, but I kept going. By doing so I satisfied my curiosity and found that Karma made an appearance, the romance took off and everyone was living happily ever after.
One important thing I did find out is that I don't think I want to visit that part of Finland AND I did do some research on Finland and learned some new things so that's a plus!
*ARC supplied by the publisher.
Along with the clumsy criminals, we have Olivia, the owner of the house and Jan the undercover detective sent to investigate the crime. The story moves along quickly with plenty of comic situations as well as some tense and rather violent moments. Mostly the author keeps his story to the lighter side and relies on amusing dialogue, and slapstick situations to move the story along.
I enjoyed Palm Beach Finland although I did have a little difficulty keeping so many Finnish characters straight. Also a few of the characters were operating under assumed names which added to the confusion. While I usually prefer my crime stories to have a little more depth and darkness, this comic noir made a nice change of pace for me.