«Palm Beach, Finland» by Antti Tuomainen

Fargo meets Baywatch in a mesmerisingly dark, poignant 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 TimesSex, lies and ill-fitting swimwear … Sun Protection Factor 100Jan 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.‘A roller-coaster read and extraordinarily poignant’ Guardian‘Inspired meld of crime and dark comedy … Colorful 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’ The Times Crime Club‘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‘Right up there with the best’ TLS‘Tuomainen’s dark story manages to be as delicious as it is toxic’ Sunday Express’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’ Culture Fly‘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’ Liz Robinson, 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 can’ Crime Fiction Lover