Description

***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

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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.

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‘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

‘You don’t expect to laugh when you’re reading about terrible crimes, but that’s what you’ll do when you pick up one of Tuomainen’s decidedly quirky thrillers’ New York 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

‘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

Publisher Review

"U.S. audiences should prepare to be every bit as enthralled as the Finns. . . . Readers attracted either to dystopian fiction or to Scandinavian crime will find gold here." --Booklist starred review of The Healer "This one is a winner right from the first sentence." --Booklist on The Man Who Died "Offbeat, relentlessly funny crime. . . . Full of black ironies, this welter of suspicions, revenge, and hilarious physical and verbal combat makes some pungent reflections on life and death. Tuomainen probes the chilliest depths of noir comedy." --Publishers Weekly starred review of The Man Who Died "Dark and thrilling, funny and intelligent, this Fargo-like novel contains lethal doses of humour--and mushrooms." --Sofi Oksanen, author, Purge, on The Man Who Died "A tightly paced Scandinavian thriller with a wicked sense of humor." --Foreword Reviews on The Man Who Died "Tuomainen delivers another delightful slice of dark humour and crime, full of bizarros, downbeats and deluded characters worthy of Carl Hiaasen. . . . The premise of the story is familiar but the twists and highly original absurdities Tuomainen weaves around it will have you in stitches and his characters jump out of the page with gusto. . . . You'll laugh, you'll cry with laughter, what is there not to like? Welcome to a classic new holiday resort!" --Crime Time "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." --Euro Crime "The tale twists and turns unexpectedly and this is the beauty of Tuomainen's writing. He has a unique way of seeing things and eloquently passes that on to his readers. The book has an exploding sauna in it. How much more Finnish could you get?" --Nordic Noir