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The Rabbit Factor
The tense, hilarious bestseller from the 'Funniest writer in Europe' … FIRST in a series and soon to be a major motion picture (Rabbit Factor Trilogy)
By Antti Tuomainen, David Hackston (Translated by)

Rating
1 Rating |
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Format
Paperback, 300 pages
Published
United Kingdom, 1 November 2022

An insurance mathematician’s carefully ordered life is turned on its head when he unexpectedly loses his job and inherits an adventure park … with a whole host of problems. A quirky, tense and warmly funny thriller from award-winning Finnish author Antti Tuomainen, FIRST in a series…

**Soon to be a major motion picture starring Steve Carell for Amazon Studios**


'Laconic, thrilling and warmly human. In these uncertain times, what better hero than an actuary?' Chris Brookmyre

‘The antic novels of Antti Tuomainen prove that comedy is not lost in translation … Tuomainen, like Carl Hiaasen before him, has the knack of combining slapstick with genuine emotion’ The Times


‘A thriller with black comedy worth of Nabokov’ Telegraph

_______________

Just one spreadsheet away from chaos…


What makes life perfect? Insurance mathematician Henri Koskinen knows the answer because he calculates everything down to the very last decimal.

And then, for the first time, Henri is faced with the incalculable. After suddenly losing his job, Henri inherits an adventure park from his brother – its peculiar employees and troubling financial problems included. The worst of the financial issues appear to originate from big loans taken from criminal quarters … and some dangerous men are very keen to get their money back.

But what Henri really can’t compute is love. In the adventure park, Henri crosses paths with Laura, an artist with a chequered past, and a joie de vivre and erratic lifestyle that bewilders him. As the criminals go to extreme lengths to collect their debts and as Henri's relationship with Laura deepens, he finds himself faced with situations and emotions that simply cannot be pinned down on his spreadsheets…

Warmly funny, rich with quirky characters and absurd situations, The Rabbit Factor is a triumph of a dark thriller, its tension matched only by its ability to make us rejoice in the beauty and random nature of life.

_______________

‘Inventive and compelling’ Vaseem Khan
 
‘Readers might think they know what to expect from Nordic noir: a tortured detective, a bleak setting, a brutal crime that shakes a small community. Finnish crime novelist Tuomainen turns all of this on its head … The ear of a giant plastic rabbit becomes a key weapon. It only gets darker and funnier’ Guardian

'The funniest writer in Europe, and one of the very finest … original and brilliant story-telling' Helen FitzGerald


‘Full of refreshing wit and wisdom … a treat’Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW
 
‘A dark and delightful novel with an intelligent, brave, and persnickety hero’ Foreword Reviews
 
'Antti Tuomainen turns the clichéd idea of dour, humourless Scandi noir upside … Dark, gripping and hilarious. Tuomainen is the Carl Hiaasen of the fjords' Martyn Waites

‘A triumph … a joyous, feel-good antidote to troubled times' Kevin Wignall

‘Finland's greatest export’ M.J. Arlidge

‘An astounding read. It has the suspenseful twists of a thriller, the laugh-out-loud moments of a comedy and a tragic dimension that brings a tear to the eye’ Crime Fiction Lover

'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

‘Tuomainen is the funniest writer in Europe’ The Times

‘Right up there with the best’ Times Literary Supplement

‘Tuomainen continues to carve out his own niche in the chilly tundras of northern’ Daily Express
 
For fans of Fargo, Fredrik Backman, Richard Osman

Show more

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Product Description

An insurance mathematician’s carefully ordered life is turned on its head when he unexpectedly loses his job and inherits an adventure park … with a whole host of problems. A quirky, tense and warmly funny thriller from award-winning Finnish author Antti Tuomainen, FIRST in a series…

**Soon to be a major motion picture starring Steve Carell for Amazon Studios**


'Laconic, thrilling and warmly human. In these uncertain times, what better hero than an actuary?' Chris Brookmyre

‘The antic novels of Antti Tuomainen prove that comedy is not lost in translation … Tuomainen, like Carl Hiaasen before him, has the knack of combining slapstick with genuine emotion’ The Times


‘A thriller with black comedy worth of Nabokov’ Telegraph

_______________

Just one spreadsheet away from chaos…


What makes life perfect? Insurance mathematician Henri Koskinen knows the answer because he calculates everything down to the very last decimal.

And then, for the first time, Henri is faced with the incalculable. After suddenly losing his job, Henri inherits an adventure park from his brother – its peculiar employees and troubling financial problems included. The worst of the financial issues appear to originate from big loans taken from criminal quarters … and some dangerous men are very keen to get their money back.

But what Henri really can’t compute is love. In the adventure park, Henri crosses paths with Laura, an artist with a chequered past, and a joie de vivre and erratic lifestyle that bewilders him. As the criminals go to extreme lengths to collect their debts and as Henri's relationship with Laura deepens, he finds himself faced with situations and emotions that simply cannot be pinned down on his spreadsheets…

Warmly funny, rich with quirky characters and absurd situations, The Rabbit Factor is a triumph of a dark thriller, its tension matched only by its ability to make us rejoice in the beauty and random nature of life.

_______________

‘Inventive and compelling’ Vaseem Khan
 
‘Readers might think they know what to expect from Nordic noir: a tortured detective, a bleak setting, a brutal crime that shakes a small community. Finnish crime novelist Tuomainen turns all of this on its head … The ear of a giant plastic rabbit becomes a key weapon. It only gets darker and funnier’ Guardian

'The funniest writer in Europe, and one of the very finest … original and brilliant story-telling' Helen FitzGerald


‘Full of refreshing wit and wisdom … a treat’Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW
 
‘A dark and delightful novel with an intelligent, brave, and persnickety hero’ Foreword Reviews
 
'Antti Tuomainen turns the clichéd idea of dour, humourless Scandi noir upside … Dark, gripping and hilarious. Tuomainen is the Carl Hiaasen of the fjords' Martyn Waites

‘A triumph … a joyous, feel-good antidote to troubled times' Kevin Wignall

‘Finland's greatest export’ M.J. Arlidge

‘An astounding read. It has the suspenseful twists of a thriller, the laugh-out-loud moments of a comedy and a tragic dimension that brings a tear to the eye’ Crime Fiction Lover

'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

‘Tuomainen is the funniest writer in Europe’ The Times

‘Right up there with the best’ Times Literary Supplement

‘Tuomainen continues to carve out his own niche in the chilly tundras of northern’ Daily Express
 
For fans of Fargo, Fredrik Backman, Richard Osman

Show more
Product Details
EAN
9781913193850
ISBN
1913193853
Publisher
Dimensions
19.6 x 13 x 2.5 centimeters (0.17 kg)

About the Author

Antti Tuomainen was an award-winning copywriter when he made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. In 2011, Tuomainen’s third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for Best Finnish Crime Novel and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. In 2013, the Finnish press crowned Tuomainen the ‘King of Helsinki Noir’ when Dark as My Heart was published. With a piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen was one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime-genre formula, and his poignant, dark and hilarious The Man Who Died became an international bestseller and has been released as a TV series, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards. Palm Beach Finland (2018) was an immense success, with The Times calling Tuomainen ‘the funniest writer in Europe’, and Little Siberia (2019) was shortlisted for the Capital Crime/Amazon Publishing Readers Awards, the Last Laugh Award and the CWA International Dagger, and won the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel. The Rabbit Factor, the prequel to The Moose Paradox and The Beaver Theory, will soon be a major motion picture starring Steve Carell for Amazon Studios. David Hackston is a British Translator of Finnish and Swedish literature and drama. Notable publications include The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy, Maria Peura’s coming-of-age novel At the Edge of Light, Johanna Sinisalo’s eco-thriller Birdbrain, two crime novels by Matti Joensuu and Kati Hiekkapelto’s Anna Fekete series (which currently includes The Hummingbird, The Defenceless and The Exiled, all published by Orenda Books). He also translates Antti Tuomainen’s stories. In 2007 he was awarded the Finnish State Prize for Translation. David is also a professional countertenor and a founding member of the English Vocal Consort of Helsinki. Follow David on Twitter @Countertenorist

Reviews

'Laconic, thrilling and warmly human. In these uncertain times, what better hero than an actuary?' --Chris Brookmyre

'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

'The Rabbit Factor is an astounding read. It has the suspenseful twists of a thriller, the laugh-out-loud moments of a comedy and a tragic dimension that brings a tear to the eye' --Crime Fiction Lover
"Highly recommended ... This is a funny, tense thriller - a delightful mix of noir and humour." -- Murder in Common Blog "Tuominen takes real menace, adds a touch of the ridiculous, a lot of the satiric, and a cup of madcap comedy, and cooks it up into a delicious comic noir. I can't wait for the rest of this series." -- Tonstant Weader Blog "The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen featured a geekily literal actuary, who definitely wins my award for 'favorite character of 2022.' A tightly plotted novel featuring gangsters and statistical probability. A combination that was in no way on my 2022 bucket list, and yet was an unmissable experience." -- GeekDad

"It contains all the main elements of a dark crime/comedy mixed with a peculiar love story that is destined to move and engage the audience. Fans of the Finnish author's previous work should definitely read this one and the same goes to all those who love quirky crime novels with unique characterization. I will be eagerly waiting for the second installment in the series." --Tap the Line "Full of refreshing wit and wisdom, this comic departure from the usual Scandi noir is a treat." -- Publishers Weekly starred review

'The funniest writer in Europe, and one of the very finest. There is a beautiful rhythm and poetry to the prose ... original and brilliant story-telling' --Helen FitzGerald

'The Rabbit Factor is a triumph, a joyous, feel-good antidote to troubled times' --Kevin Wignall

'Antti Tuomainen turns the clichéd idea of dour, humourless Scandi noir upside down with The Rabbit Factor. Dark, gripping and hilarious ... Tuomainen is the Carl Hiaasen of the fjords' --Martyn Waites

'British readers might think they know what to expect from Nordic noir: a tortured detective, a bleak setting, a brutal crime that shakes a small community. Finnish crime novelist Tuomainen turns all of this on its head ... The ear of a giant plastic rabbit becomes a key weapon. It only gets darker and funnier' --Guardian


'The antic novels of Antti Tuomainen prove that comedy is not lost in translation ... Tuomainen, like Carl Hiaasen before him, has the knack of combining slapstick with genuine emotion' --The Times

'Finland's greatest export' --M.J. Arlidge

Show more
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By Marianne on September 24, 2022
The Rabbit Factor is the first novel in the Rabbit Factor series by award-winning Finnish author, Antti Tuomainen. It is translated from Finnish by David Hackston. Within a few days in late September 2020, Henri Koskinen has lost his actuarial job, his brother, Juhani, and inherited an Adventure Park on the outskirts of Helsinki. Worse still, when he takes a quick look, he discovers that YouMeFun, despite being a relatively successful business, has a mountain of unpaid bills and a massive loan to repay. Henri was never really close to Juhani, who had more in common with their chaotic parents. “Juhani was fun and flexible. Humorous and quick-witted. Spontaneous and amiable” while Henri “had only one deep-held wish. I wanted everything to be sensible” “He used to joke, saying I would die of stiffness. I told him I was very much alive and not at all stiff, I just wanted things to occur in a good, logical order and that I based all my actions on rational thinking” but now Henri wishes he knew more about his brother, and what Juhani could possibly have done with so much money. Even before he has met all the staff and had a decent look at the books, a reptilian organised-crime type and his heavy turn up to demand payment of his brother’s two-hundred-thousand-euro debt, with interest. Not that Henri has the money to pay but, as an actuary, what he really objects to the exorbitant interest rate: ten per cent over just two and a half weeks? Henri narrowly escapes losing a finger, but he knows that won’t be their last visit. Sure enough, a few days later, as he’s trying, after hours, to repair the broken ear on a giant rabbit statue, a nasty fellow with a knife (or two) turns up to deliver him an unambiguous message. Another narrow escape that sees Henri taking action he could never have envisaged when he was working for the insurance company, and he really has to figure out something to get them off his back. What is really puzzling is how Knife Man knew Henri was there alone, and how he got into the park. Juhani gave the staff free rein with running the place: could one of them be in cahoots with the crooks? They are an unusual bunch, and Henri knows his directness can be off-putting: “‘I can be frank with you, yes?’ ‘I believe it’s for the best,’ I say. ‘Some people say it can be rude, but I think the benefits far outweigh the possible drawbacks. I’m not sure of the exact ratio, but in my experience I can say that the probability of causing offence can’t be higher than ten percent. That gives being frank around a ninety-percent chance of success. Those are exceptionally good odds.’” Needing to pay the loan, the bills and trying to keep the adventure park running, Henri comes up with a bold plan and presents his criminal creditors with an audacious proposal, the sort only an actuary could convince the big man will be viable. His radical idea includes starting a bank and offering park patrons pay-day loans, but can it really work? As if he doesn’t have enough on his plate, the reptilian guy tries to blackmail him, someone might be sabotaging park structures, and he finds himself falling for the park’s manager. Laura Helanto is an artist whose murals are transforming the park and have Henri inexplicably fascinated. The mathematician in him tries to analyse why, without success. Oh, and a Helsinki Police DI is looking for Knife Man… As well as the artist, his team consists of Kristian (a maintenance man who was promised the position of General Manager), Minttu K (an alcoholic marketing and sales manager), Esa (a head of security who wants to be a US marine), Samppa (an earringed, tattooed children’s entertainer), Johanna (a fitness-freak café manager) and Venla (a ticket-seller who has yet to turn up for work). There’s plenty of humour in this novel, some of it quite black, and a delicious irony when Henri uses the exact same touchy-feely language that drove him from his last job to handle Kristian’s promotion demands. Henri will remind some readers of Don Tillman: with his reliance on maths and logic, his imaginative problem solving and good intentions. More of this protagonist, in The Moose Paradox, will be most welcome. Recommended! This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Orenda Books
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