The Winter Job 9781917764346 Paperback

A desperate fathers Christmas promise sparks a wild Finnish road trip involving an antique sofa, unexpected passengers and danger A darkly humorous and warmly touching suspense novel about friendship, love and death,The Winter Jobflies at 120 kilometres an hour straight into the darkest heart of a Finnish winter night.***WINNER OF THE CWA CRIME IN TRANSLATION DAGGER***`Another wonderfully lean slice of European noir by one of its finest exponents. As darkly fun as any Coen brothers offeringVaseem Khan`The king of the humorous crime caperAbir Mukherjee`With echoes of writers such as Christopher Brookmyre and Carl Hiassen, this is delicious stuff, expertly juggling dark humour and quirky characterisation against the backdrop of a frigid northern landscapeFinancial Times`A quirky, murderous road trip Imagine blending a Donald Westlake comic mishap caper with some famous Nordic levity, and you might have something like The Winter JobIrish TimesThe NEW standalone darkly funny, poignant and uber-tense thriller from `The funniest writer in Europe(The Times)Fargo meets Carl Hiassen and Fredrik Backman via the Coen Brothers____Sofas, secrets and a snowbound road to troubleHelsinki, 1982. Recently divorced postal worker Ilmari Nieminen has promised his daughter a piano for Christmas, but with six days to go and no money hes desperate.A last-minute job offers a solution: transport a valuable antique sofa to Kilpisjrvi, the northernmost town in Finland.With the sofa secured in the back of his van, Ilmari stops at a gas station, and an old friend turns up, offering to fix his faulty wipers, on the condition that he tags along. Soon after, a persistent Saab 96 appears in the rearview mirror. And then a bright-yellow Lada.Thats when Ilmari realises that he is transporting something truly special.And thats when Ilmari realises he might be in serious troubleA darkly funny and unexpectedly moving thriller about friendship, love and death The Winter Job tears through the frozen landscape of northern Finland in a beat-up van with bad steering, worse timing, and everything to lose____`A madcap chase through a bleak winter landscape damn hilarious and Tuomainens dark humour is displayed at its best in what must surely be the best road movie of the yearCrimeTime`This suspenseful tale of a desperate fathers journey across the frozen landscape is filled with Tuomainens trademark dark wit and unexpected thrills. Another winnerCulturefly`It may seem hard to find good comic crime-writers, but clearly we havent been looking in FinlandTelegraph`Are you ready for the latest dose of dark humour, clever plotting, great characterisation and touching insights into the human soul? A joy to readNordic Lighthouse`Humour drier than a desert snakes bellyIan Moore`You dont expect to laugh when youre reading about terrible crimes, but thats what youll do when you pick up one of Tuomainens decidedly quirky thrillersNew York Times`Laconic, thrilling and warmly humanChristopher Brookmyre`Right up there with the bestTimes Literary Supplement`Finlands greatest exportM.J. Arlidge`A refreshing change from the decidedly gloomier crime fiction for which Scandinavia is knownPublishers Weekly`Charming, funny and cleverLiterary Review`Thrilling and hilariousLiz Nugent`A delight from start to finishBig Issue`Tuomainen has a talent for creating offbeat characters that you cant help rooting forGuardian