Ever have one of those days when everything seemed to be going your way? Nick Fashion has a beautiful fiancée, a thriving business, a fancy car ... if it had been me, I'd be terrified.
But in Doohickey, Nick stumbles unaware into Very Bad Day territory. His business burns down, his eccentric inventor grandfather dies under mysterious circumstances, and his potential father-in-law ends up being a suspicious ex-cop. In short order he's a broke, single, arson suspect with bullet holes in his car.
Pete Hautman really does, as the Bible might put it, a Job job on poor Nick. But Nick has a glimmer of hope: He inherits his grandfather's isolated desert compound, along with a brilliant invention: a kitchen doohickey that's bound to make him rich ... if he can figure out how to pay for the production, avoid being killed by an angry psycho, and not get arrested.
https://www.amazon.com/Doohickey-Novel-Pete-Hautman-ebook/dp/B003L77W32
Poor Nick: Every time something does go his way, it backfires. An offer of financial support from a beautiful cooking show host, for instance, angers two people Nick doesn't want to make mad: his fiancée and the aforementioned angry psycho, the host's ex-husband. It's exactly the kind of twisted complications and eccentric characters Hautman excels in. Doohickey is one of those novels in which you root for Nick to succeed, but can't help being entertained by his failures.
Sadly, it took me twelve years for me to find this book, but now that Pete Hautman is on my radar, you can be sure I'll track down some of his many other works. It's a fun read ... even if not so fun for the characters.
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
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R Hunter"
Definitely, your type of book. Tweeted.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'll just take that as a compliment!
DeleteGood review, Mark!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
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