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Twelve-Step Fandango
 
 
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Twelve-Step Fandango [Paperback]

Chris Haslam (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Price: $13.95 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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Book Description

March 16, 2004

Martin Brock is living a wasted life. He wants to be happy. He wants to have a girlfriend who can stand to be near him. He wants his friends to respect him. Burned out and self-deluded, he takes each day as it comes, dealing low-quality cocaine to tourists, his head in a perpetual cloud of pot smoke. Martin knows he's in a rut, but he lacks the will to dig himself out. Incapable of changing his life, he hopes instead that one day something momentous will simply fall into his lap.

And, one day, it does. An old friend rides into town, unannounced and uninvited, needing a place to lie low for a couple of days. He says he's been in a motorcycle accident, and hides a badly infected leg beneath his expensive leathers. Martin almost cares, but he's far more interested in what's concealed beneath the seat of the bike: five kilos of high-grade cocaine. Suddenly Martin has the means to escape his miserable existence: all he needs is a little time and a lot of luck. But Martin Brock is not a lucky man. He's spent years dreaming of a life of ease, a life of plenty, and a life of unlimited narcotics. By the end of the week, he'll settle for any life at all.



Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Haslam's perpetually stoned protagonist, Martin Brock, a throwback to the seventies, would give the venerable Hunter Thompson a run for his money in the staggering amount of pharmaceuticals he ingests on a daily basis. Englishman Martin is on a serious downward spiral, living in a ruined castle on the Spanish coast; dealing overpriced, stepped-on drugs to the tourists; being henpecked by a coke-addicted harridan; and consorting with an overly paranoid motley crew of expatriates. Droll and self-deprecating, Martin is all too aware of the rut he is in. Then an old friend appears and promptly dies, leaving Martin five kilos of cocaine so pure he gets brain freeze just looking at it. But the drugs bring in their wake a set of ruthless gangsters. Showing more ambition than he has in years, Martin refuses to tell them where he has stashed the coke, leading them on a merry chase through the foothills, wheezing all the way. A memorable debut novel full of high energy and dark wit. Joanne Wilkinson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

A classy debut caper The DAILY MAIL Haslam writes with brio... you could happily waste a few hours over the end result Time Out --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (March 16, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060585390
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060585396
  • Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,757,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
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4 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An awesome, intelligent thriller, May 17, 2004
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This review is from: Twelve-Step Fandango (Paperback)
This is one of the best books I've ever read, and I'm very jaded as far as good writing goes. Chris Haslam is an amazingly good writer if this is indeed his first novel. His use of the English language is a joy. He may go a little too far in his use of similies, but he is definitely a master of them. As for the plot, the pace, and the characterizations, they're also just about as good as I've ever encountered. I don't know who to compare him to, because he's written an intelligent thriller with a mix of excitement and literary skills I've never seen before. But the book IS about a drug dealer/user (cocaine) in the south of Spain who gets into some serious drug-related trouble, so it won't appeal to everyone.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Read, July 10, 2005
This review is from: Twelve-Step Fandango (Paperback)
While waiting for an airplane I happened open this book. It was a great read! Two thirds of the way through I was still waiting for the hero to appear, but couldn't put it down! This book will draw you in and also make you realize how bad drug addiction can be. This author must have done his or her share of drugs.

Nonetheless, if you want to get lost in a great story that you can't put down, read this book.

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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars clever title: should have used some of that on the plot., November 26, 2006
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This review is from: Twelve-Step Fandango (Paperback)
A druggies trip through Spain with a weak crime plot which is unconvincing even for the stoned. The writer has talent but not much of a plot. if he wants to find out how to write an addict's mystery story with conviction, i suggest Ken Bruen or Ian Rankin.
A cult book, probably because druggies don't write as well as alcoholics.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Luisa was scratching mad, bouncing around the flaking kitchen like a tarnished pinball, lifting lids, sweeping stuff from shelves and scoping every surface for the legendary lost wrap, that mythical forgotten line. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
wing mirror
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Bloody Mary, Dieter's Place, Sad Tony, Antonita La Buena, Guardia Civil, Red House, Rick's Bar, Witch's Path, Chris Haslarn, Art Garfunkel
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