Title:	The Rabbit Factor
	Author:	Antti Tuomainen with David Hackston, translater
	Published:	November 17, 2021, Orenda Books
	No. of Pages:	324
	Cover Price:	$24.95 Hardcover, $6.15 Kindle

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Often books by foreign authors that have been translated are difficult to understand. The Rabbit Factor, however is not one of those books. The translation is perfect, and readers will find that the book, by bestselling Finnish author, Antti Tuomainen, is fascinating and easy to read. Henri Koskinen, a stuffed shirt insurance actuary and certified nerd loses his job because he won’t comply with his company’s changes; the next day his brother dies and leaves him an adventure park that is in financial difficulty. After a few days of learning about the adventure park and what his management duties entail, he is visited by two mobsters who insist he pay his brother’s gambling debts. He refuses, and is visited at night by another mobster who tries to kill him, but he is able to kill the mobster with the ear of a large plastic rabbit at the front of the park. He wraps the body in plastic wrap and places it in a freezer in the café.

The novel is sort of a farce of not only nerdy mathematical types, but also mobster types. The humor is very dry, and will keep readers laughing throughout. However, Henri is in danger most of the time, and is saved only by his calculations on the mathematical probability of what comes up. Needless to say, this is a different perspective than most of us have, and is interesting as well as fascinating. On his first day he falls in love with Laura Helanto, the girl running the park, but because he is such a nerd, doesn’t recognize it as love.

Tuomainen does an excellent job of developing the characters, and they seem almost real. Readers will easily be able to picture them in their minds, and as the story goes, laugh at the scenarios that are happening. The plot is light and funny, but the story flows in such a way that readers will be glued to their seats wanting to find what happens next. The fact that the novel takes place in Helsinki, Finland adds some charm and mystery (most of us haven’t spent much time there, after all), and makes this almost farce extra fun.

This is one of those novels that everyone with any sense of humor will love. It is highly recommended, and while it would be categorized as a true thriller, has very little sex and profanity, with no graphic violence – the violence being more like a cartoon. The dénouement is a surprise, and most readers will look forward to the next novel by this author.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.