‘Bad Day In Minsk’ by Jonathan Pinnock is the fourth book in the Mathematical Mystery Book series. Hands up here, I haven’t read the other three but got so carried away with the cover and synopsis of this I grabbed the opportunity to take part in the book tour rather quickly! I was automatically interested and thought this book sounded so intriguing and different.
Tom Winscombe is having a bad day. He is trapped at the top of the tallest building in Minsk while all hell is breaking loose between several Mafia factions on the ground. He contemplates how he managed to get to this point, beginning with a botched raid on a secretive think tank and ending up in the centre of the Chernobyl exclusion zone. The worst part is that the only person who can help isn’t even speaking to him!
A story that definitely grips you and takes you along on Tom’s rollercoaster ride around Minsk and Chernobyl. It is complete with a cast of characters that aren’t the most law-abiding you could find and eccentric to boot. Tom himself just sort of falls into situations like a clumsy fool who trips from one thing to another as ineptly as you could imagine. I found this a really funny plot and thought the author had done such a good job to create a story with such serious undertones and bring the level of humour he has done. The multi-layered plot even brings us mathematical elements as well, so another level to the story.
The characters are all colourful in their own way and just add to the humour of this unusual and brilliantly written book. The pages do just fly by as I couldn’t easily leave the book for a long time. Maybe it was the fact that I found it so funny and I was in my element chuckling away at this engaging but totally madcap, weird and wonderful world that Tom finds himself in and can’t seem to extricate himself from anytime soon. I am planning to read the previous books as I feel I am missing out on three wonderful stories that should be read.
Thank you to Random Things Tours and Johnathan Pinnock for my place on the tour today and the copy of the book.
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