The most fast-paced escapism novels with a comedic edge

Picked by Nick Davies

What did I love about each book?

List by Nick Davies

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm an actor turned journalist and writer. After a series of roles on low-budget movies and forgettable soap operas, I moved to Latin America to write about travel and life and all the heartbreak and humour it entails. El Flamingo follows the misadventure of a struggling actor who gets mistaken for a rogue assassin in Mexico and is forced to assume the mysterious identity in order to survive. It is a preposterous plot that could never happen in real life, yet the essence of it all was inspired by places I went, people I crossed paths with, and a sense of adventure that, to me, was authentic.

The books I picked & why

The Rum Diary

By Hunter S. Thompson,

Why did I love this book?

It is written in a distinct, comedic, matter-of-fact voice that carries the reader through a fascinating narrative.

Set in Puerto Rico, the protagonist embarks on a Latin journey that is full philosophy and humour while making a statement on the times. It is the perfect book to take travelling, and worth re-reading every few years or so.

The Rum Diary

By Hunter S. Thompson,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Rum Diary as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

_________________ THE BOOK THAT INSPIRED THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING JOHNNY DEPP _________________ 'Remarkable - a genuine, 100% proof discovery of great literary importance' - Mail on Sunday 'Hilarious, utterly real and tragic ... A lithe, well-crafted gem of a novel which leaves the reader disturbed and grinning in a way that makes people sitting nearby change seats' - Scotland on Sunday 'Crackling, twisted, searing, paced to a deft prose rhythm ... a shot of Gonzo with a rum chaser' - San Francisco Chronicle _________________ The sultry classic of a journalist's sordid life in Puerto Rico Paul Kemp has moved…

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Stalking the Angel

By Robert Crais,

Why did I love this book?

Elvis Cole is the first-person narrator of a classic private eye series set in Los Angeles.

It is fun and unpretentious while being full of sociological truisms. The novels are first and foremost crime thrillers, but the comedic voice and observations make for a somewhat genre-bending experience every single read.

Stalking the Angel

By Robert Crais,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Stalking the Angel as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The second blistering Elvis Cole novel from the bestselling author of RACING THE LIGHT

'Brilliant... read this, then read all his others' Mirror

Bradley Warren had lost something very valuable, something that belonged to someone else: a rare thirteenth-century Japanese manuscript called the Hagakure.

Everything PI Elvis Cole knew about Japanese culture he'd learned from reading SHOGUN, but he knew a lot of crooks - and what he didn't know, his sidekick Joe Pike did.

Together, Cole and Pike begin their search in L.A.'s Little Tokyo, the nest of the notorious Japanese mafia, the Yakuza - and find themselves caught…

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Our Man in Havana

By Graham Greene,

Why did I love this book?

This one is a classic in the satirical espionage genre; a fish-out-of-water protagonist, the story being set in Cuba and taking aim at the MI6 Intelligence Service during the Cold War years. While it embraces its initial silliness, it ultimately embeds an important message into the narrative.

Our Man in Havana

By Graham Greene,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Our Man in Havana as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

MI6’s man in Havana is Wormold, a former vacuum-cleaner salesman turned reluctant secret agent out of economic necessity. To keep his job, he files bogus reports based on Charles Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare and dreams up military installations from vacuum-cleaner designs. Then his stories start coming disturbingly true…

First published in 1959 against the backdrop of the Cold War, Our Man in Havana remains one of Graham Greene’s most widely read novels. It is an espionage thriller, a penetrating character study, and a political satire of government intelligence that still resonates today. This Penguin Classics edition features an introduction by…

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The Bourne Identity

By Robert Ludlum,

Why did I love this book?

This book was instrumental in reviving the one-man-against the odds/an entire government thriller.

It is a non-pretentious page turner that made for one hell of a film adaptation. While the narrative is not necessarily overtly comedic, it does own its outlandishness in a nuanced way from the first few chapters that makes for a very subtle light-heartedness when compared to espionage novels that are darker in tone.

The Bourne Identity

By Robert Ludlum,

Why should I read it?

14 authors picked The Bourne Identity as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Jason Bourne is back in the forthcoming major motion picture starring Matt Damon and Alicia Vikander. Go back to where it all began for Bourne in his first adventure - The Bourne Identity

He was dragged from the sea, his body riddled with bullets. There are a few clues: a frame of microfilm surgically implanted beneath the skin of his hip; evidence that plastic surgery has altered his face; strange things he says in his delirium, which could be code words. And a number on the film negative that leads to a bank account in Zurich, four million dollars, and…

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West on 66

By James H Cobb,

Why did I love this book?

This is somewhat of an underground, little-known novel that I came across deep in the midst of a rural second-hand bookshop a few years back.

Set in 1958, the novel follows its deputy sheriff protagonist on a journey from the mid-west to Los Angeles via the famous Route 66. It has elements of noir, suspense, romance, adventure, and a good-guy vs mafia dynamic, all while tipping its hat to the American Road genre.

As a reader, you feel like you’re just another guy along for the ride, passing through state lines, watching the story unfold.

West on 66

By James H Cobb,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked West on 66 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An innocent cup of coffee at a roadside diner on Route 66 embroils vacationing deputy sheriff Kevin Pulaski in a dangerous case involving a beautiful woman and missing fortune in Mafia loot.

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