Reviews

‘The Beaver Theory’ is the concluding chapter in thi amazingly original, hilarious trilogy and I am bereft. Henri, oh how I will miss you. Henri is one of the most authentic individuals I have ever had the pleasure to read about and whilst he has received a brilliant ending from this outstanding wordsmith, I am still sad that it is all over. While you could pick this up as a standalone I don't think you would understand the beauty and magic of this series unless you had read the previous two books. It is very much a whole story but just serialised into three original and witty instalments!

Henri Koskinen, owner of an adventure park and an insurance mathematician has made the bold decision to move in with painter Laura Helanto and her daughter. He is inserted into a new blended family, embarking on the school runs and is now involved with the ‘dad mafia’. But not everything is his life is going his way as a competing adventure park is seeking to wipe out YouMeFun and it seems to be working as they haven't had a customer for over a week. How can they compete with free entry, free hotdogs (normal, vegetarian and vegan) and half-naked popstars?! Henri decides to go on a reconnaissance visit and things go downhill from there. With a mounting body count can Henri bring happiness to both sides of his life?

I don't think there is anyone else in the world apart from Antti who could make actuarial mathematics funny! If it hadn't been an Orenda book I don't think going by the blurb this would have been a series for me but I trust that publishing house implicitly and I gave ‘The Rabbit Factor’ a try and I haven't looked back. This trilogy has been astonishing and the best part was seeing how Henri grows as a person. When we first met him he was very particular - everything needed to be done his way. But now in ‘The Beaver Theory’, we find a man who has grown exponentially for the positive. Yes, he has his quirks and still says what no other would but he has begun to think about how others feel and how his actions can affect others. His heart has grown to include so many people. There is his new family but also the employees of the adventure park and now the ‘dad mafia’ as well. This makes me happy for his happiness.

Antti is a master at making believable and well-formed characters. Each and every one is distinct with their own strong voice. Esa, Kristian, Johanna, Sampsa and Minttu K from the adventure park are hilarious in their own right but when they come together they form this cast that is out of this world! I honestly can't wait to see who plays them in the upcoming adaptation. Henri is of course being played by Steve Carrell and now when I read these books I see him in my head!

When I closed that last page, despite being sad there was an overriding feeling of happiness. Happiness that Henri was happy. Happiness that this book had given all its main characters a happy resolution. Happiness that I was there for that journey and happiness just in general. What more could you ask for?

kaz_loves_books's review

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mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Here’s my review for The Beaver Theory by Antti Tuomainen

I got into this book straight away and really enjoyed reading this superb crime book with a twist! The plot was a terrific one with a vast array of characters and a different setting to one that I have ever read. I’m a bit late to the party on this trilogy but I now want to read the other two books in the series and I’m really looking forward to reading them as well. I can really recommend this book to anyone who loves a crime thriller as Henri sets out to find a murderer rather than be cast as a murderer himself. I found I could read the book fine although I hadn’t read the other two books as well. I loved the characters in this novel as they made the book stand out more to me as well as the outstanding writing. The prose was just brilliant even though it had been translated and everything was so well explained it made for a great read with some vivid pictures made in my creative mind! I loved this book!

Blurb 👍

Henri Koskinen, intrepid insurance mathematician and adventure-park entrepreneur, firmly believes in the power of common sense and order. That is until he moves in with painter Laura Helanto and her daughter…

As Henri realises he has inadvertently become part of a group of local dads, a competing adventure park is seeking to expand their operations, not always sticking to the law in the process…

Is it possible to combine the increasingly dangerous world of the adventure-park business with the unpredictability of life in a blended family? At first glance, the two appear to have only one thing in common: neither deals particularly well with a mounting body count.

In order to solve this seemingly impossible conundrum, Henri is forced to step far beyond the mathematical precision of his comfort zone … and the stakes have never been higher…

Warmly funny, quirky, touching, and a nail-biting triumph of a thriller, The Beaver Theory is the final instalment in the award-winning Rabbit Factor Trilogy, as Henri encounters the biggest challenge of his career, with hair-raising results…

anniek09's review against another edition

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funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

diana27's review

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dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

mariana_cscs's review

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

ajnel's review

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dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The final novel in the "You Me Fun" black comedy series, sees our actuary having to deal with a new competitor to You Me Fun, who does not charge entry fees and even gives food away. During a night-time clandestine spying expedition to the new venture our actuary comes face to face with the murder of the owner and becomes embroiled in a much deeper mystery. Tuomainen is brilliant at writing dark comedy and this final novel in the series is no exception.

frombethanysbookshelf's review

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5.0

Henri is back in the highly anticipated final episode of the Rabbit Factor trilogy and it is just as absurdly fun as ever.

The finale brings a lot of heart and love, with us finding Henri a very different man to the one we first discovered being a dad, a loving partner and becoming more confident in his abilities to run the park no matter what chaos is thrown his way. But of course, he is still a fabulous narrator; with that painfully logical, matter of fact voice even in the fact of danger and of course his trademark quirk and wit that blends genres and styles to create something utterly unique and so enjoyable.

It brings cinematic, exciting action and intense thrills, riotously funny and sharp humour and undeniably lovable characters in a fast-moving, high-energy story with burglary, ping-pong tournaments, adventure park hijinks, murders, parents evenings, corporate espionage and organised crime. It’s obvious why Tuomainen is hailed as one of the greats of modern literature and that is because everything can be summed up as just being more. More absurd, more adventurous, more clever and sharper.

My only problem is that I am so sad this trilogy is over because it was amazing.

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