Sinker - Softcover

It's to Johnson's credit that the book is accessible and exciting, rattling along like a thriller, barely pausing for breath. It's a cracking book, a jolt to the senses.

If Carlsberg did the Hunger Games...mad as a bag of spiders but brilliant.

Sinker thrusts us into the story of Baker Forley. He begins the novel as a sweet, unassuming Irish man who is revealed to be a promising newcomer to the world's most controversial sport - professional drinking. Ambition fuels his talent as he strives to make something of his life, but he is plagued by worries that he could die from his job, through alcohol poisoning. Frequent fatalities occur, as players often drop dead during games. When his popularity lands him a spot at the infamous Bullfight competition in sun-baked Mallorca, Baker believes that his luck has turned. But when his drunken eye is drawn to a Saudi beauty, her bodyguard steps over and floors him. The bodyguard's boss – a Saudi oil baron – invites Baker to his magnificent, surreal, Gaudi-designed palace to hear an apology. Baker – joined by his over-ebullient coach Ratface – gets an offer he can't refuse: “Teach the crazy billionaire Sheikh to drink like a pro and in turn he'll make you rich.” Later, as illicit lust flares between Baker and the oil baron's sober wife; he learns the real reason why he has been asked along. It’s a set up, and he’s about to be framed for killing a Sheikh. After three days of industrial-level drinking and dealing with Ratface’s random groping, can Baker break free?

REVIEWS

"It's to Johnson's credit that the book is accessible and exciting, rattling along like a thriller, barely pausing for breath. It's a cracking book, a jolt to the senses."
The Irish Independent

"If Carlsberg did the Hunger Games...mad as a bag of spiders but brilliant."
Colin Bateman