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Loading... A man you can bank onby Derek Hansen
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Lambert Hampton is the man the small, drought-ravaged country town of Munni-Munni turn to when they uncover three million dollars stolen from bookies by bandits and buried in the middle of nowhere. A former bank manager, Lambert uses the money and his entrepreneurial skills to rescue the town and set it on a sound economic footing. However, the day of reckoning comes when the criminals get out of gaol and want the money back. The crims want the money. The cops want the money. A rogue insurance investigator wants the money. And so do Australia's two most infamous hit men. No library descriptions found. |
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It's not going to come as much of a surprise that this is a bit of a romp style novel. There's the local town bank manager, a disgraced cop sent to the outback to serve his time, the bank manager's daughter, the local animatronics expert, a bloke connecting with his somewhat tenuous Aboriginal heritage (and a wife who is Aboriginal that thinks he's hilarious), Davo who runs the fish farm, a bunch of crooks, one crook's wife and her Kiwi driver, a couple of hired killers, an insurance investigator with an energiser bunny complex, a heap of Jack Russell dogs, a couple of city Detectives, some wolves, a large crocodile, assorted Japanese and German fighters, a motor bike, a clearing in the bush, a lake that didn't used to be there, a town on the brink of collapse and 3 million dollars. Despite a slight worry that this might all end up being a bit forced - firstly this was absolutely hilarious in places and secondly, there was a really good solid storyline in amongst the lunacy.
There are lots of delicious twists and turns in this tale - how Lambert Hampton found out about the buried millions, where he went from there, the timelines involved, how the authorities, the crooks, the insurance investigators and all can "think" they know what happened but "proving" it is a whole different kettle of barramundi. And then there's how much Lambert is prepared to put on the line when push comes to shove and his daughter, friends and a Jack Russell need rescuing.
This book really is wonderful example of its type. A fantastic romp with lots of action, lots of coincidences, a hefty dose of lunacy and some clever twisting and turning. There's some hilarious images, lines and situations, but at no time does the thing slip over into farce - it's all very believable and quintessentially Australian bush. There's some aspects which just made me cry with laughter - the way the Police Detective puts the media off the scent, the way Lambert counters with the town's reaction to the lake searching. And then there's the animatronics. Somebody really should remember to warn anyone new about those things.. but then again.
The only thing that worries me after finishing A MAN YOU CAN BANK ON is whether or not I can look the bloke who is working hard to keep our local town alive in the eye ever again. I keep telling myself he's just on the board of the community bank.. he was never the bank manager... ( )