What do you think?
Rate this book
The Misfits: The Case of the Pink Flamingo
Thelonious Katim runs The Misfits, a small detective agency in Kota Kinabalu. He and his team of ex-cops are used to dealing with cheating spouses, missing cats, shady insurance claims – all kind of cases that help pay the bills. But when a woman hires them to find her missing sister, they quickly find themselves in way over their heads.
What starts as a simple missing person case soon spirals into a dangerous game of fake identities, ruthless crime lords, and drug deals gone wrong. Thelonious and his crew bumble their way through betrayals, gunfights, and shady characters— questioning along the way how anyone thought they were qualified for this mess.
With powerful enemies closing in and no clue who to trust, the misfit crew must think fast, dodge bullets (literally), and try to come out of this in one piece — preferably with their sanity intact. But hey, it’s all just another day in the life of The Misfits, where nothing is ever as simple as it seems, and everything seems to go wrong... hilariously.
What starts as a simple missing person case soon spirals into a dangerous game of fake identities, ruthless crime lords, and drug deals gone wrong. Thelonious and his crew bumble their way through betrayals, gunfights, and shady characters— questioning along the way how anyone thought they were qualified for this mess.
With powerful enemies closing in and no clue who to trust, the misfit crew must think fast, dodge bullets (literally), and try to come out of this in one piece — preferably with their sanity intact. But hey, it’s all just another day in the life of The Misfits, where nothing is ever as simple as it seems, and everything seems to go wrong... hilariously.
312 pages, Paperback
First published January 27, 2025
16 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 24, 2025
(10/2025) 4/5🌟 Crime Thriller | 298 pages
“𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩,” 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙, “𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙣.”
The Misfits.
They are a small detective agency located in Kota Kinabalu. The agency deals with all sorts of investigations - cheating spouses, missing pets, shady claims, anything. The Misfits is lead by Thelonious Katim, or Theo. Together with him in the team, he has, Bonnie, his right hand man; as well as Abby, Logan and Aizat. Theo and his team both are specials. They are the ex-police force officers.
One day, The Misfits is approached by a woman who wants to hire them to help locate a missing person, her sister. Treating the case as of something extremely important, The Misfits begin their search and investigations. Only things do not really portray as it shows on the surface.
Early investigations have lead Theo and the team to believe that this new case is not just a simple case of a missing person. They believe they have gotten themselves into deeper than what they presumed. The missing person, is not just a missing person. The missing person is a thief. A thief that might have gotten themselves involved inside the dangerous web of connected masterful crimes - drugs, crime lords and politics? All sorts of questions are playing in the minds of everyone in the agency, like how are they supposed to be involved in this? How can they? Are they even qualified for such heavy case like this? Don’t people approach them to find a missing cat, or unwilling debtor, or even a runaway wife?
Theo has to lead his team into believing that they are the only people left who can go through and investigate the case, whatever it takes. Would The Misfits succeed in doing so?
I don’t know why, but Theo reminds me of Grissom and Horatio, the two original OGs of crime busting team leaders from the first two CSI franchises, albeit the former is much younger than the latter two, I think. Probably because of the daily banters with his partner and team members and the inside jokes? I guess so, but Theo has this certain aura of mysteriousness that probably Grissom and Horatio have too.
It is also always a plus point when the main character in a story is a heavy reader - and so does Theo, judging from the kind of reading materials he owns and the quotes and book titles mentioned. Perhaps, a couch potato too, judging from the movie references he makes.
I love the writing style and I really hope it is not too much if I would like to applaud the effort of producing the same par of level as any international crime thriller book I have read before. Easy to understand without too much of a complicated language arrangements and wordings but with the accompaniment of a flourish vocabulary list. The story is written from the first person POV, which means Theo is our reliable narrator in this.
I am guessing this book is going to be a part of a series, and if it yes, like any other book series, the first book will always invite more questions after reading than before. So, treat this as an introduction to the agency and characters because I believe there’s more that Theo, as well as the rest, has not yet shared with us. This is more on us readers to see their capability and Theo’s skills in managing his team. It also carries the side themes of family and friendship.
Besides Theo, I like Bonnie. I think I am like Bonnie in many ways. 𝙂𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜, the serial-killer facial expressions, as well as strict and by the book person in some ways. Not to forget, her song choices are probably the same choices I would make. I am interested to see her character’s development.
I think this story carries the same vibe as 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘧, another local production of tv series, which were also interesting. Both have the same aim and fighting against the same crime, I would say. So, read this if you have enjoyed the series as well as if you have enjoyed CSI franchises.
Thank you @penerbitx for this review copy in exchange with my honest personal opinion. Please publish book 2, fast! Hehehe.
#justreaddontbawang #bookmehnia #FebruaryReads #FebruaryTBRs #2025reads #bookstagrammalaysia #bookstagrammy #malaysiamembaca #bookstagrammer #bookgram #bibliophile #bibliophilemy #bookish #bookaddict #bookaesthetic #readersofinstagram #goodreads #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookworm #themisfits #penerbitx #thecaseofthepinkflamingo #nathanielsario
“𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩,” 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙, “𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙣.”
The Misfits.
They are a small detective agency located in Kota Kinabalu. The agency deals with all sorts of investigations - cheating spouses, missing pets, shady claims, anything. The Misfits is lead by Thelonious Katim, or Theo. Together with him in the team, he has, Bonnie, his right hand man; as well as Abby, Logan and Aizat. Theo and his team both are specials. They are the ex-police force officers.
One day, The Misfits is approached by a woman who wants to hire them to help locate a missing person, her sister. Treating the case as of something extremely important, The Misfits begin their search and investigations. Only things do not really portray as it shows on the surface.
Early investigations have lead Theo and the team to believe that this new case is not just a simple case of a missing person. They believe they have gotten themselves into deeper than what they presumed. The missing person, is not just a missing person. The missing person is a thief. A thief that might have gotten themselves involved inside the dangerous web of connected masterful crimes - drugs, crime lords and politics? All sorts of questions are playing in the minds of everyone in the agency, like how are they supposed to be involved in this? How can they? Are they even qualified for such heavy case like this? Don’t people approach them to find a missing cat, or unwilling debtor, or even a runaway wife?
Theo has to lead his team into believing that they are the only people left who can go through and investigate the case, whatever it takes. Would The Misfits succeed in doing so?
I don’t know why, but Theo reminds me of Grissom and Horatio, the two original OGs of crime busting team leaders from the first two CSI franchises, albeit the former is much younger than the latter two, I think. Probably because of the daily banters with his partner and team members and the inside jokes? I guess so, but Theo has this certain aura of mysteriousness that probably Grissom and Horatio have too.
It is also always a plus point when the main character in a story is a heavy reader - and so does Theo, judging from the kind of reading materials he owns and the quotes and book titles mentioned. Perhaps, a couch potato too, judging from the movie references he makes.
I love the writing style and I really hope it is not too much if I would like to applaud the effort of producing the same par of level as any international crime thriller book I have read before. Easy to understand without too much of a complicated language arrangements and wordings but with the accompaniment of a flourish vocabulary list. The story is written from the first person POV, which means Theo is our reliable narrator in this.
I am guessing this book is going to be a part of a series, and if it yes, like any other book series, the first book will always invite more questions after reading than before. So, treat this as an introduction to the agency and characters because I believe there’s more that Theo, as well as the rest, has not yet shared with us. This is more on us readers to see their capability and Theo’s skills in managing his team. It also carries the side themes of family and friendship.
Besides Theo, I like Bonnie. I think I am like Bonnie in many ways. 𝙂𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜, the serial-killer facial expressions, as well as strict and by the book person in some ways. Not to forget, her song choices are probably the same choices I would make. I am interested to see her character’s development.
I think this story carries the same vibe as 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘧, another local production of tv series, which were also interesting. Both have the same aim and fighting against the same crime, I would say. So, read this if you have enjoyed the series as well as if you have enjoyed CSI franchises.
Thank you @penerbitx for this review copy in exchange with my honest personal opinion. Please publish book 2, fast! Hehehe.
#justreaddontbawang #bookmehnia #FebruaryReads #FebruaryTBRs #2025reads #bookstagrammalaysia #bookstagrammy #malaysiamembaca #bookstagrammer #bookgram #bibliophile #bibliophilemy #bookish #bookaddict #bookaesthetic #readersofinstagram #goodreads #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookworm #themisfits #penerbitx #thecaseofthepinkflamingo #nathanielsario
February 13, 2025
TheMisfitsTheCaseofThePinkFlamingo by @nathanielsario . The story begins with Theolonious Katim and Bonnie Maria Silvestra, who run a private investigation company alongside their staff members—Loganathan, Abby, and Aizat. All of them are former cops, and they call their PI group The Misfits. Their past cases have included cheating spouses and missing valuables, but their breakthrough success came when they solved a high-profile kidnapping case. This newfound recognition leads Aileen to seek their help in finding her missing sister, Angel.
Set against the backdrop of crime and politics in Sabah, Nathaniel Sario masterfully weaves a gripping narrative filled with twists and turns. Theo, in particular, senses that something is amiss. As they dig deeper, The Misfits find themselves deceived, ambushed, and caught in a web of corruption, forced to choose between staying on the righteous path or being consumed by the darkness of a broken system.
However, their investigation forces them to cross paths with a dangerous drug cartel and a powerful figure, Emil Lungan, whose influence stretches from Kudat to Kuching.
The 3 Things.
🦩The King of Sarcasm (After Chandler Bing, of course)
The sharp, witty dialogue laced with sarcasm makes this book an entertaining read. Especially with Theo. The smooth and effortless humor had me laughing and smiling multiple times. (I’m rooting for Theo and Bonnie’s love story someday 👀)
🦩The story is a mind game, filled with unexpected twists that make it impossible to guess what happens next. The unpredictable narrative adds to the novel’s appeal.
🦩What’s not to love about a PI who appreciates good literature and great music? And I major love the spray edges! 😍
Will The Misfits solve the case? Will Angel be found safe and sound? I swear you’ll have to read this thrilling novel. Thank you @penerbitx for the copy! (And all other merchandise) I love it! 4/5 stars. #parareads #parabaca #penerbitx #PXReadsBeyondReality #readsbeyondreality #themisfitsthecaseofthepinkflamingo #nathanielsario
Set against the backdrop of crime and politics in Sabah, Nathaniel Sario masterfully weaves a gripping narrative filled with twists and turns. Theo, in particular, senses that something is amiss. As they dig deeper, The Misfits find themselves deceived, ambushed, and caught in a web of corruption, forced to choose between staying on the righteous path or being consumed by the darkness of a broken system.
However, their investigation forces them to cross paths with a dangerous drug cartel and a powerful figure, Emil Lungan, whose influence stretches from Kudat to Kuching.
The 3 Things.
🦩The King of Sarcasm (After Chandler Bing, of course)
The sharp, witty dialogue laced with sarcasm makes this book an entertaining read. Especially with Theo. The smooth and effortless humor had me laughing and smiling multiple times. (I’m rooting for Theo and Bonnie’s love story someday 👀)
🦩The story is a mind game, filled with unexpected twists that make it impossible to guess what happens next. The unpredictable narrative adds to the novel’s appeal.
🦩What’s not to love about a PI who appreciates good literature and great music? And I major love the spray edges! 😍
Will The Misfits solve the case? Will Angel be found safe and sound? I swear you’ll have to read this thrilling novel. Thank you @penerbitx for the copy! (And all other merchandise) I love it! 4/5 stars. #parareads #parabaca #penerbitx #PXReadsBeyondReality #readsbeyondreality #themisfitsthecaseofthepinkflamingo #nathanielsario
February 13, 2025
The Misfits is a small detective agency run by 5 ex-cops who take on all kinds of cases. One day, a woman hires them to find her missing sister. What seems like a simple case quickly unravels into a tangled web of secrets, involving powerful figures and even an influential organisation.
I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, characters dynamic and Nathaniel’s writing style. The humour and wit woven into even the most serious situation made the story incredibly interesting.
Theo and his team are hilarious😂 Abby’s sharp sarcasm, Loganathan and Aizat’s slow personality and Bonnie’s tough, no-nonsense attitude kept me entertained the whole way through. There was never a dull moment with them!! I do wish the characters had a bit more depth and development tho🤧
The plot was packed with twists and turns. While i would have loved a bit more action and a slightly faster pace. I always love reading about private investigator and I especially liked how this book allowed me to piece the mystery together alongside the characters.
Overall, I had a fantastic time reading this and can’t wait to pick up more books by Nathaniel!
🔎 Thank you @penerbitx, for the review copy in exchange for an honest review🖤 I absolutely love all the merchandise too🤩!!! #PXReadsbeyondreality #readsbeyondreality
I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, characters dynamic and Nathaniel’s writing style. The humour and wit woven into even the most serious situation made the story incredibly interesting.
Theo and his team are hilarious😂 Abby’s sharp sarcasm, Loganathan and Aizat’s slow personality and Bonnie’s tough, no-nonsense attitude kept me entertained the whole way through. There was never a dull moment with them!! I do wish the characters had a bit more depth and development tho🤧
The plot was packed with twists and turns. While i would have loved a bit more action and a slightly faster pace. I always love reading about private investigator and I especially liked how this book allowed me to piece the mystery together alongside the characters.
Overall, I had a fantastic time reading this and can’t wait to pick up more books by Nathaniel!
🔎 Thank you @penerbitx, for the review copy in exchange for an honest review🖤 I absolutely love all the merchandise too🤩!!! #PXReadsbeyondreality #readsbeyondreality
March 1, 2025
not mich of a crime mystery girlie but this was interesting and had me turning pages to see how all the pieces would fit. the writing style isn't my fave, but i did enjoy some of the humour in there that gave me a good chuckle. abby and specks romance spin off when?
April 10, 2025
✫ OH GOSH. I rarely laugh when I read but The Misfits got me laughing and giggling every now and then and I have to give it up to Nathaniel for making this rare case of me laughing like a crazy person holding a book happened 😂
✫ This book has a lot of dialogues so it's definitely best for beginners. It's lighthearted, easy to read and understand, fun and is quite a page turner!
My biggest worry everytime a book has a lot of dialogues and a lot of characters is the tone of how they speak that differentiates each one of them.
and dare I say, Nathaniel executed that well. I love it when I know who's talking as I read just the dialogues. 👏🏻
✫ One thing that I wish could be better is more scenes with The Misfits as a whole than just Bonnie and Theo. I feel like I need to know why they're the misfits and how they can come together as a team with each special personalities and skills.
Overall, I think it's an enjoyable read! I'm happy to say that the villain was one of my predicted suspect ‼️
Hopefully we will get The Misfits 2 👀
My rating: 3.75 ⭐️
My husband's rating: 3.5⭐️
✫ This book has a lot of dialogues so it's definitely best for beginners. It's lighthearted, easy to read and understand, fun and is quite a page turner!
My biggest worry everytime a book has a lot of dialogues and a lot of characters is the tone of how they speak that differentiates each one of them.
and dare I say, Nathaniel executed that well. I love it when I know who's talking as I read just the dialogues. 👏🏻
✫ One thing that I wish could be better is more scenes with The Misfits as a whole than just Bonnie and Theo. I feel like I need to know why they're the misfits and how they can come together as a team with each special personalities and skills.
Overall, I think it's an enjoyable read! I'm happy to say that the villain was one of my predicted suspect ‼️
Hopefully we will get The Misfits 2 👀
My rating: 3.75 ⭐️
My husband's rating: 3.5⭐️
May 29, 2025
Found Family? ❌
Forged Family of emotionally constipated outcasts from the police force, bound by toeing the line between justice and illegality to solve their case? ✅
The wit and humour are unbridled, a perfect first read for a beginner. Don't try to solve the mystery, just enjoy the story. Otherwise, you'll give yourself a migraine, and this fairly easy read will be a difficult one.
To quote the author, "Nothing is ever as simple as it seems, and everything seems to go wrong... hilariously." I promise that everyone (important) lives in the end. No spoilers, but let’s just say the casualties are minor and the laughs are major.😂
Forged Family of emotionally constipated outcasts from the police force, bound by toeing the line between justice and illegality to solve their case? ✅
The wit and humour are unbridled, a perfect first read for a beginner. Don't try to solve the mystery, just enjoy the story. Otherwise, you'll give yourself a migraine, and this fairly easy read will be a difficult one.
To quote the author, "Nothing is ever as simple as it seems, and everything seems to go wrong... hilariously." I promise that everyone (important) lives in the end. No spoilers, but let’s just say the casualties are minor and the laughs are major.😂
September 18, 2025
"𝖠𝗇𝖽 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖽𝗈𝗇'𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗄 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝖻𝖾 𝖽𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗋 𝗐𝖺𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗎𝗌 𝗁𝖺𝗅𝖿𝗐𝖺𝗒 𝖽𝗈𝗐𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗋𝗈𝖺𝖽?"
"𝖣𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗋 𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗌𝗇'𝗍 𝗌𝗈𝗎𝗇𝖽 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗐𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝖽𝖺𝗎𝗇𝗍 𝗒𝗈𝗎."
˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚
The idea is interesting. I appreciate the premise of the book but due to my personal preference, this isn't my go-to genre hence I didn't enjoy it as much. I loved the writing style though. It's giving main character energy. The back and forth bantering, the sarcasm, the flow of the story... loved that. I'd say... give it a go if you love adventure, crime, investigations, mystery, a little bit of humor here and there, this... is for you.
To the author, keep on writing ya!
"𝖣𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗋 𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗌𝗇'𝗍 𝗌𝗈𝗎𝗇𝖽 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗐𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝖽𝖺𝗎𝗇𝗍 𝗒𝗈𝗎."
˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚
The idea is interesting. I appreciate the premise of the book but due to my personal preference, this isn't my go-to genre hence I didn't enjoy it as much. I loved the writing style though. It's giving main character energy. The back and forth bantering, the sarcasm, the flow of the story... loved that. I'd say... give it a go if you love adventure, crime, investigations, mystery, a little bit of humor here and there, this... is for you.
To the author, keep on writing ya!
June 17, 2025
If you think pink flamingos are cute, wait 'til you read this book. You're not gonna see flamingos the same way ever again.
Before you start the book, check content warnings for this book.
Content warning: Depiction of violence, blood, killing, alcohol consumption, drug abuse, religious issue, bribery & smoking
I would say this book was an enjoyable book (I guess I can relate to the main character's jokes, any Borneo/Sabahan/Sarawakian peeps out here on this app? Hi there!), the main character's monologue is just funny omg! I expected the book to be the ye 'ol crime, mystery & thriller but with a East Malaysian twist. The author took the East Malaysian twist by inserting some jokes, sarcasm & humors in between the plot. I like it!
Plot wise, a very classic missing person's case turned into a drug ring discovery with a dash of murders happening in between investigations (yeah that joke didn't sound good, but you get the point). Now the twist of the plot kinda comes a bit late (almost at the end), so I felt like it was anti-climatic but still funny though.
I like learning about the characters' backstory of why they established a private investigation firm, very fun & interesting. But I felt a couple of them are missing some lore y'know.
It was a great read, I highly recommend the book!
Before you start the book, check content warnings for this book.
Content warning: Depiction of violence, blood, killing, alcohol consumption, drug abuse, religious issue, bribery & smoking
I would say this book was an enjoyable book (I guess I can relate to the main character's jokes, any Borneo/Sabahan/Sarawakian peeps out here on this app? Hi there!), the main character's monologue is just funny omg! I expected the book to be the ye 'ol crime, mystery & thriller but with a East Malaysian twist. The author took the East Malaysian twist by inserting some jokes, sarcasm & humors in between the plot. I like it!
Plot wise, a very classic missing person's case turned into a drug ring discovery with a dash of murders happening in between investigations (yeah that joke didn't sound good, but you get the point). Now the twist of the plot kinda comes a bit late (almost at the end), so I felt like it was anti-climatic but still funny though.
I like learning about the characters' backstory of why they established a private investigation firm, very fun & interesting. But I felt a couple of them are missing some lore y'know.
It was a great read, I highly recommend the book!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews