What the Luck?

by Brian Cramer

Bill Brabham, a recently divorced and unemployed financial manager from Texas, is a man down on his luck. With nothing left to lose except possibly a few years of his life, he takes a high-risk, high-reward job cleaning up at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. While in Japan, his luck drastically changes, and everything starts to go right for him.

Unfortunately, his new-found luck seems to be coming at the expense of those around him. His investigation into this phenomenon puts him in the middle of a dangerous criminal conspiracy where he must contend with everything from the Yakuza to a sassy teenage girl with a penchant for role-playing.

228 pages, Paperback

First published June 21, 2014

About the author

Brian Cramer was born in New Jersey. Because of several failed attempts to escape the mysterious pull of the Garden State, he still lives there. He works for a custom cable assembly manufacturer and enjoys nature, technology, anime, the universe, and a hot cup of tea.

Reviews

[Ken Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Off the top, this was a First reads win.

An easy read, funny, fun, humorous. I enjoyed the book, especially since there were nice short chapters which allowed picking it it up and putting it down as needed during busy days. Enough of a (implausible) plot to keep the story going, good blending of the various threads to the climax. Kept a smile on my face for a weekend.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of reading What the Luck? before it was officially published. This is a wonderfully quirky and refreshing novel about a man who finds himself in a very compromising position with his boss, is fired and sued, wife divorces him, and moves to Japan to work at the nuclear power plant. While in Japan, his luck changes. Everything goes right for him, while everyone around him suffers incredible bad luck. This book has a little bit of everything. From comedic monks in robes to the Yakuza. You can tell that the author was familiar with Japan, the landscape and the people. Highly recommended, this is a delightful read!

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting, enjoyable book. I don't quite know how to categorize it. It had a lot of Japanese culture, humor, romance and a bonding of friendships. There were laugh out loud moments. The four main characters were well developed and very likeable. All in all a job well done!
I received this book through Goodreads First Reads for free.