The Hummingbird Saint (Hector Macdonald, 2003)

I thought that The Hummingbird Saint would be a trashy, throwaway crime read, so I was pleased when it turned out to be none of those things - despite the fact it says 'Crime Fiction' on the back there's not a detective to be seen. Instead this is the story of Mark, who we encounter on his way to an unnamed central American country to try and cheat Benjamin Sword Hoppner, a millionaire pornographer, out of some of his fortune. He meets another couple of chancers and they agree to team up to try to get the money - Mark wants £200,000 for his son's future. 

In an intriguing first couple of chapters there are many questions left unanswered - about Mark's motives, his curious past (why is he scared to be around children?), his new companion Freddy, the chance encounter later with another companion Alice, and her new 'husband'... Macdonald really drew me in, and then managed to keep me interested all through the book. 

Hoppner, the Hugh-Hefner-like philanthropist who has built a community in the middle of the jungle, is a mysterious figure who is trying to play God and create a utopian society. His method of determining who should get some of his funds is to subject candidates to hypnosis and test their morality - if they fail they have to agree to suicide, or they'll be euthanised anyway. Throwing up interesting questions of morality alongside an energetic thriller, this strangely titled book (it doesn't really refer to anything much aside from a casual mention of hummingbirds once or twice) kept me enthralled all through my recent trip to Amsterdam.