Editorial Review: The Insanity Criterion by Raymond Finkle

Editorial Review: The Insanity Criterion by Raymond Finkle

Life on the run doesn’t allow for being kind to the ocean.

“I ran in there, I barked out orders for epinephrine, I commanded someone younger and more fit than myself to start CPR, but the reality is that Rick died and nothing we did changed that.”

Newly qualified Doctor Connor Larsen’s idyllic life gets turned upside down one summer night when a crazed John Doe (not really named Rick) is wheeled into his trauma centre, and dies without any apparent cause.

Curious Connor soon finds himself on the run from unknown assailants.

Enters Daphne, a friend with resources.

Together, they sail the seas - littering them with many, many burner phones along the way - as they simultaneously evade and plot the downfall of the nefarious men in black behind the mysterious brain implant that may or may not have finished Rick off.

And they drink coffee. A lot of coffee.

Seafarers will enjoy the yacht-based antics, and foodies will be left licking their lips at the onboard dinners - at least until the on-the-run money dries up. The delightful fourth wall breaks and pop culture references make the characters real and relatable, but don’t always work in balancing out the plot’s contrivances.

Finkle’s own experience as a doctor shines through in the medical exposition and ‘life as a doctor’ insights offered by Connor throughout and lends substance to the plot.
The first-person perspective writing style is refreshingly free-flowing and conversational.

Overall, The Insanity Criterion makes for an entertaining and enjoyable read, with a good twist or two. The endearing protagonist's self-deprecating sense of humor is a shining light in what begins as a light-hearted caper and ends up a somber tale.