Tom Straw Channels Anthony Bourdain In His Delightful New Book

Every now and then, you hear a concept for a book and it instantly hooks you. This is one of those books. 

What if an Anthony Bourdain-type celebrity chef who hosts a TV travel show is also a CIA spy?

Hooked? Well, I was. You see, I really enjoyed Bourdain’s writings, his TV shows, and his way of seeing the world. His shows were appointment television. His books—always get the audio because he reads them—were bought on day one. So it should come as no surprise that when Tom Straw’s new book was announced, I got it on day one.

Prepare the Narrator

Sebastian Pike is the Bourdain stand-in in THE ACCIDENTAL JOE, the new novel by Tom Straw. In various interviews, podcasts, and his author event here in Houston, Straw talked about the genesis of the novel and how a tweak to the prose brought the novel to life. 

Originally he had written the book in third-person POV but had included various “voiceover” monologues by Pike. Early readers enjoyed the novel, but really enjoyed it when Pike spoke directly to the readers. So Straw revamped the entire novel and made Pike the narrator. 

That proved to be the secret ingredient. Pike speaks in the same type of wise-cracking, acerbic, snarky language Bourdain used to engross his audiences. I’ll be honest: when I was reading my hardcopy of the novel, it was Bourdain’s voice I heard in my mind. Later, as I listened to Straw narrate his own novel, he puts just enough of a tonality that you could basically hear Bourdain’s voice. It was pretty magical.

Add an Extra Spicy Co-Star

As the story opens, Pike is in need of a new producer. His last one took some “personal time.” In walks uber-fan Cameron Nova, a person who loves and has seemingly memorized every episode of “Hangry Globe,” Pike’s show. She’s the perfect fit and sparks instantly ignite.

But she’s not all that she seems. Turns out she works for the CIA and there’s a top vital mission for which Pike is an essential ingredient. She wants Pike to use his show to lure in an Eastern European strongman and exfiltrate a compromised CIA asset. Contrarian that he is, Pike initially refuses, but Cammie dangles an enticing carrot: if he helps the CIA, she’ll give him info on his dead fiance, killed in an explosion a year prior.

What’s a celebrity chef to do? 

Apply Heat That Really Hurts

When you hear a premise like this one, you might think that our hero narrator might just float above the story and not really do anything. Well, I’m here to tell you Pike is an active participant in this adventure, and it’s not without genuine peril. It surprised me, a happy surprise because it made the stakes that much higher. 

Sprinkle in the Narrative Accents

Tom Straw ghostwrote the first seven Richard Castle novels and I fell in love with his style when I didn’t even know his name. He brings a lot of that narrative swagger with him to the antics of Pike and Nova, especially the slow burn of their relationship. It is organic, taking slow, small steps, and it boils over as the story progresses. Oh, please don’t tell me this is a spoiler. It’s baked into the premise.

He also does this thing where certain words stand in for a greater description. One example is a description of plants climbing up wooden latticework. Some writers might spend a sentence or two describing how the plants intertwine with the wooden slats. Instead, Straw uses the verb “latticed” and that’s it. But that’s all you need. We readers fill in the rest. Look, I know this isn’t some major revelation—pulp writers did it all the time back in the day—but I really took notice of it in the Castle books and Straw does it here in THE ACCIDENTAL JOE. I almost want to scan the book again and just take note of the verbs he uses.

Why would I read this book again?

Because Sebastian Pike is one of my favorite new amateur detectives. I love stories where a non-detective becomes embodied in a larger, dangerous story. I love it when what this non-detective brings to the table—cooking and TV production in this case—actually helps solve the case. I love it when we meet a character that just feels like you’ve watched every episode of his fictional TV show for years. 

You know what’s also fun about THE ACCIDENTAL JOE? All the little in-jokes Straw throws into the mix. There is one super-obvious character name—complete with the character’s nickname—that’ll have you chuckling. IYKYK. 

THE ACCIDENTAL JOE is a fantastic book. Highly recommended.