Play Me!
FINALIST 2025 PAGE TURNER AWARD
FINALIST EYELANDS INTERNATIONAL AWARD
Amazon Top 20 Best-seller for Political Humour
The most dangerous gig of his life
A hapless British rocker gets entangled in a deadly plot in the Caribbean in this comedy crime by award-nominated novelist Charles Harris
AxMan Flyn is desperate to make his mark.
A fading British rock-star, he grabs a chance to front a high-profile charity concert in the Caribbean and do some good in the world.
But hardly has he arrived than he stumbles in on the assassination of the island’s president in a coup. And, to his horror, the new gangster-president frames him as the killer.
If stories of fish out of water, unlikely heroes and twisty plots strike a chord with you, you’ll love this rollicking witty tale where celebrity rock meets a dangerous underworld of violent mobsters, desperate guerrillas and unscrupulous politicians – and death is on the playlist.
PRAISE FOR PLAY ME!
★★★★★ A great fun read. Charles is the Hampstead Carl Hiaasen.
★★★★★ Chaotic, hilarious, and surprisingly moving. A wild ride through ambition, corruption, and second chances.
★★★★★ It was a fun, easy read, with rememberable characters and laugh-out-loud moments.
My overall impression is that Play Me! works because it doesn’t take itself too seriously, yet it says something real about survival, power, and the messy human need to be seen. Beneath all the madness and music, the author’s intent shines through: to remind us that even the most broken people are capable of change, and that laughter can exist even in the darkest corners.
★★★★★ The plot leaps from chaotic shootouts to sharp, satirical moments that expose corruption and greed, whether in politics or show business. Somehow, it all ties together in the fictional island of Bekuda, a place so vivid you can almost smell the humidity and danger in the air. President Isobel Bachman is a standout: ruthless, charming, and terrifyingly believable.
★★★★★ This book took me by surprise, it’s wild, unpredictable, and full of personality. Play Me! reads like a mash-up between a political thriller and a dark comedy, but it never loses its emotional core. You meet Freddie, the disillusioned drug baron trying to change his fate; Sid, his hapless sidekick who couldn’t organise a lunch break, let alone a revolution; Dania, the sister holding everything together while facing her own ghosts; and AxMan, a down-on-his-luck musician with a name as mysterious as his purpose.
★★★★★ What I loved most was how the narrative voice carries humour through tension. It’s bold and self-aware, switching from heartfelt to hilarious in a heartbeat. The characters feel alive because they all believe they’re the heroes of their own story, even when they’re clearly making a mess of it.
★★★★★ Witty, droll and a roller coaster of a story. Meet one of the funniest anti-heroes ever.
