Excerpt from an email sent by Hunt for 901 author Kevin Gosselin
Hello – My name is Kevin Gosselin and I wanted to make you and your site readers aware of my new novel, Hunt for 901, which was published this week. It is the first fiction ever published about a Porsche. Excepting the fiction in most classifieds 🙂 Since your site covers Porsche Cars, Porducts and LifeStyle I think it would be of quite a bit of interest to your readers. The story follows automotive archaeologist Faston Hanks as he and his cohort search for famous missing cars. In this case, the Porsche 901 prototype that went missing after the Frankfurt Auto Show in 1963…. Regards, Kevin Gosselin
Two days later a copy of Hunt for 901 was found poking through the mail-slot at the 993C4S garage and we were off and reading. From the very beginning we wanted not to like this book. Not because of Kevin (we’ve since exchanged numerous emails and he is a very knowledgeable and likeable “car-guy”) and most definitely not due to the subject matter (a lost piece of Porsche history.) Our animosity was rooted at a much more basic level; jealousy. Why didn’t we think of such a magnificent idea first? Once we got over ourselves Hunt for 901 became a most enjoyable read that was quite truly hard to put down.
Our Review
We’ve searched for cars before (usually through the classifieds) but novelist Kevin Gosselin makes us feel like we are part of Faston Hank’s team scouring the planet for Heidi Ruff’s father, Roland Zeller, the last man seen with the Porsche 901 prototype. Find Roland and you find the 901.
Accompanying Faston on his quest for automotive treasure is the always hungry Charles Ivory. Possibly the only person known to Faston with more automotive contacts then he, the ineffable Charles is indispensable on a search such as this, but at what price?
Beginning in LimeRock Connecticut, home of Faston’s racing-centric bed and breakfast, their search quickly leads them to a number of European destinations where they discover they are not alone in their hunt for the Holy Grail of missing Porsches. Faston’s long time nemesis, Patrick Patrick, is fast on their heals. Using methods that most others would frown upon, Patrick Patrick just might find the 901 first.
Liberally sprinkled with an eclectic cast of characters, well researched automotive facts and mentions of wine and food that would make any bon-vivant’s mouth water, the Hunt for 901 is a great first novel made even better by having the love and lore of Porsche history as the central tenet. If you have been searching for that special something to get your favorite Porsche owner or automotive enthusiast, your search is over.
Hunt for 901 is available via Amazon.com. Kevin tells me he book is selling well at Amazon and it is possible you might find them out of stock. If that is the case, the book can be purchased from Toadhallbook.com as well as directly from the publisher demontrevillepress.com.
A Sequel to Hunt for 901
According to Kevin, he is currently working on a sequel, or second in the series.
It has Faston and Charles chasing after something old and British this time. It is written in alternating chapters of the car being “lost” and the modern day chase so that we learn more about the person who “lost” the car. The series is like a mystery series, the same detectives trying to solve different murders. But instead of dead bodies, I have missing cars…. Kevin Gosselin
Kevin would love to hear from his readers. If you would like to contact him you can do so by commenting on this post (Kevin is a subscriber to 993C4S.com) or by visiting him directly at his blog.
View Comments (4)
Thanks for the recommendation. This does sound like a great book
.
It's a great read (even if you're not a Porsche fan)!!!! Seriously, Kevin did a fantastic job for his first novel and I can't wait to see what Faston goes looking for next.
I had very high hopes for this book, being a life-long Porsche owner, race driver and general car nut. I especially enjoy anything to doing with classic car racing, barnfinds, restorations etc.
I was therefore very disappointed to find the story spent considerably more time talking about very specific gourmet food details rather than sports cars. It seemed like the hunt for the Porsche 901 was a more of a sideline that gave the car hunter Faston an excuse to go gallivanting around Europe sampling various foods.
The book was not terribly well written, with quite a lot of spelling and grammatical mistakes and the storyline was pretty thin the whole way through.
However, the worst part for me was the ending, which just came out of the blue and was highly implausible. It almost seems like the book was written to a deadline and the author ran out of time, so he quickly scribbled the last chapter down one hour before the manuscript was sent to the printers. One scene in particular had the friend of the car hunter attacking a cinema attendant for absolutely no reason that I could fathom, despite my re-reading the section several times to see if I'd inadvertently missed a page.
I would love to take this idea and rewrite the story with rather less food content and rather more Porsche history and put some depth into the storylines.
Hey, Andy,
Thanks for your input and thoughts. While I don't necessarily agree with you, I respect your thoughts. At least you qualify your critique and do so well.
I enjoyed the book for the exact reason (or at least one of them) that you didn't. :-)
I wrote in my review: " Liberally sprinkled with an eclectic cast of characters, well researched automotive facts and mentions of wine and food that would make any bon-vivant’s mouth water, "
The author, Kevin, is an admitted foody and I think he went out of his way to bring that passion into this, his first novel.
The fact is, whether you like the book or not, you have to give Kevin credit for coming up with the idea, writing the book and most importantly getting it published.
I'm sure, like all writers, Kevin's style will continue to evolve and improve with each new book. Personally, I would like to read more of Faston and his exploits.