A corrupt government, a manipulated press, a powerful creative arm, and a terrible secret could decide the fate of a country.
For Haggman’s protagonists—filmmaker Christian Lindstrom and producer Nachi Tanaka—it’s a desperate race against time to save themselves, a government and even an entire country as it teeters on the brink of destruction.
Christian Lindstrom has everything going for him including a glamorous career as a jet setting filmmaker. But when he returns to Vietnam to make a tourism video, he’s forced to face the demons from his past as a soldier in the Vietnam War. And it’s not just his own past—soon the sins and secrets of others threaten his life and the life of Nachi Tanaka, the woman he’s falling for.
The truth turns out to be more twisted than any of them could have guessed and draws Christian into a dark underworld that leads from Vietnam to Japan and finally South Africa. He’s forced to battle ruthless business interests, the Japanese mafia—the yakuza—and a corrupt government that will stop at nothing to bury the past. In a terrifying scene, Christian comes face to face with the power behind the yakuza in a deadly game in which the winner takes all and the loser is destroyed.
Along the way, Christian will question everything he thought was true and discover who Nachi really is and if anyone – Nachi included – can truly be trusted.
And will Christian live to tell the tale?
Learn more about The Apology here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whk1uc0kxuQ
“Overall, these qualities add up to a thrilling, fully immersive, and cinematic reading experience.” – Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews, a trusted voice in the publishing industry for almost 80 years, recently highlighted The Apology for its thrilling, cinematic feel further establishing the novel’s path to being turned into a feature film.
The review follows numerous mentions to The Apology’s movie-like style including from Joann McKenzie of theGloucester Daily Times who said, “When the action moves cinematically from Vietnam to Japan’s neon-lit urban landscape, film buffs might also see in ‘The Apology’ a cross between Sophia Cappola’s Tokyo-centric ‘Lost in Translation,’ and the Osaka gangster-scape of Ridley Scott’s 1989 thriller, ‘Black Rain.”
Kirkus Reviews compliments The Apology as, “An impressive novel, brimming with action and history, with a lead character that has enough swagger for future adventures.” Check out what else Kirkus had to say on the Kirkus Reviews website.
As an advertising executive, video has always fascinated me. For decades it’s been a shrewd marketing format that I’ve seen change drastically during my work in the field and now as author of The Apology.
I’ve connected with video content as a consumer and have seen how it can impact a brand through my work on countless projects. When it came time to publish The Apology, I knew video would play a role both as a way to promote my book and to provide a visual counterpart for my readers. I’ve seen book trailers from self-published authors to bestsellers and all are inspiring, especially from my role model, James Patterson.
Find out how the rise of the book trailer is changing the publishing industry, in my latest blog post on Medium and stay tuned for more!
