El Flamingo, is, at its heart, a sunset noir in which the self-deprecating, soul-searching Lou Galloway takes on what every dreamer longs to attain - to achieve the impossible dream; to fight the unbeatable foe.  

El Flamingo is a rollercoaster ride. Author Nick Davies incorporates elements from his travels across Latin America into this, his debut novel. It is a mystery full of adventure, vivid scenery, and Latin American culture. It's fast, fun, and leaves you breathless. It has all the markings of an action-thriller with an essential mystery twist. -Independent Book Review  

El Flamingo is a perfectly crafted sunset-noir novel that engages from its opening page to its satisfying conclusion. Lou Galloway is an unforgettable character full of self-deprecating wit, and the plot is the perfect blend of action, intrigue, and romance, all with an exotic Latin American vibe. This is the story of a dreamer reaching for the impossible, and it's a tale infused with heart and soul." -New Zealand Booklovers. 

Nick Davies is an actor-turned-writer from Wellington, New Zealand who has appeared internationally in both film and on TV. He has written a collection of travel stories entitled The Lost Gringo Chronicles and has worked as a freelance contributor on Mexico for The Dominion Post.  

At 27, he took a break from acting and bought a plane ticket to Colombia to research and write his debut novel, El Flamingo. He could be found somewhere in Mexico, sipping a coffee or chasing a sunset, always searching for a story to tell.

He says, “In my late twenties, I had established a (mildly) successful career as an actor in New Zealand. I’d done some soap operas and TV movies, plus a few theatre shows, but I couldn’t help but feel a general disillusionment with the whole superficiality of the industry. Some kind of drastic change was in order.

“I’m not sure why, but I started researching Colombia, and it wasn’t too long before a character named Lou Galloway appeared in my head. I didn’t know much about him, save for the fact that he was a lost dreamer, who leaves Los Angeles with nothing to lose, heads to Latin America, and ends up getting swept into the adventure of his life.

"I’ve never done well with bleak or melancholic narratives, so the comedic irony of a failed actor being mistaken for an assassin and forced to play the role in order to survive was, to me, the kind of story I wanted to exist. My acting savings funded a plane ticket to South America, plus a few months of living cheaply. I left NZ promising myself that when I returned, I would have my first novel.

"Along the way, I learned it was never about the final product, but about the heart and soul of the story itself. El Flamingo took me from Los Angeles to Colombia, chasing the ghost of this damn Lou Galloway, who had blazed a trail out of my imagination, into the world, and onto a page.”