Product Description
Meet twenty-two-year-old Cherry Pye (née Cheryl Bunterman), a pop star since she was fourteen—and about to attempt a comeback from her latest drug-and-alcohol disaster.

Now meet Cherry again: in the person of her “undercover stunt double,” Ann DeLusia. Ann portrays Cherry whenever the singer is too “indisposed”—meaning wasted—to go out in public. And it is Ann-mistaken-for-Cherry who is kidnapped from a South Beach hotel by obsessed paparazzo Bang Abbott.

Now the challenge for Cherry’s handlers (über–stage mother; horndog record producer; nipped, tucked, and Botoxed twin publicists; weed whacker–wielding bodyguard) is to rescue Ann while keeping her existence a secret from Cherry’s public—and from Cherry herself.

The situation is more complicated than they know. Ann has had a bewitching encounter with Skink—the unhinged former governor of Florida living wild in a mangrove swamp—and now he’s heading for Miami to find her . . .

Will Bang Abbott achieve his fantasy of a lucrative private photo session with Cherry Pye? Will Cherry sober up in time to lip-synch her way through her concert tour? Will Skink track down Ann DeLusia before Cherry’s motley posse does?

All will be revealed in this hilarious spin on life in the celebrity fast lane. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (140)

It's a star!
Wickedly entertaining! This book makes you wonder what goes on in the entertainment world and how close to the mark these characters could be. If you're a Hiaasen fan or new to his work, you'll find this book an entertaining snack. It was fun to find some old friends lurking in the pages and to be introduced to some newer quirky folks. If you enjoyed Nature Girl, you'll find Star Island greatly entertaining!

the downward trend continues
Old Carl has lost about 20 MPH on his fastball...I've read every book CH has written and up until about 5 years ago enjoyed them all but his last 3 or 4 have gotten progressively less readable to the point where "Star Island" will be the last book of his I'll ever read.

Star Island is star-licious!
Carl Hiaasen is one of the funniest writers in existence, and this book is no exception!I laughed from beginning to end! I truly hope it is made into a movie!

Vicious sick book.Waste of time and money
This is a vicious, sick book and a waste of money.

Hiaison takes it way to far.I actually hoped the "governor" would get killed and the victims would win.

Hiaision used to be funny.Now he is just a sick old man who is living on his reputation.

Adequate Hiaasen, but Not Great Hiaasen
The basic Carl Hiaasen novel rounds up a bunch of characters who are not as smart as they think they are (and some of whom are physically grotesque or given to peculiar habits, hobbies or professions, and one or two of whom are violent psychopaths), then turns them loose in the vicinity of a recognizable modern American social phenomenon where a lot of money is at stake. The targets du jour in Star Island are out-of-control young celebrities and those who prey on them while supposedly keeping them from harm. There are also those who prey on them -- paparazzi -- by luring them into potential harm in order to get a set of money photos that will put them on easy street for years.

Nobody does deadpan outrage and comic violence better than Hiaasen, and there is plenty of that in this book. But compared to Hiaasen's best high-energy Florida-based romps like Stormy Weather and Native Tongue, Star Island feels kind of half-realized -- not flat-out bad, but just not as richly chaotic and complicated as previous novels have been. The lead psychopath, a disfigured bodyguard who has a weed-whacker attached to the stump of an arm he lost to a barracuda, is not in the same league as villains in previous novels. The world's worst stage mother is an enjoyably horrible character for about half the book, but becomes tiresome in her one-dimensional denial of her daughter's problems. Hiaasen's occasional supporting character, the former Governor Clinton Tyree, reappears in his familiar guise as Skink, hermit and wild man protector of what little is left of Florida's natural resources. He has been a welcome presence in past novels, but is just a little less passionate and driven in this one.

So three stars. Not worth a firm recommendation, but not bad enough to avoid. There is no question it is a couple of notches below Hiaasen's best. ... Read more

Product Description
A hilarious new novel of greed and corruption from the bestselling author of "Strip Tease". The story focuses on southern Florida at the height of the tourist season, when a ferocious hurricane hits--luring con artists, carpetbaggers, and would-be saviors like hyenas to the lion's kill. "Hiaasen himself is a one-man force of nature". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (88)

That's their nature

Do you like "crazy" in your books? Carl Hiaasen is one of a select company of writers that dishes up "crazy" all the way.The setting for Stormy Weather is southern Florida immediately after a devastating hurricane. Entire neighborhoods are wrecked, in some cases due to reckless disregard of building codes. Looters, rubberneckers and opportunists are drawn to Dade County in droves, showing the worst in human nature--but so hilariously.

Hiaasen's cast of characters are all outrageous in one way or another, and their stories inevitably intersect:

* Max and Bonnie Lamb, honeymooners from New York; their young marriage goes off the rails when Max is abducted while avidly making vacation videos of the destruction.

* Skink, a one-eyed ex-governor of Florida who got offside with developers, quit his job, and went troppo; Skink abducts Max because he was outraged by the ad man's voyeurism.

* Augustine Herrera, a skull-juggling coma survivor searching for his uncle's escaped exotic animal collection, rescues the stranded Bonnie Lamb and wins her over with his rough charm.

* Snapper and Edie, a couple of grifters teaming up to commit insurance fraud, pick the wrong scammer to scam; their plan escalates wildly out of control, as you know from the beginning it will.

* A spectacularly corrupt building inspector trying to do "damage control" by sacrificing animals to the Santeria god Chango; Avila is gored by a reluctant goat and later reinvents himself as a Cuban "rafter."

The action takes place in hotels and roofless houses, in a remote bivouac in the Keys, and in the post-apocalyptic city streets and highways. The characters inflict outrageous damage on each other, but in the end most of the "good guys" go on to rebuild new and better lives, while the "bad guys" come to fitting ends.

Hiaasen has a killingly funny way of delivering wry, sarcastic paragraphs that cut to the quick of human nature.I listened to the audio, narrated by George Wilson whose gravelly rendition amped up the acerbic humor with every intonation. Read or listen, your choice, but if you like the work of Christopher Moore, Douglas Adams, or Kurt Vonnegut, you'll probably love this book. I certainly did.

Linda Bulger, 2010

Carl Hiaison is the best.
I love all of Carl Hiaison's books.Partly because he writes about the Florida I live in and love, even with all its quirks and crooks. His sense of humor matches mine so am always amused by the characters he writes about.Would it be so that we ever had a Governor with ethics such as Skink!The hurricane and the aftermath is much the same as Hurricane Andrew, when every cockroach from Florida and reprobates from other states came for the picking of anything they could get.Skink had the right idea.Even if you don't live in Florida, I think you will like this book and be able to compare it somewhat to where ever you live.

Stormy
THE SETUP
A hurricane devastates South Florida..Newlywed tourists Max and Bernie Lamb drive down from Disney World, because Max is obsessed with making home movies of the damage and devastation.Eddie Marsh who has been trolling for Kennedys in Palm Beach, teams up with ex-con Snapper (aka Lester Madox Parsons), to pull an insurance con.That's the setup.

THE OTHER MAJOR CHARACTERS
Avila - a former (crooked, of that's not a redundancy) Dade County building inspector
Tony Torres - a crooked house trailer salesman
Skink (do not confuse with "Snapper") -aka Clinton Tyree - recluse ex-governor of Florida
Jim Tile - a Florida Highway Patrolman, and friend of Skink
Brenda Roarke - policewoman, Jim Tile's girlfriend
Augustine - an insurance-settlement-wealthy semi-retired guy, somewhat a young version of Skink.
Ira Jackson - a NYC thug who had purchased a house trailer for his mother (killed in the storm) from Tony Torres
Fred Dove - property insurance adjuster, seduced by Eddie Marsh.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
"Stormy Weather" fairly accurately describes South Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in 1992--with the exception that the chaos and desperation are understated.Simply driving to friends or relatives (or trying to return home) was no easy matter with major highways full of trees, downed live electric lines, and no traffic lights.Whole subdivisions were inaccessible to ice-trucks and other relief when it finally came.The incredibly oppressive heat and humidity after the storm, for weeks without electricity are not described.For the few lucky who had generators, gasoline was hard to find, because the local gas stations were closed for lack of electricity to run the pumps.Dozens of fires were caused by overheated generators and many other deaths by related accidents.Much of the county was without water.As for the people, it's a numbers game, with a population of 5 million, there has to be (and are) thousands as insane as the characters in "Stormy Weather", and like California, South Florida has way more than its fair share of crazies.

CAVEATS
"Stormy Weather" is a slow roller-coaster ride--lacking clear buildup, climax, and resolution.Often slow--the end is welcome.

"Stormy Weather" is not quite so surreal as most other adult Hiaasen novels, mostly because the real actual historic situation was surreal.

VERDICT
An entertaining read, filled with bizarre characters.

Loved Stormy Weather!
I love, love, LOVE Carl Hiaasen!This book did not disappoint!

My father has been reading Mr. Hiaasen's books for years and years now.He recommended them to me and gave me Skinny Dip to read first.From the first page I was hooked!I have now read almost all of his books.He is so funny!The writing is some of the best I have ever had the pleasure of reading.Stormy Weather was one of my favorites.It had everything!From wild, thieving monkeys, to criminals, to con-artists, to gangsters, to the always present normal couple of characters.And of course you have to pay homage to "The Captain"!

Bottom line is that this man is a genious and I will read ANYTHING he every writes!

One of Hiassen's better books
short review - a great summer read and a very good Carl book, which means Florida and odd characters. ... Read more

Product Description
Bestselling author and columnist Carl Hiaasen returns with another hysterical mystery for kids set in Florida's Everglades.
 
Bunny Starch, the most feared biology teacher ever, is missing. She disappeared after a school field trip to Black Vine Swamp. And, to be honest, the kids in her class are relieved.
 
But when the principal tries to tell the students that Mrs. Starch has been called away on a "family emergency," Nick and Marta just don't buy it. No, they figure the class delinquent, Smoke, has something to do with her disappearance.
 
And he does! But not in the way they think. There's a lot more going on in Black Vine Swamp than any one player in this twisted tale can see. And Nick and Marta will have to reckon with an eccentric eco-avenger, a stuffed rat named Chelsea, a wannabe Texas oilman, a singing substitute teacher, and a ticked-off Florida panther before they really begin to see the big picture.
 
That's life in the swamp, kids. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (71)

Disappointing
This one drags. Kids don't like to be bored, neither do adults. Too long, too slow, too obvious. Better luck next time.

Scat: A Fun Mystery with a Purpose
What kid wouldn't be curious about a book entitled "Scat"? This latest offering for children by Carl Hiaasen (Alfred A. Knopf 2009) is a mystery with an environmental motif.Nick, our main protagonist, is a student at the Truman School who desperately wants to see a panther on his biology field trip to the Black Vine Swamp in the Florida Everglades.

Besides Nick, we also meet the plot-driving character, Mrs. Starch, on the first page. Initially, Mrs. Starch appears to be your typical mean teacher. She is stern, demanding and entirely comfortable doling out humiliating punishments. But Mrs. Starch is far from a one-dimensional character. Her passion for biology is readily apparent and as the story moves forward we learn that Mrs. Starch drives a Prius with a "Save the Mantees" bumper sticker. (And anyone who loves cute little manatees can't be all bad, can she?)
During class, Mrs. Starch gets into a tussle with an unpopular and fairly menacing student nicknamed Smoke. Smoke is more interested in picking a zit than in answering her questions about Chapter 8. As punishment she tells him to write a 500 word essay about acne that he will read aloud to the class. In revenge he bites her pencil in two and swallows his half.

The altercation has lasting consequences that are fanned by a fire in the swamp during the field trip. The students clear out and are sent back to school, but Mrs. Starch goes back for a student's dropped inhaler and doesn't return.

Things get weird when Mrs. Starch doesn't show up at school the next day, but the inhaler is mysteriously returned to its owner. Then the Headmaster receives a letter from Mrs. Starch requesting a leave of absence to deal with a family emergency. The strange thing is that she has no family, at least none that she's listed in her employment information. So what's really happened to Truman's toughest teacher?
In a break from convention, the point of view shifts from Nick to various adults in the story. This gives us a wider perspective and introduces us to Smoke's father, grandmother, a couple of scheming oil prospectors, and a wacky but admirable tree hugger.

Full of plot twists, intrigue and suspense, this page-turning crowd-pleaser will delight fans of mysteries and environmental issues alike.

Environmental stereotype at core?
My 11 year old child read this book in a a couple of weeks, starting and completing the first three Harry Potters at the same time. Yes, my kid can read faster than me, or at least has the focus to do so.

On the way to school this morning, I asked my child to describe the book to me.

"Two kids, who's father lost an arm to a rocket in Iraq, trying to save a Panther who is being shot at by the employees of an Energy company that had set the everglades on fire." There was more detail, but this is the nut of the story as I understood it. I also have to pay attention to the traffic and kids; so I don't have bigger problems to deal with.

My ears usually go up when I hear this sort of thing, based on the non-stop green indoctrination attempts in our local school system. I hear the same stories from friends and family in other states, so our schools are not an isolated blip. I always enjoyed having my child come home from 5th grade AP classes telling me that the world was about to die. I'm not sure where this book falls.

I haven't read the book, but if someone wants to give an intellectually honest examination of how energy companies, capitalism, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are treated; I would be interested to read it.

If the author merely needed to create a boogie man for the story fine, if this is another green, anti-capitalism, anti-military indoctrination piece then lets hear that too.

The multiple re-postings of reviews from third parties is minimally helpfull especially when combined with a 5 star rating. I assume the posters didn't read the book either or work for the publisher.

Found this on Wikipedia:

"The search for oil in Florida began in 1901, but with no success. After almost 80 more dry holes had been drilled throughout the state, Humble Oil Company (later to become Exxon) discovered Florida's first producing oil well on September 26, 1943 in the northwest portion of what is now Big Cypress National Preserve. The wells currently produce about 20 barrels of oil per day"

Scat review by Melissa
I loved this!
The only thing I would do different is change the narrator.Ed Azner has a great voice, but I think the voice should be more southern and someone who knows how to pronounce the local words like Sabal, Miccosukee, etc.

AMAZING BOOK EVER
this book is the best, i had to do projects of it so many times, and i immediately knew what to do! ... Read more

Product Description
Now reissued--one of the most beloved novels by the "New York Times" bestselling author in which dedicated, if somewhat demented, environmentalists battle sleazy real estate developers in the Florida Keys. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (65)

Angry and funny
I can't find the exact quote. It might be in "My Mark Twain", but William Dean Howells said some place that the reason Mark Twain was so funny was because he was so angry. I think that applies to Hiassen who is totally enraged at the rape of his state and hysterically funny.

Love the author
I was turned on to Hiaasen about ten years ago and love every book he's ever written, with the exception of Hoot but my kids loved it also

Native Tongue
The book arrived in a timely manner,sooner than expected.It was in good shape for a used book.

prescott book worm
This is the last of Carl Hiaasen fiction, adult books for me to read, I am heartbroken. I have been addicted to reading all of his books since he was first suggested by a friend. I have been sharing his books with all of my book friends too.

Native Tongue
Book reflects Carl Hiaasen's (written) native tongue. You like Hiaasen you will love Native Tongue. ... Read more

Product Description
Murder, politics, and G-strings collide in this caper from the bestselling author of Tourist Season. Hilarity and chaos break out in a strip joint when a bachelor party gets out of hand, making the drunken guest of honor a threat to "big money" and "big government."Amazon.com Review
A smart topless dancer and a cool but clueless cop join forces to trap a dirty congressman, aided by one of the funniest cast of characters ever collected in a suspense novel. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (60)

Never, ever gets old!
This will be brief: this was my introduction to Carl Hiaasen, and then I grabbed every book he wrote after this. I agree with most- the movie couldn't do this justice, although Burt Reynolds was EVERY BIT as sleazy and kinky as the character in the book.

Strip Tease
The book came amazingly fast.And for a used book was in good condition.A REAL bargain.

Kinky off-the-wall hilarity!
If you've ever read a travelogue by Bill Bryson then you'll know what I mean when I say it's possible to be hilarious and entirely serious at the same time. You'll also understand what I mean when I suggest that Carl Hiaasen is to fiction and mystery novels as Bill Bryson is to travel literature.

"Strip Tease" is a somewhat kinky, entirely off-the-wall, but thoroughly entertaining tale of murder, blackmail and political intrigue that revolves around Erin Grant, a stripper who toils nightly to raise the money for the legal tab she's running up in a custody battle for her daughter, and David Dilbeck, a thoroughly corrupt and entirely imbecilic US congressman whose thought processes rarely stray beyond hormones and never get above the level of what's between his legs (or whose legs he's between).

When Dilbeck makes the ill-advised election year decision to become involved in a drunken brawl in the Eager Beaver strip joint where Erin Grant works, the opportunities for blackmail become obvious and the workload for sleazy political fixers such as Malcolm Moldowsky becomes more than even his expertise can handle.

Hiaasen runs up a string of outlandish coincidences and creates a series of brilliant portrayed, absolutely bizarre and often likeable characters. The entire novel somehow manages to hang on the knife edge of a sharp ridge threatening to tip over into the realm of slapstick vaudevillian silliness. But somehow, he holds back and manages to generate real laughter over a real story that, believe it or not, at times can also be quite heartwarming! His political commentary and obvious criticism is also entirely intentional and, in this reader's opinion, entirely justified.

Highly recommended.

Paul Weiss

The Strip
SETUP
(The following setup is more detailed than normally necessary, because most readers will be hopelessly confused by the numerous characters.):Erin Grant is working as a stripper to try to raise money to get custody of her daughter from her sleazy husband, Daryl (who makes a living as a police informant and stealing wheelchairs).One night a customer, Jerry Killian (who has a crush on Erin), recognizes Congressman David Dilbeck when he assaults another customer, Paul Gruber.Through Dilbeck's assistant, Herb Crandall Jerry attempts to blackmail Dilbeck to put pressure on the local judge to rule in Erin's favor in the custody battle.Dilbeck is the chief supporter of huge subsidies to the sugar industry, and therefore essential, so, sugar-industry fixer Malcolm Muldowski murders Jerry.Dade County homicide Sergeant Al Garcia, on vacation in Montana, finds Jerry's body.

In the meantime, Gruber has lied to his fiancee saying that he was mugged in a synagogue parking lot, and so she essentially forces him to file a suit with her cousin lawyerMordecai.Mordecai also represents the stip-club bouncer Shad in a bogus law suit against a yogurt company.

COMMENTS--Carl Hiaasen General
Ya gotta appreciate Hiaasen's cynical, quirky, surreal,, almost comic-book style to fully appreciate this novel. To some extent, Hiaasen is an acquired taste, but once acquired, becomes a habit.Hiaasen's humor is dark, witty, sarcastic, and filled with brilliant political satire and irony.But just under the cover of the humor is genuine poignant human emotions and drama.

Hiaasen's unrelenting dark cynicism is sometimes uncomfortable for anyone, and moreso for South Floridians.It is not an exaggeration to say that he "rips the cover off of hell" and shows us all the dark slimy things we would rather not think about.The portrayal of South Florida as hell/paradise is dead-on accurate.I suggest alternating Hiaasen's serious adult novels, with his wonderful kid's novels (such as Flush or Scat)--or be sure to take your prozac before starting an adult Hiaasen novel.

COMMENTS--Strip Tease Specific
Like most Hiaasen novels, "Strip Tease" is front-loaded.When it seems as though the story has run its course and the resolution is pending--you are only 1/3rd into the novel.Hiaasen takes a breather, and then keeps going.

The plot thread about the car being chained to a derelict ship which is then sunk as an artificial reef is implausible.But the whole "theatre of the absurd" novel is implausible. Even so, this is a bit much.Just consider the difficulty of getting a crane and crane operator to load the car onto the ship in the dead of night, and then the likelihood that it would be blown up an sunk without being inspected.And then too, anyone would be have to be insane to try to feed moray eels in murky water.Besides, moray eels don't just swim around in open water looking for sunken ships to inhabit.Instead, they arrive as "plankton", and take a decade or so to grow up.Moreover that the woman's boyfriend is "playing with a baby sea turtle" is completely bogus.Seaturtles hatch, and then disappear, somewhere--they are NEVER encountered by divers.Apparently the purpose of this thread was an excuse for Hiaasen to carp about damage to the reefs.Heaven knows there are plenty of real environmental issues to carp about in South Florida.But, in truth, the reefs were never specular at or north of Miami, and secondly the reefs, such as they are, are mostly healthy (except in the immediate vicinity of former sewage outfalls).The major enemies of coral reefs are silt and freshwater--both of which have probably been reduced by the development along the coast.

What can't audiobook readers pronounce common local terms correctly, particularly terms which are pronounced as spelled?.Burdines (a famous department store), now tragically ruined by Mace's, was pronounced "Burr dines" not "Burr-deans".Similarly, the large cooking bananas, plantains, are pronounced as spelled---"plan-tains" (rhymes with "trains"), not "pla-taans"."Tamiami" is "Tami-ami" not "Tam-miami"


THE VERDICT
A masterpiece of dark humor, even better on the second or third read.

An Oldie buta goodie.
Erin Grant, a formet FBI employee is dancing at a strip club to raise money for an appeal to gain custody of her daughter. Her former husband, Darrell Grant, made up stories about her and had his friends at the sheriff's department agree the stories were correct so the judge gave him custody. In actuality, he's a petty crook and uses his little daughter, Angela to help steal wheelchairs.

Congressman Dave Dilbeck visits the club one night. Another patron was out with his buddies in a bachelor party event. This customer climed up on the stage and began fondling one of the dancers. Incensed and drunk, Dilbeck jumped on the stage and began hitting the patron on the head with a champagne bottle.

Another customer, Jerry Killian, recognizes the congressman and realizes that it is election year and he might have an opportunity takes a photo of Dilbeck. Jerry then sends a note to Erin that he may have a way to get her daughter back, thinking he could use the photo to persuade Dilbeck to use his influence on the judge to change his custody ruling.

Malcolm Moldowsky is Dilbeck's "fix-it" man. He gets word of what Killian is doing and makes a call. Soon after, Killian is dead.

Also going on at this time is club bouncer Shad working with attorney named Mordecai. Mordecai now has the photo of Dilbeck and tells Shad that maybe they could blackmail Dilbeck with it.Seeing an opportunity, Mordecai also tells the fiance of the patron who was at the bachelor party. He tells her that she could sue Dilbeck and his political party for damages.

Sgt. Al Garcia finds the body of Killian. He's a moral man and promises to find Killian's killer.

This is an uproariously funny novel. Erin's dry sense of humor goes over well and had me smiling as one humorous segment of the story led into the next. Dilbert is an excellent character and I don't know why but I wonder if former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich might have been the subject if the author had written the novel years ago. Maybe Hiaasen just had a future vision.
Good novel, read it and enjoy. ... Read more

Product Description
The only trace of the first victim was his Shriner's fez washed up on the Miami beach. The second victim, the head of the city's chamber of commerce, was found dead with a toy rubber alligator lodged in his throat. And that was just the beginning... Now Brian Keyes, reporter turned private eye, must move from muckraking to rooting out murder, in a caper that will mix football players, politicians, and police with a group of fanatics and a very hungry crocodile. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (92)

one of the most disappointing books I've read in a while
I'm not a great fan of detective fiction, but after reading all the rave reviews here
and elsewhere, I decided to give this one a shot.I was expecting something on
par with the "Confederacy of Dunces", but this book left me pretty disappointed.
I understand that it was a satire, but everything just seemed so forced, and none
of it was particularly funny.I did make it through, but I should probably just
have given up after the first 20 pages.

Good, not great!
My first Hiassen novel and I will read more of his work.This one was a decent first effort, but was not as strong as the works of others. The book starts out a little jumbled and several characters seem to be introduced too quickly. For the majority of the book, the story moves quickly, has several twists and holds one's interest.By the end, however, we're back to a slower pace, bogging down in places and offering a less than satisfactory conclusion.It is a good book, but not at all great!

Relentlessly violent screwball book
This is my first Carl Hiassen book. It is also Hiaasen's first book as a solo author. Hiassen goes for over-the-top funny, much like Elmore Leonard and Dave Barry. but, in the end it wore me down rather than keeping me intrigued.

The premise of the book is that a Miami-based newspaper columnist is sick of all of the development in and around Miami and the Everglades so he decides to start a campaign of terrorism to scare away the tourists and to discourage more development. The columnist (whose anti-development commentary rarely deviates from Hiasssen's as the narrator) is joined by an anti-Castro bumbling bomb specialist, an African American that is a former star member of the Miami Dolphins who hates almost all white people and a native Indian from the area who is flush with bingo and gambling money. Throw in a newbie Private Detective and an Orange Bowl Queen that is sick of the pageant scene and you have a potent mix but, in the end, it wore me down rather than keeping me intrigued.

I'm not sure if I'll read any more of his books - I was left with that much of a feeling of indifference.

A Great Come-down
All the power to those who loved it and who see a lot in the author. I just didn't appreciate the effort, didn't see what all the fuss is about, didn't see talent, skill, intelligence...blah, blah, blah. The raves blew me away and I had to read the book, but I have rarely been so disappointed. Compared to the best of Ross Mcdonald, to take but one example, I thought this really very thin. I was especially drawn to the piece by the cover raves speaking to the author's satirical powers, none of which impressed me. I found all of it terribly mediocre and old-hat. It seems to me that the older generation of detective fiction authors had real depth and solid literary talents to match the best of non-genre fiction writers. This is the sort of thing one calls pulp fiction and if that is what one likes, here it is in full glory.

Plot happily skips over cracks
Not the worst read to take on a beach holiday, but don't be fooled by all the overly positive reviews.My copy only cost $2 thank goodness.

If the main character had acted remotely like a normal human being the plot would never have got off the ground.There are numerous gaffs which are just skipped over - in the penultimate climatic scene the main villain is at one stage holding centre stage amongst a stadium of people committing an act of terrorism and next minute is outside hailing a taxi.How did he get out?Most of an apartment complex flee Florida permanently because one resident is murdered. The hero keeps silent for almost the whole book, knowing who the terrorist is, on the flimsy basis that it might be worse if he discloses what he knows.He doesn't tell his girlfriend that her aerobics instructor helps the terrorist even though he is meant to be guarding her.Come on, folks.Doesn't is all seem weak?

If you like this kind of book, I personally found Laurence Shames a much better read.Or try Fletch if you haven't already. ... Read more

Product Description
R. J. Decker, star tenant of the local trailer park and neophyte private eye, is fishing for a killer. Thanks to a sportsman's scam that's anything but sportsmanlike, there's a body floating in Coon Bog, Florida-and a lot that's rotten in the murky waters of big-stakes, large-mouth bass tournaments. Here Decker will team up with a half-blind, half-mad hermit with an appetite for road kill; dare to kiss his ex-wife while's she's in bed with her new husband; and face deadly TV evangelists, dangerously seductive women, and a pistol-toting redneck with a pit bull on his arm. And here his own life becomes part of the stakes. For while the "double whammy" is the lure, first prize is for the most ingenious murder. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (81)

Don't buy the Kindle version - horrible formatting
This review is for the Kindle version of this book.

I got about 1/3 of the way through this book and couldn't stand the misspellings, bad punctuation and poor formatting.This was obviously a bad scan job and was not edited after the scan.On top of that it's ridiculously priced at $13.99, higher than either the hardcover or paperback versions.Amazon gave me a refund.

After complaining to Penguin about both the formatting and the price I got back a canned e-mail addressing the price issue:

"Thank you for your comments related to Penguin Group (USA)'s ebook pricing policies.We appreciate the many questions, comments, suggestions, and ideas that are submitted by our readers and are happy to share them with our Sales, Marketing, Editorial, and Publicity departments.Because of the volume of mail received, we cannot guarantee that you will receive a personal response, however, we will certainly forward your comments for their consideration."

They apparently don't care about the formatting problems.

double whammy
Being a first time buyer to amazon, I was unsure what to expect. For travelling from the U.S.A. to Australia, delivery time was fantastic (around 10 days). Book was in excellent condition, no tears, bends, dogears or wrinkles in the spine. Very happy with purchase and will buy again.

a great read
I am about 300 pages into the book and I am having a hard time putting it down. This is coming from someone who really doesn't like to read books. I prefer magazines with pictures.
The plot is starting to twist and what you thought would happens has drastically changing course. I love it. If you like to bass fish or watch fishing on TV this is a great story!

Not for me
I was referred to this book by the Amazon "other people who buy what you buy bought this" link. The book was ok, but didn't have that cannot-put-it-down aspect to it.

One of Hiaasen's Best
Double Whammy is one of the very best of Carl Hiaasens books. Hiaasen has a plot structure that he uses over and over again, but here it is still fresh enough that it has not lost its luster. Basically, Hiaasen attempts to tell the story of corruption and how it seeps into society and ultimately destorys it.

One of my favorite points to any Hiaasen story is the way he creates unusual back stories to each of his characters. He loves creating distinct personalities and clash them against each other. He has here two sets, the good guys, all maligned by society in some way and down on their luck, and the bad guys, all swindlers and sociopaths.

The main characters here are Decker, a private eye/one time news reporter, Skink, a one time governor, and a host of religious zealots and bass fishermen. all of the bad guys have IQ's of under 80 at best and well... its fun to see them get outwitted.

Some of this story gets a little long winded. A little too preachy and holier than thou. Other than that, this is a first rate read. ... Read more

Product Description
JoLayne Lucks lives in a town infamous for its suspicious miracles, but she's still elated when her lottery numbers finally pay off big-$28 million, to be exact. And she has great plans for her fortune: to save a rare piece of Florida paradise from the bulldozers. Only one problem: There's another winning Lotto ticket, and the people who've got it just never learned how to share. When the two militia wannabes swipe JoLayne's ticket, she enlists an off-the-rails newspaperman to help her track down the trigger-happy creeps and their bewildered hostage, a Hooters waitress. Getting rich quick is never easy...... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (128)

A Lotto Thriller
Whenever you wish a little humor in your reading there is one sure place to go. Carl Hiaasen, Florida born raised and developed is a sure answer to any depressive feelings you may have. You will not read more than two pages without another laugh. Turtle Boy,a Tearful Madonna, A Neo-Nazi militia with a total army of three idiots. Don't forget the waitress from Hooters that adds to the plot.All this with a newspaper writer and a Female Vet assistant pursuring her stolen fourteen million dollar lotto ticket. Only someone that has lived in a area all his life can get it on paper like Mr. Haasen.
Florida is his workshop. He knows or has been witness to all the scams,hustlers,druggies and nut cases that are there.His study has been a life long project, as he certainly has them down to a "T" I wouldn't miss reading all his books, they are aways good for a strong laugh and we all need that sometimes.

One Word....Hilarious!
Oh my goodness this book had me cracking up lol. I could not put it down because I wanted to see if the heroine got her lottery ticket back!This book has been reviewed so many times so there's not much I can add but I wanted to thank Carl Hiaasen for all the laugh out loud moments!My husband thought I lost my mind because I was laughing so hard.The rednecks were hilarious and downright stupid!

Another winner!
I loved this book.It did not dissapoint, and I knew it wouldn't because Carl Hiaasen is an aboutsolute genius!I love all his work and will always pick up one of his novels above anybody else's!

Pure fun!
If you're looking for sheer entertainment that is filled with laughs, this is the book for you. [...], I appreciate Carl Hiaasen's brand of humor. As is the case with mine, literature it is not. What it will do is to provide you with a deliciously zany cast of characters involved in delightfully entertaining situations.

I am a confirmed Hiaasen fan, having read at least six of his novels. This book, as is the case with all of those I have read, is consistent in its refreshing quality. I'm not going to get into the plot. Let the story speak for itself. I was delighted. I trust that you will be too.

Davis Aujourd'hui, author of "The Misadventures of Sister Mary Olga Fortitude"

Crazy Fun
This is the second Cark Hiaasen book I've read, Skinny Dip, the first. Skinny Dip was a delightful surprise and reading Lucky You had me laughing out loud. Hiaasen's character are a rare mix of crazy and real. To say that Hiaasen writes odd, looney tunes characters is putting it mildly. Even the villians are fun to watch as they come to their well deserved ends.Hiaasen has definitely won a fan in me. I'm just wondering which book I should read next. ... Read more

Product Description
Bestselling author Carl Hiaasen wisely quit golfing in 1973. But some ambitions refuse to die, and as the years passed and the memories of slices and hooks faded, it dawned on Carl that there might be one thing in life he could do better in middle age than he could as a youth. So gradually he ventured back to the rolling, frustrating green hills of the golf course, where he ultimately—and foolishly—agreed to compete in a country-club tournament against players who can actually hit the ball. Filled with harrowing divots, deadly doglegs, and excruciating sandtraps, The Downhill Lie is a hilarious chronicle of mis-adventure that will have you rolling with laughter. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (75)

You can't make this stuff up
Hiassen hits it again and doesn't call FORE and the book hits you fully in the funny zone.If you play golf or not this book will put you on the floor laughing at his shenanigans.I'm a newbie at the sport and dang, he's dead on with every word.If you've never lost every last ounce of human dignity, play golf but read this book first so you know what to expect.Ignore the frogs...

the downhill lie
The book was very entertaining and was all that Carl Hiaasen is noted for.I have read all of his books and this one was just as entertaining as all the others.I would recommend it to all the golfers out there..

The Downhill Slide: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport
I was thinking I was getting one of Carl Hiaasen's great books of the past.I'm not a golfer and don't understand the terms for golf.He can sometime's be a very complex writter, in this one he truly is.I wish I would have gotten a different book.

Just what a golf addict needed
Mr. Hiaasen hit the tee-shot straight up the fairway with this book.It was a great read and just what I needed in the middle of winter to rekindle my golf itch.

The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport
If you love golf you will love this story.Full of good humor and full of golf. ... Read more

Product Description
Independently wealthy eco-terrorist Twilly Spree teaches a flagrant litterbug a lesson--and leaves the offender's precious Range Rover swarming with hungry dung beetles. When he discovers the litterer is one of the most powerful political fixers in Florida, the real Hiaasen-style fun begins.Amazon.com Review
Carl Hiaasen's characters ride and flail on little verbal hurricanes, andhis literary storm shows no signs of dying down. Sick Puppy sharesDave Barry's giddygift for finding humor in South Florida horrors, and a bit of ElmoreLeonard's genius for pitch-perfect dialogue spouted smartly by criminals who aredumb as stumps. The title of Hiaasen's eighth novel could apply to most ofits characters, but it chiefly refers to an ebullient Labrador retriever named Boodleand the millionaire eco-terrorist Twilly Spree. Let's just say that Twillyhas a singular affliction: poor anger management in the face ofenvironmental irresponsibility. When he spots Boodle's owner, Palmer Stoat,tossing litter from a car, Twilly goes to Stoat's home and removes theglass eyeballs from the animals that the bloated lobbyist had shotand mounted on his walls. Boodle gulps down the eyeballs, sustaining nosmall amount of digestive difficulties.

Soon Boodle and Stoat's wife, Desie, are fugitives from Florida's naturedespoilers (who include the Governor, a "gladhanding maggot," the amusinglyslimy Stoat, the human bulldozer Krimmler, thecocaine-importer-turned-developer Clapley, and the hit man Mr. Gash, who'sfond of sex with multiple beach bimbos in iguana-skin sex harnesses to thetunes of The World's Most Blood Curdling Emergency Calls). Desie,who has a knack for calamitous romance, is smitten with Twilly, but urges himnot to kill any litterbugs or pelican molesters: "Jail would not be goodfor this relationship." What keeps pure farce at bay in a novel that rompswith the abandon of a scent-crazed Labrador is the otherwise charmingTwilly's creepy edge of implacable fanaticism. And what redeems thefunny/ugly violence from cliché is its colorful bad guys (they're asiridescent as oil slicks), Hiaasen's excellent wit, and the music of hisprose. To evoke a drunk asleep on the beach, he adds a pungent detail: "a gleaming stellate dollop of seagull shit decorated his forehead."

Hiaasen is not unflawed. His original eco-terrorist character, ex-Floridagovernor Clinton "Skink" Tyree, seems like an interloper from the earlierbooks. But Hiaasen's the master of madcap ensembles (which is partly whythe star-vehicle film of his fine book Strip Tease flopped). And even when you can see a chase scene's denouement coming for abeachfront mile, each paragraph packs descriptive delights to keep yougoing at breakneck pace. --Tim Appelo ... Read more

Customer Reviews (240)

Gotta Love Carl and Skink!
Another great book from Carl Hiaasen. This is the best brain candy I can find, have read all of his books and looking forward to the next. Thanks, Carl!

Many chuckles to be had
This is the first - and so far only - Carl Hiaasen book I've ever read. it was a fairly entertaining read, I liked all the quirks he put in here. Yes, there's a overall story, but the sweet thing about this book were the details. You have all these characters with quarks, like the fat senator who would rather take pictures of himself while he's intimate with his wife and is a neat freak in a weird way, or the thug who wears girdles made of reptile skin. Goodness gracious. There's also a lot of moments where I would smile to myself as I read a rather amusing part in this environmentalist vs greedy rich/political men tale. If the rest of this author's books are similar to this, then I'd love to read more.

Great product, super quick shipping!
Book is in great shape, and the shipping was very fast.
Thanks so much!

not his best
I love Carl Hiaasen but this book was pretty weak .It took me forever to warm to the main characters especially Twilly.Every character was just a little too over the top as was the plot.Try Basket Case if you want the best of Carl Hiaasen.

Enjoyable
Very enjoyable.
Not the best literature I have ever read, but very entertaining and well worth a read.

... Read more

Product Description
Marine biologist Chaz Perrone can't tell a sea horse from a sawhorse. And when he throws his beautiful wife, Joey, off a cruise liner, he really should know better. An expert swimmer, Joey makes her way to a floating bale of Jamaican pot-and then to an island inhabited by an ex-cop named Mick Stranahan, whose ex-wives include five waitresses and a TV producer. Now Joey wants to get revenge on Chaz and Mick's happy to help her.But in swampy South Florida, separating lies from truths and stupidity from brilliance isn't easy. Especially when you're after a guy like Chaz-who's bad at murder, great at fraud, and just terrible at getting caught...Amazon.com Review
Charles "Chaz" Perrone fancies himself a take-charge kind of guy. So when this "biologist by default" suspects that his curvaceous wife, Joey, has stumbled onto a profitable pollution scam he's running on behalf of Florida agribusiness mogul Red Hammernut, he sets out right away to solve the problem--by heaving Joey off the deck of a luxury cruise liner and into the Atlantic Ocean, far from Key West. But--whoops!--Joey, a former swimming champ, doesn't drown. Instead, as Carl Hiaasen tells in his 10th adult novel, Skinny Dip, she makes her way back to shore, thanks both to a wayward bale of Jamaican marijuana and lonerish ex-cop Mick Stranahan (Skin Tight, 1989), and then launches a bogus blackmail campaign that's guaranteed to drive her lazy, libidinous hubby into a self-protective frenzy.

You've got to hand it to Hiaasen: He's perfected a formula for crisply written, satirical crime fiction that makes the best use of imaginatively repulsive villains, as well as less thoroughly venal scoundrels and victims who ultimately overcome their antagonists, all while stumping for the preservation of Florida's environment, particularly the Everglades. In Skinny Dip, we find Chaz (who'd rather be golfing than puttering around the "hot, buggy, funky-smelling and treacherous" reaches of nature) falsifying water samples to help Hammernut turn the 'Glades into "God’s septic tank." That scheme, though, is endangered not just by Joey's sudden disappearance, but by the suspicions of a python-loving police detective and Chaz's own outstanding inability to tame his Viagra-enhanced tumescence. Even by assigning Chaz a baby-sitter--the hulking, hirsute, and painkiller-addicted Tool--Hammernut can't keep his pet biologist out of trouble. As Joey and Stranahan unfold their revenge plot, and Tool's conscience grows in competition with Chaz's ego, the reader can only marvel at the extent of the train wreck ahead.

As much fun as Hiaasen has delivering Chaz his climactic comeuppance, what's missing from Skinny Dip is a more complex, more credible development of Mick Stranahan's character and the relationship he builds with the much younger Joey Perrone. Like Erin Grant, from Strip Tease, Joey has far more going for her than her bra-cup size; but "hero" Stranahan is of far less interest here than any of his fellow players. --J. Kingston Pierce ... Read more

Customer Reviews (357)

An excellent romp of mental stimulation
This book has it all. The characters, the plot, the subplot, the locations, all great. We have a gorgeous rich girl who survives being pitched off a cruise ship, a sleazy coward with a perpetual bone-on, an ex-cop who still knows how to play the game (and kick butt and get the girl), a dim-witted giant with a heart of gold, a redneck slob of a CEO as crooked as they come, and a cop who knows guilt when he sees it. Put them all together, run them from the overgrown muck of the Everglades to the glistening white canyon of Collins Avenue to a beautiful secluded private island off the coast of Miami, and you have a book that you just don't want to put down. This is an incredible tale of crime and revenge, and you just may question yourself about who you're cheering for. You'll laugh at the antics of these characters, and you'll marvel at the genius that dreamed them up. This being my first journey with Mr. Hiassen, I'm looking forward to reclining on the Florida beach with more of his books. Makes me feel right at home!

disappointment unfortunately
I bought this book as ý had red reviews at amazon. Unfortunately it turned out to be a big disappointment. it is funny on some pages, yes but to be able to reach the funny pages you need to want to read the story....the story was so predictable that at once point ý asked my self why ý kept reading...it is one of the very rare occasions so that ý could not finish the book and actually left it on the plane...

Just as Good the Second Time Around
I have read this book twice and loved it just as much the second time around. Carl Hiaasen is a fantastic writer who pulls you in to the story of Joey and Chaz Perrone from the very first chapter. His writing flows in such a way that the reader is captured and held onto all the way to the last page. If you have not yet read Skinny Dip, you simply must pick it up today! You will not be sorry. This is one super fantastic read that will have you glued to the pages. This is the perfect summer book, just sit back in the sun and enjoy.

It was alright
This was one of those books that I picked up for the sole reason that I didn't have anything else to read at the time. It was an interesting read, where the author knew how to write irony well. Though some times it just felt too drawn out for me, and the plot was lost in the humor of the book. This could have been a good thing, but I just didn't feel like it was what I needed.

Disappointed
I had high hopes for the book.My oldest daughter enjoyed his books (Hoot and Scat) for younger readers, while I had some good laughs reading his book documenting his return to playing golf.

Then I heard Hiassen on "Imus in the Morning" and thought to pick up one of his novels.I knew he had a good reputation, was supposedly funny and wrote novels with offbeat plots.While the latter was true with respect to the plot of Skinny Dip, I can't say that it was all that funny and it certainly did his reputation no good in my mind.

It was not terrible and I suppose it suffices for the typical summer beach read -- something to keep you semi-occupied with reading at the beach or poolside and easy to pick back up the plot when you have to look up to pay attention to your kids.But beyond that, I found reading it a pretty empty experience.

For someone with a reputation as developing interesting characters, most of the main ones in Skinny Dip fit tried and true cliches: a brooding loner who is a former cop; a husband who is inattentive and sex-crazed; a cop who just won't give up on the crime; a brutish thug/body guard with a ton of body hair who is addicted to pain killers, etc.There are some unusual twist and turns, for sure, but overall I felt the book was flat and not that entertaining.I expected more and was disappointed. ... Read more

Product Description
"Reminiscent of the snarky, opinionated newspaper articles of the great Mark Twain, Hiaasen's columns are finely crafted little gems."(Booklist)

Carl Hiaasen takes you on a wide-ranging safari, observing south Florida's wildlife in its natural habitat-from fat-cat politicians to migrating mobsters, drowning dolphins to stray chads. This collection of Miami Herald columns-written with a satiric wit and biting humor-will give Hiaasen fans a glimpse of the facts that inspire his frenetic fiction.

Harking back to the muckraking journalists of old, Hiaasen lets readers in on the comings and goings of corrupt local politicos, misguided tourist bureaus, and flailing sports franchises. He tackles such current events as the Elian Gonzalez imbroglio and the 2000 presidential election recount. All in all, more than two hundred columns chronicle the everyday circus that gives south Florida a flavor and a flair all its own.

Since 1985, Hiaasen's twice-weekly, "baseball-bat-to-the-forehead" column has given the average citizen a voice. A staunch defender of his native state, Hiaasen isn't afraid to take anyone on, including environmental despoilers, Big Tobacco, and the NRA. But as proven in his first collection of columns, Kick Ass, his righteous rage and spirited wit resonate far beyond the Sunshine State-and show readers a world-class journalist in his element.

Edited by Diane Stevenson. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Carl Hiaasen's Miami Herald gr. hits
If you're expecting a novel from Carl in the style for which he has become known for, you're in for a big let down. But if you want to read a collection of someone's idea of what his best work has been at his regular job at the Miami Herald, then you're at the right place. Personally, I was not that gratified by this book, but then again, my expectations were completely different for what this was about. Carl Hiaasen is still one of my favorite authors and one of my favorite people. I love this guy.

Great editorial collection, but dated
Carl Hiaasen has been my favorite editorialist since before my teen years, and the collection in Paradise Screwed did not disappoint.From the brazen destruction of Florida's natural environment to jaw-dropping political incompetence to downright graft and corruption, you will find in this collection that Hiaasen "has an editorial for that" from his prolific and highly successful career at the Miami Herald. To be clear, his biting, relevant, tell-it-as-it-is writing style merits nothing less than 5 stars.I ONLY gave this collection four stars because so many of the editorials selected are dated, often more than 25 years old and with very, very few covering the late 90's into the 2000's.While still fun to read and indicative of the culture of short-sighted greed and ignorance that too often permeates daily life in Florida, I would prefer to see a new and updated collection of Mr. Hiaasen's editorials published in the future, perhaps a massive three part collection with one book each for the 80's, 90's, and 2000's.

Short stories - be aware
I was disappointed.. This book contains lots of short stories - somewhat funny, but not at all good reading compared to his earlier books. I'd stay away from this book if I'd known in advance

A Fitting Epithet for Florida?
Hiaasen dishes up food for thought to garnish compelling narrative, which is why I admire his writing style.I can't say Hiaasen does much for Florida's wacky reputation, but he certainly makes me hope that what happens over there stays over there.Informative, funny and frightening stuff.

A savage wit who cares about saving Paradise
Carl Hiaasen's savage wit has brought him fame and fortune, but what makes his work resonate beyond the mere telling of jokes is that he truly cares about Florida. That gives his non-fiction work the power to provoke as well as amuse.

If you're interested in reading more about Florida's environmental woes, check out a book that Hiaasen himself calls "an important book that should be read by every voter, every taxpayer, every parent, every Floridian who cares about saving what's left of this precious place": Paving Paradise: Florida's Vanishing Wetlands and the Failure of No Net Loss (Florida History and Culture) ... Read more

Product Description
A book for young readers. It involves new kids, bullies, alligators, eco-warriors, pancakes, and pint-sized owls. A hilarious
Floridian adventure!Amazon.com Review
Roy Eberhardt is the new kid--again. This time around it's Trace Middle School in humid Coconut Grove, Florida. But it's still the same old routine: table by himself at lunch, no real friends, and thick-headed bullies like Dana Matherson pushing him around. But if it wasn't for Dana Matherson mashing his face against the school bus window that one day, he might never have seen the tow-headed running boy. And if he had never seen the running boy, he might never have met tall, tough, bully-beating Beatrice. And if he had never met Beatrice, he might never have discovered the burrowing owls living in the lot on the corner of East Oriole Avenue. And if he had never discovered the owls, he probably would have missed out on the adventure of a lifetime. Apparently, bullies do serve a greater purpose in the scope of the universe. Because if it wasn't for Dana Matherson...

In his first novel for a younger audience, Carl Hiaasen (Basket Case, etc.) plunges readers right into the middle of an ecological mystery, made up of endangered miniature owls, the Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House scheduled to be built over their burrows, and the owls' unlikely allies--three middle school kids determined to beat the screwed-up adult system. Hiaasen's tongue is firmly in cheek as he successfully cuts his slapstick sense of humor down to kid-size. Sure to be a hoot, er, hit with middle school mystery fans. (Ages 10 to 15)--Jennifer Hubert ... Read more

Customer Reviews (515)

Hoot by Jayson Daniels
My opinion on Hoot
By Jayson Daniels
I read Hoot by Carl Hiaasen and this review will be about my opinion of the book. Hoot is not part of a series. I found Hoot a great book and after this I hope you will agree. Hoot is about a boy Named Roy Eberhardtwho moves to Coconut Cove , Florida, and a construction site is going to ruin an owl home and Roy and his friends have to find a way to stop them and save the owls.
The part I liked the most was when Roy meets "mullet fingers" since that is a good part in the book since "mullet fingers" is a main character and he is a big influence. He helps Roy a lot.
In hoot Roy gets help from friends to help try to stop the destroying of the owl home and to stop the construction site and he does that by delaying the building by doing things to it. He was very determined but he is not a trouble maker and he is shy.
The author is trying to tell us that we should use all of our ability to help the world and nature. He also wants to show us what it can do if you help the world so I think it is a good lesson. I am not going to tell you the outcome but I recommend this book to you.
I think this book was outstanding and it was very unpredictable for me. I also thought it had great detail and action. I really liked what they are trying to do and I agree with it. I would do the same thing if I was Roy. He is helping the world.

Please read hoot and it is great. Thanks for reading

My Opinion on Hoot by Jason Daniels (d15)
By Jayson Daniels
I read Hoot by Carl Hiaasen and this review will be about my opinion of the book. Hoot is not part of a series. I found Hoot a great book and after this I hope you will agree. Hoot is about a boy Named Roy Eberhardtwho moves to Coconut Cove , Florida, and a construction site is going to ruin an owl home and Roy and his friends have to find a way to stop them and save the owls.
The part I liked the most was when Roy meets "mullet fingers" since that is a good part in the book since "mullet fingers" is a main character and he is a big influence. He helps Roy a lot.
In hoot Roy gets help from friends to help try to stop the destroying of the owl home and to stop the construction site and he does that by delaying the building by doing things to it. He was very determined but he is not a trouble maker and he is shy.
The author is trying to tell us that we should use all of our ability to help the world and nature. He also wants to show us what it can do if you help the world so I think it is a good lesson. I am not going to tell you the outcome but I recommend this book to you.
I think this book was outstanding and it was very unpredictable for me. I also thought it had great detail and action. I really liked what they are trying to do and I agree with it. I would do the same thing if I was Roy. He is helping the world.

Please read hoot and it is great. Thanks for reading

Book Review of Hoot
Book Review of Hoot
I think other kids would enjoy this book.It is about a boy named Roy that moved from Montana to Florida.There was a bully named Dana who beat him up on the bus.One day on the bus, Roy was smashed against the window by Dana, he saw a boy running. That boy was trouble from the start.That is how it all begins...
Characters: Roy, Dana, Beatrice, the running boy, Kimberly Lou Dixon, Curly, Chuckle Muckle, Officer Delinko, and Garrett.
I thought the characters were believable.That is a good thing because that made it easier to compare to my normal life.I liked the way the author changed who and where the people were talking.For example, in one text it would end with Roy talking at his house and then begin a new paragraph with Officer Delinko talking at the police department.I also liked the way the story ended. It was an ending but really a new beginning.I loved Hoot a lot and I think that you would too.There is another fantastic book that Carl Hiaasen wrote called Flush.This is a great author that you would probably love just like I do.Don't miss another adventure with Roy and Beatrice!Hope you read the book!GO READING!
By,
Eve (age 10)

Getting Kids to Give a Hoot About Nature!
Hoot is about Roy, a boy who is new in a small town in Florida and the adventure he discovers by simply chasing after a strange barefooted boy he sees running past the school bus one morning. There are the new-kid-in-school scenarios, the bully, a mystery about the strange barefooted boy, and eventually it all leads to Roy discovering a coverup involving a construction zone for a new pancake house and some endangered owls.

While the story is unique and has very good intentions, I personally had trouble feeling invovled in it. I liked the main character, Roy, and pretty much all of his school-aged friends. What bothered me the most were the depictions of the adults in the story. From the extremely dim-witted, somewhat annoying policeman, Delinko, to the ill tempered, ignorant construction foreman, Curly, I struggled to read through sections in their (limited omnscient) point of view. Roy's parents were decent, but even they at times were hard to believe. Maybe kids wouldn't pick up on these things, but I do wonder about it. I personally wish the book had been solely from Roy's (limited omnsicient) perspective, or perhaps some of his peers, such as Beatrice and Mullet Fingers, rather than Officer Delinko and Curly. A good book for raising kids' awareness and ways to combat/protest illegal corporate environmental destruction and endangerment of native animal species, even if some of the story and characters are hard to believe.

I like this book
I like this book because it has a good link to nature and the Characters stand up for each other.I took away the 5th star because most books I read had battles. ... Read more

Product Description
Bestselling novelist Carl Hiaasen is back with another hysterical mystery adventure for young readers, set in the Florida Keys.
 
Noah's dad has a little problem with anger control. He tried to stop the Coral Queen casino boat's illegal dumping . . . by sinking the boat. But his bold protest fizzles: within days the casino is back in business, and Noah's dad is behind bars and out of action.
 
Now Noah is determined to succeed where his father failed. But even though pumping raw sewage into the waters of the Florida Keys is both gross and against the law, turns out it's near impossible to catch the flusher—especially when he's already bamboozled the prosecutors, the local press, and even the Coast Guard.
 
But Noah's got a few allies. There's his little sister, Abbey, an unreformed childhood biter; Lice Peeking, a half-soused ex-mate of the Coral Queen who is willing to testify . . . for a price; and Shelly, a bighearted bartender with even bigger biceps.
 
Okay, so the odds aren't good. But Noah has an ace up his sleeve—a plan so crazy it just might stop the polluting, save the beaches, and prove to the world that it's the owner of the Coral Queen, and not his dad, who is full of . . . crud. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (134)

Flush - Summer Reading
This book is about a man named Mr. Underwood.Another man named Dusty Muleman is dumping waste into the local water.Mr. Underwood tries to stop Dusty from dumping waste into the water.Mr. Underwood sinks Dusty's gambling boat, The Coral Queen.He does this by pulling the plug out of the back of the boat.He does this to make sure he didn't damage the boat but still sink it.Mr Underwood goes to jail for sinking Dusty's boat.His children, Noah and Abbey, visit him at jail a lot.They also try to prove that Dusty Muleman is a bad guy for dumping his waste into the water.Noah and Abbey and a friend come up with a good idea to prove Dusty is dumping his waste int he water.

This is a really good book.My favorite part was when Dusty Muleman was BUSTED!!!!!

A Review by Ian
Because Noah and Abbey's dad is "passionate about the environment", he decides to sink the Coral Queen casino boat.Noah and Abbey's dad believes that Dusty Muleman, the owner of the boat, is flushing the sewage from the boat into the harbor and destroying the environment. It didn't work because a few days later the boat is drained and back in business.Because Noah and Abbey's dad gets thrown in jail for sinking the boat, the kids decide to try to prove that the Coral Queen is polluting the harbor illegally since their dad isn't able to.

FIRST OPINION:
Since I live on a river and earn and sometimes earn summer fun money crabbing, if I saw a sign saying "BEWARE OF CONTAMINATED WATER" I would be angry. I like that the author writes about the environment and has his characters protect it.

SECOND OPINION:
I like a story where the kids are the heros.Noah and Abbey, "They're true champs, both of'em."

I would definately recommend this book to a friend who likes an action style book and someone who is into the environment like me.

Flush
Flush is about a boy, Noah who wants to become like his dad, by following in his dads footsteps. To start, his dad is in jail because he was accused of sinking a casino boat after realizing the owner of the boat was flushing sewage waste into the water. Ruining the water quality and habitat of turtles and fish.
It is a good book if you want a lesson but humor too,(pg.45) such as " Next time you've got a problem just tell me and then we will sit down and talk about like normal human beings". The guy has a point. This has humor and a lesson in the sentence. Also (pg. 75)" A baseball would do the job"," I could tell mom I was tossing it around the living room when it accidentally (on purpose) hit the TV screen" This is sneaky and funny.
I would suggest this book to a friend because you never get bored, whether your laughingor really want to know whats going to happen next!The moral of this book is " if there is a problem and you know its way over your head ( too big of a problem for you) then tell someone, don't keep itto yourself." I would highly recommend this book if you haven't read it before.

My daughter Loved It
I am trying to encourage my 11 year old to read more.I bought her this book and sent it to her at Camp.She loves it.It is the only time I have seen her sitting in her room reading.I love the author as an adult and apparently he is a hit with the tweens and teens.I haven't read it myself, but plan to.

Entertaining and fun for kids 9/10 and up
Well, this was just a plain fun read. I think young readers (10 and up) would easily be hooked by the story and characters. The writing style is easy and natural, and full of humor too. Kids will love the blend of exciting action, funny lines, and interesting plot.

Now, as an adult reader, I had a problem with the believability of the storyline...I mean, the novel is meant to be 'realistic' fiction, right? But regardless of my issues with the events of the story, I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to recommend this one to kids who are looking for a fun and action-packed read. ... Read more

Product Description
Once a hotshot investigative reporter, Jack Tagger now bangs out obituaries for a South Florida daily, "plotting to resurrect my career by yoking my byline to some famous stiff." Jimmy Stoma, the infamous front man for Jimmy and the Slut Puppies, dead in a fishy-smelling scuba "accident" may be just the stiff Jack needs-if only he can figure out what happened. Standing in the way are (among others) an editor who wants Jack to "break her cherry," Stoma's ambitious pop-singer widow, and the soulless, profit-hungry newspaper owner Jack once publicly humiliated. As clues from Stoma's music give Jack Tagger the chance to trade obits for a story that could hit the front page, murder gives his career a new lease on life.Amazon.com Review
Take one dead rock & roll star, his Courtney Love-type widow, the mysterious deaths of his former bandmates, and the lost tracks of a comeback album. Stir in Jack Tagger, a middle-aged investigative reporter obsessed with death since his banishment to the obit desk; a fetching young editor with a yen for our hero; and a boss looking for a reason to fire him. Put them in the hands of a master like Carl Hiaasen, who adds his trademark flourishes (who else would use a frozen lizard as a weapon?) to a creaky plot like this one, and the result is a winner. Florida is full of caper writers with journalistic credentials, and plenty of them have a deft hand with quirky characters, but no one in the genre is better than Hiaasen. --Jane Adams ... Read more

Customer Reviews (177)

Below par for Hiaasen
After reading Skinny Dip and Skin Tight, I tackled Basket Case. I had to force myself to finish it and often skimmed pages at a time to get through it. Predictable from the start. Certainly not Hiaasen's best work. I'm not giving up on the author, though, just being more careful about which books I read. Plan to read Stormy Weather next.

Good to the Last Drop, er Page, that is
Because Jack Tagger, former ace investigative reporter for the Union-Register, had the gall to publicly humiliate the young CEO of the publishing group that purchased the paper in front of the shareholders, he has been demoted to writing obituaries.

Jack listens to the re-released CDs of a lot of '70 rock bands as his music of choice, so when he hears that Jimmy Stoma, of Jimmy and the {small} Puppies, has turned up dead after scuba-diving in the Caribbean, he wants to know a little more.

Unfortunately his obit editor allows him no leeway, so he investigates on his own time, because the headman for the rock group that gave the world such songs as "Mouth Full of Muscle," and the Grammy-Award winning album A PAINFUL BURNING SENSATION deserves more than a few lines in an obit.

He sets out to dig up some answers, tracking down Stoma's widow, a Courtney Love type called Cleo Rio; the surviving band members; and Stoma's Internet stripper sister Janet.

The story zooms along, powered by delicious dialogue, and a quirky but likable cast of characters such as - Juan Rodriguez, womanizing loyal friend and aspiring novelist; Emma Cole, ambitious newspaper editor who has a unique fetish for fluorescent nail-polish; Carla Candilla, the teenage club scene veteran and jailbait daughter of Jack's ex-girlfriend; and Colonel Tom, a 175 dead lizard who sleeps with the Dove Bars in Jack's freezer.

This story will have you laughing the night away and before you know it, you'll be finished with a fine story and you'll have learned a heck a lot about the newspaper business too, in this mucho humorous story.

Good but not his best work
I have read all of Hiassen's book.This one is good but not as exciting as most of his others.It is still worth reading as it is good entertainment.

Slow Moving and Predictable
I usually love this authors books, however, this one was predictable and slow.I really had to force myself to keep reading til the end.There were times I skipped pages just to finish.The plot is interesting but, It seems to be over written.I did like the singers sister, Jacks romance with his editor and Jacks obessesion with death.The frozen lizard was funny too.

Fellow author gives thumbs up
[...] I give this a thumbs up for outrageous comedy at its best. I have been a Carl Hiaasen fan for years and have loved every one of his books that I have read.

What I loved about this book, as is the case with all of his, is that his characters are so engaging. The plot twists and turns are unexpected and the situations keep getting more and more outrageous. It is dark, satirical, and delicious. I don't know how he does it. The flavor of all of his books is the same. Yet this, just like the rest, was as refreshing as the first book I read by him.

Davis Aujourd'hui, author of "The Misadventures of Sister Mary Olga Fortitude" ... Read more

Product Description
From "the funniest important writer in America" (Miami Herald) comes a tale that is gleefully zany and incisively sharp and now available in trade paperback for the first time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (176)

One of the funniest books I ever read!!
I just started reading Hiaasen's books and they are great.I love books that give you a good laugh and his books definitely do that.I could not stop laughing reading this book, and I look forward to reading more from him.

Hiaasen Knows Florida but not Texas
Carl Hiaasen's books are filled with zany characters and he knows Florida like the back of his hand. HOWEVER, he did not do his research on Texas for Nature Girl. I'm only a quarter of the way through the book and he's already made 2 glaring errors regarding Texas. First we don't call any of our freeways "The" anything. In Ft. Worth, it's 820, not The 820. We're not in California (even though we are closer to it than Florida).
Second, he says that Dallas is in east Texas. Take a look at a map of Texas, Mr. Hiaasen! Dallas is smack dab in the middle of north Texas. Liz Donovan is thanked by Mr. Hiaasen for her "peerless research skills". I'm betting that she didn't even look at a map of the state!

Plot? Characters?
There are some funny, well-written sections in this book. But there is no particular plot. There's a meandering, almost-a-storyline, but it never really gels. The characters are completely unlikeable, or simply flat and unrealistic. Boyd and Eugenie are so unsympathetic, they are depressing. They belong on Dismal Key. Forever. Ditto Gillian and Louis. The other characters are "Meh", and Honey is completely annoying in every way imaginable. I just couldn't finish the book, though I kept trying. I got about 2/3 through and then threw in the towel.

Complete waste of time
The worst book I've read in years. A boring, senseless story with nothing to recommend it.

Mediocre
I have read six Hiaasen novels, and of his adult fiction this is my least favorite. It is not a bad book; it is just not an interesting book. The characters in "Nature Girl" seem more "normal" then in many of Hiaasen's previous efforts and, ironically, despite the normality of the characters they come off as less human (and thus less real) then some of his craziest characters from previous efforts. And I can't figure out why.
The plot is characteristic Hiaasen, the only deviations being that it is a little less violent and much of the plot happens in one location. The descriptions of the characters are pretty typical, almost stock representations, and the plot is not unfathomable. The novel simply is not as funny as previous Hiaasen efforts, and the author inserts too much of his political biases into the story. Those are the only differences I can find from previous works, and that must be enough to sink this novel.
Only one character stuck with me after I finished reading and that was the piece's villain, Boyd Shreave. Shreave is not as much a villain as he is self absorbed, whiny, and useless. Good things never happen to him, he is the novel's punching bag, and because we all know people like Boyd Shreave in real life, I enjoyed seeing him fail at every try.
"Nature Girl" is not a waste of time, but I would read it when you have loads of time to spare. Readers will be more satisfied by earlier Hiaasen works like "Skin Tight" and "Double Whammy".
... Read more

Product Description
Somebody wants Mick Stranahan dead. Mick is sure of this, because he just had to dispatch a pistol-packing intruder with the help of a stuffed marlin head. But who would want to hurt a former Florida state investigator? The answer is plenty of people-as Stranahan soon finds himself acquainted with a litter of nefarious players, including a hit man whose skin problems could fill a comprehensive (if bizarre) medical textbook, a lawyer of questionable repute who advertises on billboards, and a TV show host whose taste for sensationalism is exceeded only by his vanity. The whole thing gets downright harrowing for the ex-cop in one of Hiaasen's most breathtaking, madcap romps ever-where even a plastic surgeon with extremely shaky hands waits to wring Stranahan's neck. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (96)

Carl has jumped the shark
This book has the usual whacky characters, the greed, the bluntly comic disasters, deaths and oddball dismemberments yada yada.Ultimately, it feels like Carl has begun to "mail it in".His books are now so formulaic....it's like a college kid wrote a derivative Hiaasen novel...hell, I think I could write one by now.It just isn't well or thoughtfully written, and this from someone who has loved Hiaasen's work in the past.There are a few chuckles, but it all seems forced.It's like he peaked with Nature Girl and has lost his edge.

I wouldn't recommend this book....I was bored.

Amusing Chaos
This is the 4th Hiaasen book that I have read.
I wish it was the first, because I believe I would have been able to enjoy Hiaasens dry humor and crazy characters more. But since this was the 4th time round I knew what to expect.

This story is about a plastic surgeon who accidently murders a patient and covers it up. The characters that are good, bad, and so bad they are good are out of this world vein and a better trainwreck than Lindsay Lohan.

I read this book in a week and very much enjoyed the story.
Carl Hiaasen must have a thing against selfish , vein and money hungry people, because he ruins their lives in this book more than I or anyone could imagine!

Great Beach Read.

turn your brain off & enjoy the ride
This is the third Hiaasen novel I've tried; the other two were poor offerings, but largely at the insistence of friends I decided to try a third. Skin Tight is a decent offering compared to the other two I'd read (Storm Warning and Basket Case) though compared with other authors, it's still fairly weak.

Somehow, Hiaasen has culled a reputation as a writer of dark comedies full of quirky characters. I can see the *attempt*, though I suspect it's "mainstream" people who say this, and people like me who find stranger things in our breakfast cereals aren't as impressed. Still, this is a fairly decent read, and it held my interest. I don't recall laughing or even chuckling, but other people might well find things amusing.

My main problem with this is the enormous amount of "suspension of disbelief" required in this book. As with the other works of his I'd read, this one is driven by HIGHLY contrived plot convenience and willful stupidity by the villains: anyone with more than two brain cells wouldn't have reacted in the ways that the characters do, and the plot would have ground to a halt. I find such things frustrating.

Like the review title says, if you turn your brain off and go with the flow, you can quite likely enjoy this book. I was able to, but it took a bit of "effort." Quite likely, I'm just jaded, so mainstream readers will get more fun out of this than I did.

skin tight
This book was said to be in good condition, but I disagree. The pages are very yellowed and the binding is not intact. I was disappointed with the condition of this book.

It's another wacky winner!
If you are a Hiaasen fan, this book will not disappoint you. If you have never read one of his books, this is a wonderful place to start. Carl Hiaasen is one of my favorite comedic authors. His brand of humor is over the top and will keep you laughing all of the way. [...]. Carl Hiaasen has been an inspiration to me as an author!

In order to enjoy this book, you need to have an appreciation for dark humor which is satire at its best. His characters are zany and the scenarios are outlandish. He is consistent in that regard within all of his books. This book offers its readers pure escapist fun. It also was the kind of book that I didn't want to put down. I gobbled it up in the same manner that a little child eats candy. Enjoy a wonderful adventure!

Davis Aujourd'hui, author of "The Misadventures of Sister Mary Olga Fortitude" ... Read more

Product Description
"Disney is so good at being good that it manifests an evil; so uniformly efficient and courteous, so dependably clean and conscientious, so unfailingly entertaining that it's unreal, and therefore is an agent of pure wickedness. . . . Disney isn't in the business of exploiting Nature so much as striving to improve upon it, constantly fine-tuning God's work."
--from TEAM RODENT

TEAM RODENT
How Disney Devours America

"Revulsion is good. Revulsion is healthy. Each of us has limits, unarticulated boundaries of taste and tolerance, and sometimes we forget where they are. Peep Land is here to remind us; a fixed compass point by which we can govern our private behavior. Because being grossed out is essential to the human experience; without a perceived depravity, we'd have nothing against which to gauge the advance or decline of culture; our art, our music, our cinema, our books. Without sleaze, the yardstick shrinks at both ends. Team Rodent doesn't believe in sleaze, however, nor in old-fashioned revulsion. Square in the middle is where it wants us all to be, dependable consumers with predictable attitudes. The message, never stated but avuncularly implied, is that America's values ought to reflect those of the Walt Disney Company, and not the other way around."Amazon.com Review
Let's get one thing straight: Carl Hiaasen doesn't like theWalt Disney Company. Whenever the giant entertainment conglomeratestumbles, as it did with its proposed Civil War theme park inVirginia, Hiaasen cheers. When a rhinoceros mysteriously dies atDisney's new theme park, Animal Kingdom, Hiaasen secretly hopes forthe worst, because, as he writes, "no scandal is so delectable asa Disney scandal."

A native of Florida, author of suchthrillers as LuckyYou and StripTease, and a journalist for the Miami Herald, Hiaasencomes by his dislike for Disney honestly. He has witnessed therelentless success of the Disney machine firsthand with thedevelopment of Disney World and other properties around Orlando. InTeam Rodent: How Disney Devours the World, Hiaasen paints awitty and sarcastic portrait in this nonfiction account of a companywho can control the press, manipulate local governments, and becauseit's Disney, get away with it. Team Rodent is a quick,entertaining read that even the most loyal Disney shareholder (exceptmaybe Michael Eisner) will find enlightening and amusing. --HarryC. Edwards ... Read more

Customer Reviews (106)

Inventing a better mouse trap
is what needs to be done.
Whatgreat book about a Real Evil Empire.

Mouse Ears??!!
A very interesting slant on the Disney Corporation as stated by a Floridian reporter/writer. This is actually a very long essay.Takes only a short time to read and process.

he Rat skewered by facts
Hiassen puts his background as a jounalist to work.With the combination of quality research and his legendary ascerbic wit someone finally skewers the Rat kingdom as it deserves.

Hiassen book
My book was delivered shortly after I ordered it and arrived in very good condition.I haven't read the whole book yet but soon will.Amazon has always delivered without any delay and never has been damaged.

"Disney is so good at being good that it manifests an evil." -Which is ripe for satire.
This little 83-page tract against The Walt Disney Company is intended to entertain more than inform or even proselytize. Carl Hiaasen grew up in Florida, where Disney reigns supreme. Disney has devoured Florida, the United States, and, Hiaasen predicts, will gobble up the world. So he relishes a Disney scandal, and he's collected a few of them in "Team Rodent". Hiaasen sees something evil in Disney's obsession with being good -or appearing to be good. What he finds most objectionable are the lengths to which Disney will go to "superimpose its own recreation-based reality", "a sublime and unbreakable artificiality", on the real thing. So "Team Rodent" celebrates Disney's failures and exposes its hypocrisies.

Hiaasen is not pleased that Walt Disney World acquired its own government by creating its own municipality in Florida. "The Vatican with mouse ears," some say. He takes swipes at Michael Eisner, Disney's board of directors, its housing developments, adult entertainment, animal cruelty, abuse of power, and anything else that might blot the company's image. Hiaasen has some good things to say about Disney too. This isn't a polemic so much as an exasperated, amusing critique. I think he could have said more about the strange requirements of employees at Disney's theme parks. But I've hated everything Disney since my family dragged me to Disneyland when I was four. So I think "Team Rodent" is pretty funny. ... Read more

Product Description
Readers who love Carl Hiaasen's off-the-wall novels won't want to miss this outrageous, eclectic collection of his notorious Miami Herald columns. His unique and passionate essays prove that the facts can indeed be stranger than fiction... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

kick ass
good book, not up to what I expect from Hiaaen, but still work it.I can relate to much of it

kick ass
good book, not up to what I expect from Hiaaen, but still work it.I can relate to much of it

Didn't live up to its recommendation
I was disappointed in this book.I like Carl's juvenile literature much better than his adult books.

A savage wit who cares about his state
Carl Hiaasen's savage wit has brought him fame and fortune, but what makes his work resonate beyond the mere telling of jokes is that he truly cares about Florida. That gives his non-fiction work the power to provoke as well as amuse. He's not afraid to tell the truth about the folks who want to pave Paradise.

If you're interested in reading more about Florida's environmental woes, check out a book that Hiaasen himself calls "an important book that should be read by every voter, every taxpayer, every parent, every Floridian who cares about saving what's left of this precious place": Paving Paradise: Florida's Vanishing Wetlands and the Failure of No Net Loss (Florida History and Culture)

Just incredible stuff, but maybe too long.....
I couldn't believe the stories that Carl Hiaasen told in this book. Corruption and greed without ramifications seems prevalent in Miami.

If it wasn't true, you would think that the author had made up the amazing things that he writes about.

Being a selected amount of his Miami Herald articles, the author has chosen articles that have a certain theme but the problem I found was that although he is (as always) very readable and engaging, the repetitiveness of some of the stories wore on me a bit.
I enjoyed the book though. ... Read more