Double Whammy Book

If you have read Hiaasen before, you know his mysteries are in Florida and you know that they are weird. This was his second book and I can confirm this pattern has been in place since the beginning! This book is irreverent and bizarre. Some things make no sense while at the same time making perfect sense (make sense?). If you cannot suspend disbelief for a while, you are gonna get lost in the gator swamp with this one.

Everyone in a Hiaasen book is a caricature and I think that is one of the things that make them so entertaining. With caricatures you have a lot of free reign with what you can do - even if it seems ridiculous, you cannot really complain because it is kind of supposed to be ridiculous. I was entertained by every single character - good, bad, dumb, smart, goofy, straight-laced, etc. And, with the characters in this book there is no line (nope, not even a fine line) between law abiding and criminal - anything goes!

Speaking of characters, Skink is introduced in this book. I have only heard of him before as I have not read any other books with him, but I understand he is important in many of Hiaasen's books. As he is described in the book, I kept thinking of Hayduke from The Monkey Wrench Gang. He has his principles, will do anything to achieve them, and woe to anyone who gets in his way. I am definitely looking forward to more books with him.

I think this book was an improvement over Tourist Season, Hiaasen's first book. That makes sense as this was the beginning of his career and I am sure he was just getting into his groove. I plan to continue to work my way through his books in publication order and hope to find a few more hidden gems in the swamps and on the beaches of Florida.