Sick Puppy

Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen
Literature

When Twilly Spree, an environmental terrorist and financially independent, sees Palmer Stoat throw trash out of his car window on the freeway, he is on his tail seeking revenge. Stoat is a political fixer involved with all sorts of characters: Dick Artemus, ex-car salesman, now governor; Robert Clapley, a crooked land developer with an unhealthy interest in Barbie dolls; and his goon, Mr. Gash, who plays his favorite 911 compilations in the tape deck.

Twilly, after filling Stoat's car with dung beetles and not reforming him, kidnaps both Palmer's dog and his wife, Desie. Twilly uncovers a conspiracy to force a bill through the Florida legislature to develop a bridge to Toad Island, a wildlife sanctuary. This will allow the island to be developed and money to be made by all. Chapley wants Twilly silenced and dispatches Mr. Gash. Palmer wants his wife and dog back and asks Dick Artemus to help in the rescue by manipulating the introduction of the bill.

Trooper Jim Tile is the policeman involved in finding the kidnapper along with ex-Governor Clinton Tyree, aka Skink or the Captain, who lives in the wilds of the Everglades.

Development is shown to be what it is, a stripping away of the environment for the gains of a few. There is loads of dark humor. I loved Desie as a character and what is funny is that she is only a minor character. Some of the others were just too over the top for me but this is a Hiaasen book and what he is known for. A weird and strange kind of mystery

First Line: "On the morning of April 24, an hour past dawn, a man named Palmer Stoat shot a rare African black rhinoceros."

Rating:
(3.5/5)

Strip Tease by Carl Hiaasen

Strip Tease by Carl Hiaasen
Mystery?

Erin dances at a strip club to pay her lawyer bills. She's in the middle of a custody battle with her ex for her daughter. Making friends with the other dancers and the bouncer makes Erin's job slightly more enjoyable, until a US congressman comes in for a dance and begins beating a bachelor over the head with a champagne bottle.

Recognizing the congressman to be David Dilbreck, three people try to blackmail him in exchange for their silence. All turn up dead. Dilbreck is oblivious to these problems though, as he has fallen in love with Erin and wants her to dance for him. A bunch of different characters are involved in the fiasco, each bringing their own crazy problems to the novel.

This was a fun book to read and I'm surprised it's taken me this long to read a Hiaasen book. The quirky characters made me chuckle and wonder how they got themselves into the situation and how they were going to get out of it. For all of the character build up, however, I felt let down by the ending. While everything was resolved, I felt like it wasn't what the characters deserved.

First Line: "On the night of September sixth, the eve of Paul Guber's wedding, his buddies took him to a strip joint near Fort Lauderdale for a bachelor party."

Rating:

(3.5/5)

Strip Tease

Strip Tease by Carl Hiaasen
Mystery

Erin Grant has had to resort to stripping to make some money in order to get custody of her daughter. Her ex's job is stealing wheelchairs but the criminal is a snitch and therefore his criminal activities are hidden from family court and he gets custody.

During one of Erin's performances a groom-to-be gets carried away and Dilbeck, a congressman starts pummeling him with a champagne bottle. Mr. Peepers takes pictures of the whole event and assures Erin he can put pressure on Dilbeck to put pressure on the family court judge. Dilbeck involves Malcolm "Moldy" Moldowsky, the fixer. The end result is a dead Mr. Peepers.

The mystery continues collecting dead bodies and involving the lovable bouncer of the strip club trying to score a lot of money on a fraudent lawsuit.

Hiaasen writes a witty and funny mystery. I loved it

First Line: "On the night of September sixth, the eve of Paul Gruber's wedding, his buddies took him to a strip joint near Fort Lauderdale for a bachelor party."

Rating:

(3.5/5)