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| Phone: 845-679-1002 | | FAX: 845-679-3874 | | Email: | | [email protected] | | US Mail: | | 84 Zena Road | | Kingston, NY 12401 |  |
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| Skinny Dip | | by Carl Hiaasen | | Knopf |  | | | | List Price: | $24.95 | | Our Price: | $14.97 | | You Save: | $9.98 (40.00%) | | | Release Date: | 13 July, 2004 | | Media: | Hardcover | | ISBN: | 0375411089 | | | Availability: | Usually ships within 24 hours | | Average Review: |  Based on 16 reviews. |
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| | Description:
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 | |  | | Similar Products
| | | | | | Customer Reviews
| | | Average Customer Review: Based on 16 reviews. | |  Wacky characters and a fun plot make for a great summer read
Florida is a unique state. It is the number one tourist destination in the world with more theme parks and pristine beaches than just about anywhere else. However, it also is quickly being overdeveloped and if you believe Carl Hiaasen, it is due to greedy and unscrupulous individuals. However, Hiaasen makes them out to be cruel and ridiculous characters whose greed will lead to their inevitable demise. The fun for the reader is watching them self destruct.
The latest Hiaasen antihero is Chaz Perrone who for no explicable reason throws his wife off an upper deck of a cruise ship in a vain attempt to kill her. His wife, Joey, survives and with the help of her rescuer and new friend, former cop and hermit Mick Stranahan, try to come up with answers while exacting their revenge.
So many authors try for humor. However, in many instances they try too hard and it becomes quite forced while the plot lags. Hiaasen is the measure of what ingredients go into making the best humorous novels in the mystery genre today. The strength of his work are several. First, the plot is always interesting comically reflecting abnormal behavior in what should be routine situations. In this case taking a cruise vacation. Second, the characters are truly outrageous and unforgettable. The wackiest in this story is Troy, a very large man hired to protect Chaz. He has a bullet stuck in his buttocks which causes him severe pain requiring him to steal pain medicine in the form of adhesive Band-Aids from local nursing homes. Chaz comes in at a close second. He is incredibly self centered worried more about his potency than the well being of his wife or girlfriend. He is a marine biologist who hates marine life as well as biology. Why he does it remains the mystery. Of course it is the act of throwing his wife off the ship that begins his eventual demise. On top of all this is an ecological warning about saving the Everglades and a riveting plot occasionally interrupted by truly hilarious lunacy. Many try but nobody does funny like Carl Hiaasen. | | Hilarious
Do not read this book at night next to your sleeping husband...I kept waking him up laughing out loud.I don't want to give any plot away, so I will be careful here. Let's just say that this book is a typical but exceptional hilarious Hiaasen tale where everything goes wrong. The characters include science challenged biologist Chaz, and his wonderful, rich wife Joey (who he throws off of a cruise ship on page one.) There is also an ex-policeman living on an island, a wild hairdresser with some interesting quirks, a behemoth bodyguard with so much body hair he was once shot because he was mistaken for a bear, a sleazy corporate bad guy, and a Vietnam vet who mistakes the people he meets for famous persons. Oh, and a detective who has two giant pythons. Yes, this is a typical Hiaasen romp. And a good one. Highly highly recommended. (Just not around anyone trying to sleep!) | | Hiaasen on top again!
Chaz throws wife Joey overboard on a cruise. She manages to survive and now the game begins!!! Hiaasen once again shows us how the Everglades is an important part of our environment. |
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