Skinny Dip

Joey Perrone's husband throws her over the side of a ship on their anniversary cruise, but unfortunately for Chaz, she survives by clinging to a bale of Jamaican pot. Rather than reporting him, Joey stays hidden and, with the help of her rescuer, Mick, looks for an explanation for Chaz's antipathy, as well as punishing him with taunts and tricks. Stephen Hoye enhances the hilarity and charm of the story, especially Hiaasen's eye for offbeat details. Each character is colorful--the hairy bodyguard with a late-blooming conscience has a gravelly voice with a hint of bafflement; the transplanted Minnesota policeman is characterized by a slightly flattened accent. Hoye's voice has just the right amount of irreverence combined with impeccable, unrushed pacing. Vastly entertaining. A.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

May 10, 2004
Hiaasen's signature mix of hilariously over-the-top villains, lovable innocents and righteous indignation at what mankind has done to his beloved Florida wilderness is all present in riotous abundance in his latest. It begins with attractive heiress Joey Perrone being tossed overboard from a cruise ship by her larcenous husband, Chaz—not for her money, which she has had the good sense to keep well away from him, but because he fears she is onto his crooked dealings with a ruthless tycoon who is poisoning the Everglades. But instead of drowning as she's supposed to, Joey stays afloat until she is rescued by moody ex-cop Mick Stranahan, a loner who has also struck out in the marriage department. Then the two together, with the unwitting aid of a suspicious cop who can't pin the attempted murder on Chaz, hatch a sadistic plot to scare that "maggot" out of what little wit he has. Even Tool, a hulking brute sent by the tycoon to keep an eye on Chaz, eventually turns against him, and much of the fun is in watching the deplorable Chaz flounder further and further in the murk, both literally and figuratively (Chaz's job, as the world's unlikeliest marine biologist, involves falsifying water pollution levels for the tycoon). Hiaasen's books are so enjoyable it's always a sad moment when they end. In this case, however, sadness is mixed with puzzlement because the book seems to end in mid-scene, with Chaz in trouble again—but is it terminal? We thought at first there were some pages missing, but Knopf says that was the ending Hiaasen intended. Odd. 300,000 first printing; author tour. Agent, Esther Newberg. (July 16)

Forecast:
Until that seemingly unresolved ending, this is vintage Hiaasen, with some wonderfully likable characters as well as his signature obnoxious heavies, and the plot is a delightful mixture of farce and suspense. The pop art jacket is striking, and sales sh
ould be as strong as always.

March 1, 2004
An incompetent marine biologist tries to do in his wife when she discovers his collusion with a corporate type indifferent to despoiling the Everglades. But then she turns the tables. A five-city author tour.

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