Synopsis/blurb.........
Key West is a small
place, but there are criminal secrets buried everywhere . . .
When jumped-up
reality TV star Buck Nance aggravates the crowd in a Key West bar, he incites a
riot and vanishes in the melee. His hapless agent Lane Coolman should have been
by Buck's side, but has been accidentally taken hostage by two petty criminals
who now think they can turn a quick profit by ransoming an LA talent agent.
As the search for
Buck continues, the mystery draws in a broad cast of characters from across the
island including Andrew Yancy, the disgraced cop who now works restaurants on
roach patrol; a delusional fan of Buck's show; the local sheriff who's
desperate for re-election; a shady lawyer and his gold-digging fiancée; the gay
mayor and his restauranteur partner; a Mafioso hotelier; and a redheaded con
artist named Merry who, using a razor blade and a high-speed car, has developed
a signature way of luring in her victims.
Outrageously funny,
fast-paced and uniquely addictive, Razor Girl will keep you utterly gripped
until the final page.
Enjoyable overall but not one of his better books in my
opinion. There were some moments of pure comedy gold which had me laughing like
a drain, but places in the book where I kind of felt the story dragged. Maybe
the thing with comedy crime is that can very often fall flat if you’re not
quite in the mood for absurdity.
I haven’t picked up a Hiaasen book since July, 2010 when I read
Team Rodent – a non-fiction diatribe
on all things Disney. I haven’t picked up one of his novels for longer than
that. Maybe my fond memories of Tourist
Season and Double Whammy from
20-odd years ago are too tinged with nostalgia and false memory over how good
they were, and if I read them today they would be enjoyed about the same as
this. I hope not.
I didn’t dislike the book. I liked the main character Andrew
Yancy and his escapades with our Razor Girl, Merry were amusing. Yancy is
suffering from matters of the heart and his career is in the doldrums. His
girlfriend has gone to Europe, her return is questionable. His detective job
has gone south and he’s working restaurants checking out hygiene violations.
Merry may be the one to take his mind off of things! Always assuming she stops
running her insurance scam, a somewhat dubious practice of causing road traffic
accidents while purportedly attending to the smoothness of her lady parts with
the aforementioned razor while driving. (Yancy’s fall from grace may have been
documented in an earlier book – Bad Monkey,
something I haven’t read yet.)
Add to the mix, a reality TV star who has disappeared after
a drunken racist rant hit the airwaves, his agent who heads south to put out
the flames from the incident and locate him, a dodgy lawyer who is suffering
from the side effects of applying a bit too much questionable enhancement cream
to his genitalia, his other half who has lost her massive engagement ring and
offers Yancy payment in kind to help recover it, plus a simple-minded villain
who harbours delusions of stardom and fame all fuelled by an ill-conceived
kidnap plot.
A fair few laughs, but not up there with his best.
3 from 5
I might be in a minority here, because of the 24 reviews
thus far on Amazon UK - 14 award 5 stars and 8 scores are 4. I'm with the 2
that rated it at 3 stars.
Carl Hiaasen has
written over 20 novels, some for YAs, a couple of book series featuring Skink
in one and Mick Stranahan in another, plus more than a few standalones. His
website is here.
Hiaasen is a journalist with the Miami Herald and for
years I used to follow his weekly column, but kind of fell out of the habit of
doing so.
Read in November, 2016
Published – 2016
Page count – 342
Source – review copy from Little Brown Book Group (thanks to Ella Bowman)
Format – new hardback.
Even the best author doesn't always nail it, Col. And I think you do have a point about the timing for reading a book. I'm glad you found some things to like about it, though.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was flicking back through it, I wondered if I had been overly harsh, as I was giggling as I skimmed. On balance I don't think so. Agreed - even the best author doesn't always nail it. He's still very much up there in my opinion! Yes timing plays a crucial part in enjoying or otherwise.
DeleteCol – Despite your 3 out of 5, I still plan to read it. Average Hiaasen is better than the best of a lot of other writers. But, I agree, not all his books are as good as some of those wild, early novels. My favorite was STRIPTEASE.
ReplyDeleteElgin when he hits top form he's the funniest writer alive. My wife has threatened to smother me with a pillow when I've been reading him in bed before, my laughing has annoyed her that much. STRIPTEASE was up there with his best. Funny enough I've not seen the film of it.
DeleteI hope RAZOR GIRL works for you.
This is a great reminder to me that I need to read something by Hiaasen. I have Tourist Season, and have had it for years.
ReplyDeleteTracy, I loved TOURIST SEASON - it's one of my favourites from him. I know you aren't a massive fan of comedy mysteries so I hope it is enjoyable for you.
ReplyDeleteI have only heard of writer Carl Hiaasen whose "Tourist Season" and "Double Whammy" sound more appealing than "Razor Girl."
ReplyDeletePrashant they are classics in my opinion. I'm hoping to reread them one day!
DeleteI'm like TracyK - feeling I should read more Hiaasen. But then probably not this one! You're doing a good job on selling Tourist Season instead...
ReplyDeleteDon't hold back on my account, Moira!
Delete