Book Review: Skin Tight

A Fair Trade Book

Title: Skin Tight

        
Author: Carl Hiaasen

Author's web page: http://www.carlhiaasen.com/

        
Date: 1989

        
Publisher: Fawcett Crest / Ballantine

        
ISBN: 0-449-21941-0

        
Length: 373 pages

        
Quote: “Stranahan lunged out of the shadows and stabbed him straight through with a stuffed marlin head he had gotten off the wall.”

        
In self-defense, of course. Stranahan is the protagonist of a Hiaasen novel for adults, a sub-genre of action-adventure-comedy stories that take place in Florida and usually involve conflict between good and evil, more specifically defined as Greenies and Greedheads. Carl Hiaasen became famous by reporting on real Florida news stories, then shifted into writing these novels that are wacky, gory, preposterous...but not much more so than the news stories.

        
Anyway, Stranahan helped to put a lot of violent criminals in prison. Several of them are out by now. The question that lingers in his mind, after stabbing the hitman with the marlin head, is which of these baddies sent the thug and where the next thug is likely to be lurking. All of his enemies, including the tacky TV “personality,” the sleazy lawyer, and the despicable plastic surgeon,” are convincingly loathsome and also convincingly ridiculous.

        
This being a Hiaasen novel, there are also several comic but admirable characters, including a requisite number of attractive women, the focal points of whose costumes are often bare, tanned, otherwise flawless skin. They get into absurd situations (which would,in real life, ruin that flawless skin) but they tend to be able to laugh at themselves.

        
Skin Tight is not actually my favorite Hiaasen novel (others feature more wildlife and fewer murders) but it’s as funny as the rest of the collection. If you don’t mind laughing at the idea of the plastic surgeon getting the nose job to end all nose jobs, you’ll enjoy this book.

To buy it here, you pay $5 for the book and $5 for shipping. Although other items that will fit into the same package can be shipped for the same $5, we will send Carl Hiaasen or a charity of his choice $1. That's the only reason why it's better to buy this book from this web site than from any of the other places where it can be bought.

Merry Christmas, Gentle Readers!