Reviews

Trap Line by William D. Montalbano, Carl Hiaasen

jfictitional's review against another edition

3.0

I'm kind of amused at all the reviewers who don't realize this is early Hiaasen, when he was transitioning from crime columns to crime fiction and had not yet developed his unique voice. With one or two small exceptions, it's devoid of the wacky humor and larger-than-life characters that make his solo work so great; worse, it highlights the fact that, once you get past those, his plots aren't all that complex or even memorable. The satirical nature of his solo work more than compensates for these shortcomings. Playing it completely straight, as Hiaasen does here with his co-writer Montalbano, causes this to be little more than run-of-the-mill crime fiction.

aswhitesell's review against another edition

4.0

Carl Hiaasen's 2nd title published with William Montalbano (1982); this is the first one I've read from their collaboration, and so it is the earliest Hiaasen book I've ever read. I can definitely see signs of greatness to come from his later work. Trap Line is a short but fast-paced tale of intrigue in the South Florida world of drugs, kidnapping, shootings, explosions, and romance. Not yet present are Hiaasen's more colorful characters (notably, Skink) nor his environmental awareness. Still, he creates notable, well rounded characters; a relateable, likeable protagonist and his cohorts; despicable, but interesting antagonists. I'm looking forward to reading the other titles in the Hiaasen/Montalbano series.

misskitty13's review against another edition

4.0

Slow burn

It started slow but kicked up when the character Auggie entered the picture (not that he was an amazing character— but that’s when the book came into its own). Not all of the things in the novel have aged well, but in a time capsule, they can be appreciated.

noneemac's review

4.0

A great romp. I think I'm over the Keys.