Reviews

Double Whammy, by Carl Hiaasen

graceanja's review

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

 Very dated. 

whatthekatdraggedin's review

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

sssnoo's review against another edition

4.0

Riotous, rollicking, manic craziness is the only way to describe this Florida set mystery. My FL choice for the 50 states challenge, I was unsure how much “Florida” I would get. Turns out a whole lot. Not the Miami, citi, beacj scene but the rural bass fishing culture instead, topped by a good dose of regional politics and other issues. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I think if you enjoy Janet Evanovich style mysterie syou will too. A completely different charcter and setting than JE’s books, the feel is similar. I was hooked from the beginning and loved theride all the way to the end.

dogearedtales's review against another edition

2.0

The whole section with the dog just made it unpalatable

TW: dog violence

bookfairy99's review against another edition

5.0

Aaaahhhh... this was just what I needed to get out of my reading slump. I listened to it on audio, and I found myself cackling, gaping in shock, and rewinding just so I could hear a particularly crazy bit again. I absolutely adored Skink. He stole every scene he was in. So imagine my delight to see that this is labelled as the "Skink series", not the "RJ Decker series. I liked RJ well enough, but Skink was something special.

I loved returning to the 80s, to a world where cellphones and the internet weren't ubiquitous, photos were still developed using film in darkrooms, and tape recorders were necessary for surveillance. The world of competitive bass finishing was absurd enough to keep me thoroughly entertained throughout. Throw in an evangelist TV preacher, heaps of rednecks, and crazy fishermen and I just couldn't get enough.

lscheibal's review against another edition

3.0

I didn’t know what to expect from this random library book, but it wasn’t this. I didn’t expect the story to be about a bunch of murders surrounding bass fishing tournaments, caused by feuds which were caused by the cheating/fraud of a mega-church, run by a reverend with an affinity for hookers and faking miracles. Or that my favorite character would be an old, one-eyed, road-kill eating curmudgeon who was once a politician. No, I did not expect that.

Not a bad story, just not my cup of tea.

princesspunx's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

poisonenvy's review against another edition

3.0

2.5* (CW: racist, ableist, homophobic and transphobic slurs. The author condems the racism through the narrative, the rest are mostly throwaway lines. There's also a weird amount of animal abuse, particularily of dogs. I'm going to go ahead and guess Hiaasen just doesn't like dogs.)

This isn't my usual kind of read, but one of my friends in my book club wants to read Squeeze Me (the eighth book in the Skink series), and I got it in my head that I should read the first seven books before we get there.

R.J. Decker, former photojournalist and now private eye, is given a job to look into cheating in big bass fishing tournament, but cheating very quickly turns to murder, and he's stuck seeking the help of hermitted redneck Skink to help solve the case.

I don't much care for fishing or... Much of anything else in this story, and all the female characters seem to be there strictly for sex appeal, with pretty much nothing else endearing a single one of them to the reader.

But the writing itself has a droll sense of humour and was entertaining, the mystery had enough twists and turns to keep me guessing for some time (and the twists and turns were earned, not just thrown in for a thrill) and I'm not not looking forward to continuing on with the series; I'm hopeful that my biggest issues with this book will smooth out as it continues onward.

tarana's review against another edition

5.0

Really good book! Not often you combine murder with bass fishing! I listened to the audiobook narrated by George Wilson and he is perfect! This turns out to be book 1 of a series. I recommend at least book 1

thundergoose's review against another edition

5.0

This book started out with 5 stars and then receded to 4 with me with some of the more questionable scenes of animal death, but as it approached the end, it became very primal and poetic in a very unexpected way—justifying the return of 5 full stars. Almost everything in the book—and yes even the poodle—has a deeper meaning to it. It speaks of an unnatural world created by humans. It speaks about human ruination of the natural world and urges the reader onward, naked into our deep and more primal natural past.