Review by Booklist Review
This first novel by the popular humor columnist won't fail to disappoint his numerous fans, and it may even garner new readers for him, because it's a delightful romp through the less noble side of Miami life. The story is character driven more than plot driven, yet it's a rousing good story nonetheless. Barry simply revels in his kooky characters, of which this novel is packed. You got a former newspaper reporter now small-potatoes advertising guy working out of a small office in Coconut Grove, chasing down what people owe him. You got two high school guys looking to "kill" a girl they go to school with, "killer" being a squirt-gun game big in school these days. You got an engineering and construction firm executive, stepfather of the girl the boys want to "kill," with two hoods from Jersey after him to kill him for real. And you got two street punks who actually believe they can extort on a major level, and what they get involved in is absconding with a bomb and hijacking a plane--sophisticated criminal stuff way beyond their mental means. And, too, you got great comic relief in, among other moments of great comedy, the dog Roger, whose whole life centers on trying to keep the big, bad old toad from eating out of his own bowl. These and other characters are what this novel boils down to: comic relief, a great source of diversion, and even chuckles. Hats off to Barry's cleverness. --Brad Hooper
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In writing a comic thriller set in South Florida, the Pulitzer-winning Miami Herald columnist and author of 20 books of satirical nonfiction (most recently, Dave Barry Turns 50) risks the inevitable comparison to Carl Hiaasen. The good news is that he acquits himself well in this slapstick caper. Barry's cast of familiar South Florida oddballs populate what might best be described as a Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury) sendup of the hard-boiled crime novels of Elmore Leonard. Featuring a homeless drifter who sleeps in a tree and tends bar for two illegal arms-dealing Russian hoods, a pair of two-bit losers who hustle tourists at parking meters, an ex-journalist (now a failing ad-man), a pretty illegal alien, a boozy embezzler and his ill-used wife and daughter, a teen with a water pistol playing a game of Killer, a retarded dog, a psychedelic South American toad, two klutzy New Jersey hit men and a virtual army of local and Federal law enforcement, the novel's quirky players bounce off each other like popcorn in a microwave, chasing after a mysterious suitcase containing a nuclear bomb in an unlikely race against certain death. The zany plot has more twists than the I-95 Miami airport interchange and more pratfalls than a Three Stooges comedy. Despite an occasional stiffness and tendency to strain for one-liners, the narrative moves at a breezy pace. Barry is indisputably one of the funniest humorists writing today, and his fiction debut will not disappoint a legion of fans. Agent, Al Hart. 150,000 first printing; $150,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild featured alternate; 12-city author tour. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Those who admire the comic gifts of humorist Barry will find their appreciation rewarded with his first venture into fiction writing. He has concocted an utterly screw-wacky farce set in Miami that involves a homeless man who takes up residence in an abandoned tree house; a foul-mouthed, spouse-abusing embezzler; a dumb-cluck advertising man; two plug-ugly hitmen; and a passel of assorted psychotics. It would be virtually impossible to try to outline the complex twists and turns of the plot, and the reader has to be pretty sharp not to get confused while Barry puts his characters through their several paces. But it becomes obvious that his hand is firmly on the throttle when the action slips into high gear. To reveal the climax would be unpardonable, but the novel ends with a bang. As usual with Barry, the narrative is shot through with keen, ironic humor and subtle mockery. Highly recommended. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/99.]ÄA.J. Anderson, GSLIS, Simmons Coll., Boston (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In his first-ever novel, prolific humorist Barry (Dave Barry Turns 50, 1998, etc.) proves just how easy it is, or at least how easy he can make it seem, for any zany with Miami connections to master what he artlessly calls ""the Bunch of South Florida Wackos genre."" Here's the scoop. Matt Arnold, the high-school son of an unsuccessful advertising man, wants to assassinate his classmate Jenny Herk, as per the roles of the Killer game they're both playing, by shooting her with a water pistol. Jenny's father Arthur, embezzling executive and bagman for a ludicrously corrupt construction business, is also the target of a pair of killers who are packing more serious heat. Both executions are about to be witnessed by Puggy, an oblivious drifter whose low-impact job at the Jolly Jackal bar has connected him to gadabout Russian arms dealers who've recently assumed possession of a really heavy suitcase filled with something that looks like a garbage disposal with a 45-minute timer. The FBI is interested in the Jolly Jackals; the Miami police are interested in the assassination attempts; and the kingdom of allegedly lower animals also plays an active role. Roger the dog thinks of every encounter with the human community in terms of a possible meal; a poisonous toad lives only to eat from Roger's food dish; and a cobra named Daphne will play a timely role several bumps down the road. Barry juggles this ship of fools with a genial ease and a disarming lack of tension that suggest, maybe not Carl Hiassen, but the sweeter disposition of Laurence Shames. The big surprise is how readily adaptable Barry's jokey rhythms are to the demands of creating characters and spinning them a farcical plot. But a host of lesser surprises are equally welcome. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
