DOUBLE WHAMMY

Veteran of three taut but traditional thrillers (with William B. Montalbo: Powder Burn, 1981; Trap Line, 1982; A Death in China, 1984), Hiaasen unveiled an original madcap voice steeped in black humor when he finally soloed in last year's satirical crimemeller, Tourist Trap. Here, he sings on in that same fine, mordant key as a Florida P.I. tackles corruption in the quirky milieu of big-time bass fishing. In Hiaasen's whacked-out world, only photographer-turned P.I., R.J. Decker and his ex-wife Catherine have their heads screwed on straight. So despite Catherine's remarriage, the two stay in close touch when Decker plunges into deep water after rich bass-fishing buff Dennis Gault hires him to prove that archrival Dickie Lockhart cheats at the fishing tourneys Lockhart invariably wins. Decker is hot-tempered and quick-fisted, but even with Catherine's help he's no match for the slew of oddball villains standing between him and a successful case: not only Lockhart and his nympho sister, Lanie; and Rev. Weeb, a TV-preacher who funds Lockhart's bass-fishing TV series and promotes condos built on PCB-riddled sludge; but also Gault's (he's a villain too, framing Decker for murder) hired thug Thomas Curl, who kidnaps Catherine while lurching around with the decaying head of a pit bull clamped onto his arm. Lucky for Decker, help comes in the Paul Bunyansized Skink, an eccentric fisherman who happens to be an incognito, embittered exgovernor of Florida. With Skink at his side, Decker exposes Lockhart as a cheat, Gault as a killer, and Weeb as a fraud—and by rescuing Catherine, rekindles their own true love. Not a perfect mystery/farce—Decker is too weak a protagonist, with trappings too standard-P.I., to properly anchor the wild goings-on. Still, with its byzantine plot and wonderful, weird denizens, this is one of the most delightfully inventive and entertaining crime novels of the year.