Helpful Score: 3
This is laugh out loud fun reading! The plot is well developed and written with lots of humor and mystery. Great reading!!!
Helpful Score: 3
This is not a compilation of his newspaper columns, as many of his books are; it is an actual novel. It's funny at times, suspenseful at times, fast moving and interesting. However, this is definitely an adult novel--there is liberal use of expletives and some sexual situations.
Helpful Score: 2
tremendously funny book...along the lines of Haaissen and Leonard
Helpful Score: 1
Very funny bits. Much like an expanded version of his newspaper column. A fast summer read.
Helpful Score: 1
I found many parts of this book hilarious. Through a mixup, a family finds itself the target of a mob hit. Only the reader knows this as the family doesn't have a clue to why dangerous people are after them and the mobsters think the family members are involved with some kind of activity that would seriously hurt their criminal interests. All these increasingly complicated misunderstandings and the resultant actions taken by both parties make this a very funny book.
Funny tale, you'll enjoy if you are a fan of Dave Barry.
This was an entertaining book that anyone who has read Dave Barry's newspaper column will appreciate for its humor. Being from Florida, I was able to identify with Barry's assessment of many situations he used in his book. Be prepared to have a few good laughs in this humorous adventure story.
Very funny book!! You can picture all the bumbling characters and the events in your mind as you read the story. This would probably make a very funny movie.
satire as only
dave can write
dave can write
Humor- Dave Barry style
My husband got many laughs out of this book. A great read for the Dave Barry fan!
This was Dave Barry's first fiction novel and I thought it was great. Very funny in typical Dave Barry style. I got the audio from the library and parts made me laugh so hard while driving I almost had to pull over for safety reasons. Probably not appropriate for younger children but great for teens and up (my older teen daughter also loves Dave Barry's humor).
Plot synopsis (copied from Amazon) - Dave Barry, the only newsman to win a Pulitzer for exemplary use of words like booger, will please humor and crime-fiction fans alike with this racy debut novel. The scene is Miami. In ritzy Coconut Grove, the teen son of Eliot, a newsman turned adman, sneaks up to spritz a cute girl with a Squirtmaster 9000 to win a high school game called Killer. Meanwhile, two hit men sneak up to kill the girl's abusive stepdad, Arthur. Arthur cheated his bosses at corrupt Penultimate, Inc., which equipped a Florida jail with automatic garage-opener gates that accidentally freed prisoners in a lightning storm.
Farcical confusion ensues, witnessed by a saintly bum named Puggy, camped in a tree in Arthur's yard. Puggy works at the Jolly Jackal Bar
Plot synopsis (copied from Amazon) - Dave Barry, the only newsman to win a Pulitzer for exemplary use of words like booger, will please humor and crime-fiction fans alike with this racy debut novel. The scene is Miami. In ritzy Coconut Grove, the teen son of Eliot, a newsman turned adman, sneaks up to spritz a cute girl with a Squirtmaster 9000 to win a high school game called Killer. Meanwhile, two hit men sneak up to kill the girl's abusive stepdad, Arthur. Arthur cheated his bosses at corrupt Penultimate, Inc., which equipped a Florida jail with automatic garage-opener gates that accidentally freed prisoners in a lightning storm.
Farcical confusion ensues, witnessed by a saintly bum named Puggy, camped in a tree in Arthur's yard. Puggy works at the Jolly Jackal Bar
Very humorous book! I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
I thought I'd laugh through the 300+ pages. What I experienced was an occasional guffaw every 100 pages or so.
Ok, the book does move fast. If you can keep track of the gazillion characters (well, maybe 20) and their motivations, you can have fun with the book. Don't expect deep, thought-provoking, multi-layered characters. What you get is a screwball race running on high octane that doesn't slow down until the last page.
Ok, the book does move fast. If you can keep track of the gazillion characters (well, maybe 20) and their motivations, you can have fun with the book. Don't expect deep, thought-provoking, multi-layered characters. What you get is a screwball race running on high octane that doesn't slow down until the last page.
It was good after the first chapter. Took a bit to get into it. Makes you feel that you are in Florida, and all of the populace is certifiably crazy.
Surprising number of chuckles. Sort of Elmore Leonard Lite, but a fun read I thought.
Hilarious novel by our favourite humorous writer! In excellent to very good condition.
Entertaining. Characters interesting.
Wasn't very familiar with Dave Barry before reading this book. Found it funny but not fabulous.
This is typical Dave Barry humor...very amusing and a good read
Incredibly funny & lots of crazy characters. A quick nutty read
Great book for fans of the Carl Hiaassen type novel. I found myself laughing often. Story has a wacky cast of characters, funny story line, and was perfect reading for my lazy beach vacation. Hope he will have other novels besides compilations of columns, etc...
ALL Daved Barry books are FUN..He is a hoot..I loved this book...JIM
Not what I expected.
One of the funniest books I have read. Here, Dave Barryis funnier than his newspaper columns. The characters which include a homeless man, a crooked executive, some mixed up teenagers, and a loser ex-husband and son, all somehow, incidentally, get mixed up with a Russian mafia group.
It's by Dave Barry so you know it's going to be funny. According to People magazine... Dave Barry has gone completely and delightfully bonkers.
One of the funniest books I've ever read.
Hilarious!! Great comedic read.
This book was very similar to those written by Carl Hiaasen. Its humorous and is a light, beach-type of read. I enjoyed it - didnt love it...
Mr. Barry's first novel and he did it up right! Fast exciting read with lots of South Florida caracters. Funny and exciting. If you like Carl Hiassen you;ll like this one.
This is Dave Barry's attempt at fiction. It was very highly reviewed and rated very funny by most reviewers. Somehow I just didn't think it was that great.
A quick, entertaining, and funny read. Dave Barry has Elmore Leonard's skill at plotting and adds Barry's comedic look at the world and it's human inhabitants.
This book was made into a popular movie starring a whole host of stars.
Great "beach" or "vacation" read.
His second effort, Tricky Business is even better.
Read both.
This book was made into a popular movie starring a whole host of stars.
Great "beach" or "vacation" read.
His second effort, Tricky Business is even better.
Read both.
Fun, fun, fun! I hope Barry decides to write more fiction.
Barry's first mystery. A great read.
A funny, satirical mystery by Dave Barry.
This wacky, offbeat crime novel is full of quirky characters and funny mishaps. Set in Miami, this book tells the story of a dysfunctional family and the homeless drifter who lives in a tree on the grounds of their house. There are also inept mobsters, a dimwitted dog, and a psychedelic South American toad, among others.
A very funny book -- Dave Barry's first attempt at a novel. I have always loved his columns, and this book uses the same quick wit that he is known for. Overall, likeable characters, an interesting plot, and downright funny especially with his little absurdities. I enjoyed it as some easy summer reading -- nothing too taxing -- just a bit of fun.
For those (like me) who miss their Dave Barry fix every week, this will keep you laughing.
Vintage Dave Barry. He takes his skewed outlook on ordinary life and applies it to fiction in this farce containing teenagers, embezzlement, hit men, the FBI and more. At times the plot seemed confused, since it jumped from viewpoint to viewpoint, but all in all it was an enjoybale read.
Dave Barry is funny and entertaining as always, however this book is refreshing DB humor since it's fiction. I loved it and have kept a hardcover copy to enjoy again and again!
Amazon.com
Dave Barry, the only newsman to win a Pulitzer for exemplary use of words like booger, will please humor and crime-fiction fans alike with this racy debut novel. The scene is Miami. In ritzy Coconut Grove, the teen son of Eliot, a newsman turned adman, sneaks up to spritz a cute girl with a Squirtmaster 9000 to win a high school game called Killer. Meanwhile, two hit men sneak up to kill the girl's abusive stepdad, Arthur. Arthur cheated his bosses at corrupt Penultimate, Inc., which equipped a Florida jail with automatic garage-opener gates that accidentally freed prisoners in a lightning storm.
Farcical confusion ensues, witnessed by a saintly bum named Puggy, camped in a tree in Arthur's yard. Puggy works at the Jolly Jackal Bar & Grill, which has no grill and actually sells guns and bombs to an offshoot of the Crips and Bloods called the Cruds, and to Penultimate (which plans to conquer Cuba). But when dim thugs Eddie and Snake rob the Jolly Jackal and Arthur tells them it's a Russian mob front selling bombs, the proprietor snorts, "Bombs, pfft! No bombs! Is bar."
Can Snake and Eddie spirit a suitcase nuke through Miami, "where most motorists obeyed the traffic and customs of their individual countries of origin"? Can Eliot and cop Monica Rodriguez save the day? And how do the 300-pound hallucinogenic Enemy Toad, the 13-foot-long python Daphne, highway goats, and the Denture Adventure seniors' theme park fit in? Everything fits perfectly, including a few dark passages new to Barry's work. But one warning: if you read this book while drinking milk, at some point it will spurt out of your nostrils. --Tim Appelo
Dave Barry, the only newsman to win a Pulitzer for exemplary use of words like booger, will please humor and crime-fiction fans alike with this racy debut novel. The scene is Miami. In ritzy Coconut Grove, the teen son of Eliot, a newsman turned adman, sneaks up to spritz a cute girl with a Squirtmaster 9000 to win a high school game called Killer. Meanwhile, two hit men sneak up to kill the girl's abusive stepdad, Arthur. Arthur cheated his bosses at corrupt Penultimate, Inc., which equipped a Florida jail with automatic garage-opener gates that accidentally freed prisoners in a lightning storm.
Farcical confusion ensues, witnessed by a saintly bum named Puggy, camped in a tree in Arthur's yard. Puggy works at the Jolly Jackal Bar & Grill, which has no grill and actually sells guns and bombs to an offshoot of the Crips and Bloods called the Cruds, and to Penultimate (which plans to conquer Cuba). But when dim thugs Eddie and Snake rob the Jolly Jackal and Arthur tells them it's a Russian mob front selling bombs, the proprietor snorts, "Bombs, pfft! No bombs! Is bar."
Can Snake and Eddie spirit a suitcase nuke through Miami, "where most motorists obeyed the traffic and customs of their individual countries of origin"? Can Eliot and cop Monica Rodriguez save the day? And how do the 300-pound hallucinogenic Enemy Toad, the 13-foot-long python Daphne, highway goats, and the Denture Adventure seniors' theme park fit in? Everything fits perfectly, including a few dark passages new to Barry's work. But one warning: if you read this book while drinking milk, at some point it will spurt out of your nostrils. --Tim Appelo
Super story. One that you start and can't put down til the end.
This wasn't a bad little book at all. For Barry fans, you might be a shade disappointed, but he does manage to sneak in a good bit of his usual glib but poignant humor. The plot is far from likely, but it's a great book if you like irony. Overall, a quick, easy, non-cerebral little read.
A great crazy ride!
It's everything you expect it to be and more. I love Dave Barry - I have loved him since I was very young, and I was delighted to read this book.
Amazon.com
"Dave Barry, the only newsman to win a Pulitzer for exemplary use of words like booger, will please humor and crime-fiction fans alike with this racy debut novel. The scene is Miami. In ritzy Coconut Grove, the teen son of Eliot, a newsman turned adman, sneaks up to spritz a cute girl with a Squirtmaster 9000 to win a high school game called Killer. Meanwhile, two hit men sneak up to kill the girl's abusive stepdad, Arthur. Arthur cheated his bosses at corrupt Penultimate, Inc., which equipped a Florida jail with automatic garage-opener gates that accidentally freed prisoners in a lightning storm..." "Everything fits perfectly, including a few dark passages new to Barry's work. But one warning: if you read this book while drinking milk, at some point it will spurt out of your nostrils." --Tim Appelo
"Dave Barry, the only newsman to win a Pulitzer for exemplary use of words like booger, will please humor and crime-fiction fans alike with this racy debut novel. The scene is Miami. In ritzy Coconut Grove, the teen son of Eliot, a newsman turned adman, sneaks up to spritz a cute girl with a Squirtmaster 9000 to win a high school game called Killer. Meanwhile, two hit men sneak up to kill the girl's abusive stepdad, Arthur. Arthur cheated his bosses at corrupt Penultimate, Inc., which equipped a Florida jail with automatic garage-opener gates that accidentally freed prisoners in a lightning storm..." "Everything fits perfectly, including a few dark passages new to Barry's work. But one warning: if you read this book while drinking milk, at some point it will spurt out of your nostrils." --Tim Appelo
Hilarious!
Loved it! Dave Barry and Dick Hill are an excellent combo.
