This is one of three novels that Hiaasen wrote with his friend and fellow journalist, Bill Montalbano. I am a big fan of Hiaasen and really enjoy his off-beat novels full of wacky characters from South Florida. When I found out about the three novels he wrote with Montalbano, I purchased all three from an online bookseller. These were written in the 1980s prior to Hiaasen's first solo novel, Tourist Season. I read one of these a couple of years ago, A DEATH IN CHINA, and thought it was a very good thriller but it did not have the usual humor of Hiaasen's solo works.
I also enjoyed Powder Burn, written in 1981. This one takes place in South Florida and focuses on the drug trade there at the time. The protagonist, Chris Meadows, is a talented architect who witnesses the deaths of a former girl friend and her young daughter when they get caught in a collision of cars during a drug related cross-fire. Meadows witnesses the murderers and he is then targeted by the drug enforcers. But Chris does not go down easy. He is out to find the Cuban head of the drug business in Miami and to try to stop his cocaine business with the Columbians. With a little help he tries to turn the tables on the bloody business that has taken over Miami.
This novel again does not have any of Hiaasen's usual wit but it is rather a straight crime novel. But I did think it was a very good thriller probably written mostly by Montalbano. The novel was dated...no computers or cell phones were anywhere in sight and a lot of hand written note taking was evident. But it was the 1980s after all. I still need to read the third of these novels, TRAP LINE, which I will be looking forward to.
I also enjoyed Powder Burn, written in 1981. This one takes place in South Florida and focuses on the drug trade there at the time. The protagonist, Chris Meadows, is a talented architect who witnesses the deaths of a former girl friend and her young daughter when they get caught in a collision of cars during a drug related cross-fire. Meadows witnesses the murderers and he is then targeted by the drug enforcers. But Chris does not go down easy. He is out to find the Cuban head of the drug business in Miami and to try to stop his cocaine business with the Columbians. With a little help he tries to turn the tables on the bloody business that has taken over Miami.
This novel again does not have any of Hiaasen's usual wit but it is rather a straight crime novel. But I did think it was a very good thriller probably written mostly by Montalbano. The novel was dated...no computers or cell phones were anywhere in sight and a lot of hand written note taking was evident. But it was the 1980s after all. I still need to read the third of these novels, TRAP LINE, which I will be looking forward to.
Copyright 1981
