I had never read any of Carl Hiaasen's books, but picked this one up on a flight and enjoyed the read. I live in Florida, and am familiar with many scene settings in this book. It was quite humorous, with just enough peculiarity to keep you interested! Definitely NOT for younger readers, as there is some language and situations that are completely adult. I will definitely pick up another book by Mr. Hiaasen whenever I need a good laugh.
Helpful Score: 3
Classic Carl Hiaasen! Characters, situations and plot are offbeat to bizarre, but really entertaining.
Helpful Score: 3
This is the funniest Carl Hiaasen book I have ever read. I laughed all the way through it. I kind of hate to give it up in case I want to read it again.
Helpful Score: 2
Carl Hiaasen at his best. Includes republican hookers, millionaires with a Barbie fetish. Illustrates the money hungry power brokers that have come to dominate southwest Florida these days. And the labrador is the hero of the story.
Helpful Score: 2
Excellent book. This type of book would not usually get a second look from me if I saw it on the shelf but I saw an interview on TV with the author and decided to check out his work. I found this book humorous and a real page turner. I can't wait to check out more of his books.
Helpful Score: 2
Another great one! Carl Hiaasen writes some of the funniest mysteries I've ever read. I have to concur with the reviewer who noted that he should really be thought of as a satirist. It would not be unusual to find yourelf laughing out loud as you read any of his books. They all take place in Florida, and he must have a monopoly on the greatest number of weirdos to ever populate one work. How he manages to do this continually is amazing. Try one and, promise, you'll be hooked!
Helpful Score: 1
Hilarious. He's a terrorist, but Twilly terrorizes people who hurt the environment, like litterers.
Helpful Score: 1
What a wonderful book! My first Hiaasen and what a great start! I have since read another and plan to read them all. I would highly recommend it to those who like modern comic writing with quirky characters and plot twists.
Helpful Score: 1
Raucous and plain funny.
Helpful Score: 1
This book is a typically well written Hiaasen novel. I enjoyed the story line but some of the characters seemed too far fetched. It is a very quick read and worth the day between the covers.
Helpful Score: 1
The title says it all when descibing the characters in this book. Made you laugh and how extreme they really were. Makes you wonder about some people and the state of Florida. Good Read
They say all the nuts roll down to Florida and this book is determined to prove it. Chock full of kooky characters the off-beat predicaments they find themselves in. Loved it. Great beach reading.
Very enjoyable read. If you need something light and a bit amusing, this is the one to pick!
Interesting, not as good as some of his other books...
Living in Florida, working at a theme park, Carl's work hits home for me. I love his humor, a little trashy in all the right places, definitely "R" rated. Great departure..
Carl Hiaasen delivers another hilarious book - this one is based on corrupt Florida politians and trying to save Toad Island from becoming the next paved paradise. As usual, there is quite a cast of colorful characters stealing dogs, eyeballs and making Barbies out of people.
Wanted very much to enjoy this book, and was completely expecting to (as I had already ordered several other Hiaasen books), but, alas, it was not be. Absolutely some funny material in this one, but, just not enough to keep me interested.
Chuckle filled, laugh out loud in spots.
The characters are humorously odd and often hilarious.
A truly fun read so that I hated to say goodbye .
The characters are humorously odd and often hilarious.
A truly fun read so that I hated to say goodbye .
As usual, Hiassen is funny funny...of course he makes all of us in FL look like idiots!
inconsistant. Plot hard to follow and not consistently funny at all.
A fun, wild ride, as are all Hiaasen's books.definitely light-weight but entertaining.
Carl Hiaasen continues to be one of my go-to authors especially when I want some humor with my story. As usual this was another hilarious satirical romp through Hiaasen's Florida. In this one, he takes aim at the politics involved in the development of what once was unspoiled Florida and of course the novel was filled with the usual wacky characters that tend to fill his novels.
This one was focused on Twilly Spree, a young man who is disgusted by people who ignore the environment and want to pave over untouched land in Florida. Twilly is angered when he sees a litterbug on a Florida highway toss trash out his car window. The litterer is a lobbyist with a lot of pull in the State named Palmer Stoat. Twilly takes aim at Palmer by dumping a load of garbage on his wife, Desie's BMW convertible. He then fills Palmer's Range Rover with dung beetles and kidnaps his black lab named Boodle. He also pries out the glass eyes from Palmer's taxidermied collection of hunting trophies which came from a local illegal safari ranch. Unfortunately Boodle swallowed some of the glass eyes resulting it the titular "Sick Puppy." Palmer's wife, Desie, goes with Twilly to safeguard Boodle and ends up agreeing with Twilly's points regarding Florida. Twilly decides to rename the dog to McGuinn after the Byrds guitarist. Then Desie tells Twilly about Toad Island that is headed for development and this becomes the bane of Twilly. What can he do to stop it?
All of this leads to the involvement of the developer, Robert Clapley, who never got over his adolescent attachment to Barbie dolls; the governor, Dick Artemus; and one of the vilest characters to come out of a Hiaasen novel, Mr. Gash, Clapley's hired killer who collects recordings of 911 emergency calls involving people who get killed. And then Skink, the former governor who lives in the wild and is trying to protect the Florida environment, gets called in to try and stop Twilly. Skink has appeared in several of Hiaasen's works and is one of my favorite characters.
I enjoyed this one a lot. It had a great assortment of characters and the whole premise of the novel was a pleasure to read. I especially liked Twilly who is like a younger Skink. Hopefully, he will appear in more of Hiaasen's novels. McGuinn the dog also played a big role in the story and in the end he was really the one who was able to achieve justice against the shady politicians and developers. Unfortunately, I only have a few of Hiaasen's novels left to read but I will be looking forward to them.
This one was focused on Twilly Spree, a young man who is disgusted by people who ignore the environment and want to pave over untouched land in Florida. Twilly is angered when he sees a litterbug on a Florida highway toss trash out his car window. The litterer is a lobbyist with a lot of pull in the State named Palmer Stoat. Twilly takes aim at Palmer by dumping a load of garbage on his wife, Desie's BMW convertible. He then fills Palmer's Range Rover with dung beetles and kidnaps his black lab named Boodle. He also pries out the glass eyes from Palmer's taxidermied collection of hunting trophies which came from a local illegal safari ranch. Unfortunately Boodle swallowed some of the glass eyes resulting it the titular "Sick Puppy." Palmer's wife, Desie, goes with Twilly to safeguard Boodle and ends up agreeing with Twilly's points regarding Florida. Twilly decides to rename the dog to McGuinn after the Byrds guitarist. Then Desie tells Twilly about Toad Island that is headed for development and this becomes the bane of Twilly. What can he do to stop it?
All of this leads to the involvement of the developer, Robert Clapley, who never got over his adolescent attachment to Barbie dolls; the governor, Dick Artemus; and one of the vilest characters to come out of a Hiaasen novel, Mr. Gash, Clapley's hired killer who collects recordings of 911 emergency calls involving people who get killed. And then Skink, the former governor who lives in the wild and is trying to protect the Florida environment, gets called in to try and stop Twilly. Skink has appeared in several of Hiaasen's works and is one of my favorite characters.
I enjoyed this one a lot. It had a great assortment of characters and the whole premise of the novel was a pleasure to read. I especially liked Twilly who is like a younger Skink. Hopefully, he will appear in more of Hiaasen's novels. McGuinn the dog also played a big role in the story and in the end he was really the one who was able to achieve justice against the shady politicians and developers. Unfortunately, I only have a few of Hiaasen's novels left to read but I will be looking forward to them.
SO fun to read!
I like this author but this book has a bit too much animal abuse in it for my taste. I finished the book but there were parts that were a little hard for me to read. I have read, and will read, more by this authour but hopefully won't encounter much more of that.
In this Florida-focused book, the real Hiaasen-variety fun begins! Take one Palmer Stoat, one of Florida's cockiest and most powerful political fixers, and mix in Twilly Spree, an idealistic, independently wealthy man with a hair-trigger temper! Naturally fireworks must follow; Spree tails Sproat with vengeance on his mind after a decidedly "un-green" event of Sproat's making. Things escalate, to sum it up in this brilliantly twisted entertainment, which is wrapped around a powerful ecological plea. Outrageously funny!
This is one of the funniest books I have ever read. Carl Hiaasen paints a out-loud, hilarious picture. His Florida perspective is very encouraging. You won't be disappointed.
Carl Hiaasen combines humor and suspense in his books. Sick Puppy keeps your interest throughout. It's hard to put it down.
Hilarious as usual! - MMP
A funny quick read -- typical Hiasen that shouldn't be missed!
I read it once and I thought it was a good book.
An eco-terrorist with a trust fund, Twilly Spree is tailing a litterbug in a purple Range Rover with plates that read "COJONES." Before he knows it, Spree is up to his cojones in corrupt Florida politicos and some very sick puppies, including a Toyota salesman turned governor, a republicans only hooker, and a millionair developer with a fetish for Barbies.
Sick Puppy shares Dave Barry's giddy gift for finding humor in South Florida horrors, and a bit of Elmore Leonard's genius for pitch-perfect dialogue spouted smartly by criminals who are dumb as stumps. The title of Hiaasen's eighth novel could apply to most of its characters, but it chiefly refers to an ebullient Labrador retriever named Boodle and the millionaire eco-terrorist Twilly Spree. Let's just say that Twilly has a singular affliction: poor anger management in the face of environmental irresponsibility. When he spots Boodle's owner, Palmer Stoat, tossing litter from a car, Twilly goes to Stoat's home and removes the glass eyeballs from the animals that the bloated lobbyist had shot and mounted on his walls. Boodle gulps down the eyeballs, sustaining no small amount of digestive difficulties.
Classic Hiaasen
Hey, if you like the author's political opinions to be hammered down your face, time and time again, throughout the course of one novel, then you should read this title.
I kid, i kid. It's actually a pretty entertaining little book.
I kid, i kid. It's actually a pretty entertaining little book.
An eco-terrorist with a trust fund, Twilly SPree is tailing a litterbug in a purple Range Rover with "cojones" plates. Toad Island is threatened; mayhem occurs.
very funny read. Romantic comedy of a strange sort. I recomend it.
I LOVELOVELOVE Carl Hiaasen!!!
One of Hiaasen's best. If you are looking for a fun crime book, this is it. Set in Hiaasen's home state of FL.
A funny book. Easy reading.
Gerat summer mystery read; part of a series.
Carl Hiaasen again brings us into the corrupt world of Florida politics when a real estate developer, a governer, and a lobbyist scheme to build a $29 million bridge to Toad Island paid for by the taxpayers to enable the real estate developer to ecologically destroy an island to build condos and golf courses. Eocology-minded zealots seek to expose and stop the destruction of Toad Island. The fight between the two sides is done is true bizarre Hiaasen fashion.
Great! book by an author I'm only recently discovering.
Entertaining romp spotlighting the close and corrupt ties between Florida's government and developers. The Eco terrorists are, as always, the true heroes.
A funny,funny mystery concerning Florida politicos
Loved it, from the eccentric characters to the completely clueless dog.
Like most of Hiaasen's book funny and a good read.
Interesting read on enviromental issues in Florida.
this man is hilarious, especially if you are familiar with Florida.
Good read. Lots of twists and turns in the demented eco-obsessive character Twilly. Kept me reading until the very end.
Such a great and funny adventure!!!
Very good read. Hiassen likes to be droll while also interesting. Good combination.
As Publishers Weekly says, "Carl Hiaasen once again produces a devilishly funny caper. In SICK PUPPY, he shows himself to be a comic writer at the peak of his powers." Really an excellent book.
Excellent book
An eco-terrorist with a trust fund, Twilly Spree is tailing a litterbug in a pruple Range Rover with plates that read COJONES. Before he knows it, Spree is up to his cojones in corrupt Florida politicos and some very sick puppies, including a Toyota salesman turned governon, a Republicans-only hooker and a millionaire developer with a fetish for Barbies. But when Spree learns that the fate of on unspoiled island is a stake, he's determined not to be outdone. While defending the toads of Toad Island-not to mention one cheerfully oblivious Labrador-he'll steal a man's wife, gouge out the eyes of big game trophies and even risk his life two or three times in this story
This is my second Carl Hiaasen book. This book was humorous but not as funny as Skinny Dip. The last third was the best part of the book and the funniest. One problem I had with the book was keeping track of all the players. This one involves a lobbyist, an environmentalist with an anger problem, a current governor, a past crazy governor who appears in several of Hiaasen's novels, one crazy hit man and of course the damsel in distress. One funny and ridiculous predicament after another appear throughout the book. The humor is definitely off beat but very clever. I will definitely be reading more of Mr. Hiaasen.
An eco-terrorist with a trust fund,Twilly Spree is tailing a litterbug in a purple Range Rover with plates that read "cojones"Before he knows it,Spree is up to his cojones in corrupt Florida politicosand somevery sick puppies.
AN ECO=TERRORIST WITH A TRUST FUND, TWILLY SPREE IS TAILING A LITTERBUG IN A PURPLE RANGE ROVER WOTH PLATES THAT READ COJONES. BEFORE HE KNOWS IT, SPREE IS UP TO HIS COJONES IN CORRUPT FLORIDA POLITICOS & SOME VERY SICK PUPPIES, INCLUDING A TOYOTA SALESMAN TURNEED GOVERNOR, A REPUBLICANS-ONLY HOOKER, AND A MILLIONAIRE DEVELOPER WITH A FETISH FOR BARBIES,
ZANY...A FROLICKING SEND-UP OF ECOLOGICAL SUBTERFUGE, FLORIDA'S FABLED POLITICS, AND DOWNRIGHT HUMAN FOIBLES.
ZANY...A FROLICKING SEND-UP OF ECOLOGICAL SUBTERFUGE, FLORIDA'S FABLED POLITICS, AND DOWNRIGHT HUMAN FOIBLES.
PLEASE NOTE: ISBN 0679454454 is SOFTCOVER, not hardcover as listed by this site.
This is an OVERSIZED Softcover, same ISBN as the hardcover book......
This ISBN (0679454454) is the same, but this is a Paperback book, as noted elsewhere in these reviews.
