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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780446695640
ISBN number: 0446695645
Label: Mysterious Press
Manufacturer: Mysterious Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 400
Printing Date: February 01, 2005
Publishing house: Mysterious Press
Sale Popularity Level: 273957
Studio: Mysterious Press
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Once a hotshot investigative reporter, Jack Tagger now bangs out obituaries for a South Florida daily, 'plotting to resurrect my career by yoking my byline to some famous stiff.' Jimmy Stoma, the infamous front man for Jimmy and the Slut Puppies, dead in a fishy-smelling scuba 'accident' may be just the stiff Jack needs-if only he can figure out what happened. Standing in the way are (among others) an editor who wants Jack to 'break her cherry,' Stoma's ambitious pop-singer widow, and the soulless, profit-hungry newspaper owner Jack once publicly humiliated. As clues from Stoma's music give Jack Tagger the chance to trade obits for a story that could hit the front page, murder gives his career a new lease on life.
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Rated by buyers 
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Forty-six-year-old Jack Tagger has been consigned to writing the obituary column for the past six years after publicly challenging the qualifications of Race Maggad, the new owner of the South Florida newspaper where he works. When he discovers that a former favorite singer, Jimmy Stoma of the Slut Puppies, has died in a diving accident, he decides to investigate--secretly--to keep the Metro department from stealing his potential story. The wild ride that follows takes the reader into the realm of pop music, where Jimmy's less-than-mournful widow Cleo Rio plans her own second CD, aided by an assortment of sleazy characters. As Jimmy's former bandmates also begin to die, Jack Tagger searches for a motive and focuses on Cleo and her producers.
As the resourceful Jack is investigating Jimmy Stoma's death, he is also being pressured to write an early obituary of the former owner of the newspaper--Old Man Polk, who is perennially close to death. Polk, during a hospital interview with Jimmy, confesses that he, too, is appalled by the direction in which Race Maggad has taken the paper, and he has a plan of action to keep things from getting worse. If all this "excitement" were not enough, Jack falls in lust, is victimized by a break-in, gets beaten more than once, and discovers that two women involved with the case have disappeared. His use of a frozen lizard as a weapon reminds the Hiassen fan of Mick Stranahan's use of a stuffed marlin for similar purposes in Skin Tight, and his unbridled libido keeps the action high on more than one level.
Told in the very first person, the story gets some life as the reader empathizes with Jack and his self-created predicaments, but the story line follows a traditional mystery story line. Not as tight as some of Hiaasen's earlier stories, the plot wanders and the humour is not as mordant. Well before the end of the story, the reader knows what the outcome is and who the murderer is, but many pages elapse after that in which the author ties up loose ends, explains what happens later, brings closure to a number of issues that have been raised throughout the story, and gives an epilogue to "conclude" a story which could have been concluded at several earlier points in the novel.
Though the novel is fun to read, as are all Hiaasen novels, it is not so off-the-wall, edgy, and sometimes bizarre as the novels which made Hiaasen's reputation. The humour here is more traditional--not so quirky, unexpected, and sexy as some other Hiaasen offerings--and Jack himself, while an iconoclast, is not the free spirit we have come to expect of Hiaasen's heroes. Several years after challenging Race Maggad, he has continued to work for the same paper--writing obituaries--with no apparent plans to assert himself. Filled with pointed satire of the newspaper business, the result, obviously, of Hiaasen's own experience in that business in South Florida, this enjoyable Hiaasen "lite" offering, while not on the "best list," is still great fun to read. Mary Whipple
Skin Tight
Tourist Season
Native Tongue
Rated by buyers -
This was my very first Hiaasen book. I love his writing style, but the "all's well that ends well" Hollywood ending was a let-down.
Rated by buyers -
This was my very first exposure to Hiassen's work. I very first read about him on guitarist Pete Huttlinger's website/blog, where he compares Hiassen's writing to singer/songwriter Antsy McClain's work. Since I love McClain, it seemed like reading a Hiassen book was the right thing to do. Perusing the local library's holdings, I blindly chose this title. I'm glad I did. It's humorous, suspenseful, and provocative. He has a way of creating interesting characters, making them believable, and convincing the reader that these characters are worth following around for a few hundred pages.
Though I'm reading one of his more 'serious works' - Team Rodent - I'm looking forward to reading his other novels.
Rated by buyers -
ZANY, wacky and weird, but in the best way. I mean, how awful would the world be if we didn't have strange brains thinking up the strange characters that inhabit Hiaasen's novels?
A load of fun and a great way to spend a weekend on the couch! (And if your spouse resents that you're on the couch all weekend reading while he/she is tending to the rotting, fetid mess that is accumulating in the house, just buy him/her their OWN copy of the book and invite them to join you!)
Rated by buyers 
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Other than "Team Rodent" I had never read a Hiaasen novel until this one. I had always heard good things and had listened to him compared to many of my favorite authors. Last night I read Basket Case (actually I finished it... I started it yesterday). Now that I have finally read a Hiaasen novel, I must say, I absolutely loved it.
First, it takes place in my home state of Florida, which I miss immensely so it was nice to be back there, if only in my mind. Second, Hiaasen is an extremely intelligent writer, I have read many "Humorous" books that border on insulting in the implausibility department when it comes to straining for a laugh. Hiaasen never crosses that line. The story is very first and foremost and the writing style is smart, witty, and simple to read. You never have to go back and re-read a line to figure out what he was saying, and you are also never insulted by the childishness.
The characters are interesting, funny, charming, likeable, quirky and most of all, extremely human. I never doubted these people, heck I think I've met them before. The plot is interesting and plays out like a mystery... you find yourself really rooting for our leading man Jack Tagger. The book follows Jack, a once rising star in the newspaper world who shot off his mouth at the wrong time and was reassigned to the demeaning world of obituary writing. He now suffers from neurosis that come with the job... an obsession with death, mainly his own and how old he'll be when it happens. Up until now it has destroyed relationships and forced his career to dwindle to almost negligible. Then he covers the death of Jimmy Stoma, ex rocker and musical bad boy. Very quickly he decides that there is something strange about the death and the old reporter in him stirs.... And begins stirring up trouble.
The rest of cast of characters includes:
Emma, Jack's editor and possible love/hate interest
Juan the Cuban Sportswriter and Jack's best friend
Cleo - the dead rocker's wife and aspiring pop diva
Janet - the dead rocker's sister and arch enemy of Cleo
Carla - Jack's ex-girlfriend's daughter and club scene master
The crew gets even larger and more interesting... Colonel Tom is by far my favorite scene in the book, but I won't go into detail, you just have to read that one for yourself. In the end the book is darkly funny, engaging, and fairly high speed entertainment toward the end when everything starts hitting the fan. I know Tim Dorsey is often compared with Hiaasen, but in reality there is no comparison other than the setting of their books. Dorsey is extremely over the top while Hiaasen is firmly grounded in reality... albeit a strange and demented reality, but a believable one none-the-less. I would compare him more with Vonnegut (minus the sci-fi aspect) than Dorsey, Pratchett or Gaimen.
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