By Carl Hiaasen
Reviewed by Dennis Bianchi
Carl Hiaasen began his writing career as a journalist for the Miami Herald. According to an unidentified author," since 1985 Mr. Hiassen has been writing a regular column, which at one time or another has ticked off just about everybody in South Florida, including his own bosses. He has outlasted almost all of them, and his column still appears on most Sundays in The Herald's opinion-and-editorial section. It may be viewed online at www.miamiherald.com or in the actual printed edition of the newspaper, which, miraculously, is still being published." His wit and ability to write clever crime novels, set in Florida, filled with witty wise cracks and clever turns in plot, have produced best-sellers for decades. With Bad Monkey, he seems to have become even better.
Andrew Yancy had been a Miami police detective but lost his job due to questionable behavior and is now working as a health inspector for the Monroe County Sherriff's Office, with hopes of making his way back to his former position. How he comes to have in his possession a red Igloo freezer box containing a severed arm with its middle finger prominently extended makes for a great opening chapter. I'll give away only one line of the action. When a member of a chartered fishing party becomes understandably upset when he snags the arm from the waters on his fishing line, outside the Florida Keys, the captain attempts to soothe his anxiety with the words, "Well, son, we're in the memory-making business." The arm finds its way to the local police who want no part of this unexplained appendage. The new sheriff for whom Andrew works wants the arm delivered back to Miami for analysis and the hope that it becomes the Miami Police Department's problem. Andrew is told to deliver it, much against his will. One thing leads to another and Andrew becomes suspicious of the findings of the Miami police and believes that he can solve the mystery, which will, hopefully, lead to his leaving his job as a roach inspector and put him back in the business of solving homicides.
Andrew may disagree with many cops in Miami but he has found himself attracted to the Dade County Medical Examiner. He is on the rebound from an affair with a woman who is wanted in another state on several criminal charges. He quickly attaches himself to the ME, who finds love making to be greatly enhanced if performed in the autopsy room. This is a Hiaasen novel running at full power. There is a voodoo princess, a Dragon Queen and of course a rather unusual monkey.
There is some biting criticism of local building codes in the Florida Keys and a sexual battery performed with the use of a Black and Decker vacuum with a rotating head. And in the middle of all of this craziness, Mr. Hiaasen makes a point or two. Greed is a vice and it often leads to self-destruction. As hapless a character that Andrew Yancy may be, we find ourselves pulling for him as the case progresses and the mystery nears resolution. And it's a darn good mystery. The reader is given the opportunity to try and figure out who did what and why in the middle of all the hilarious action. This is a book that begs to be read while at the beach or a pool, perhaps with a boat drink in hand.
An aside on the death of Elmore Leonard.
Many mystery and action writers owe a debt to Elmore Leonard, who died August 20, 2013. Mr. Hiaasen, the author of the above reviewed book, would readily agree that Mr. Leonard will be hard to replace. Mr. Leonard's writing spanned decades of not only modern action and mystery, but several Westerns as well, including the famous short story, The 3:10 to Yuma, which was twice made into a movie. For those of you who are working as writers and needing a bit of inspiration, think about the following: Mr. Leonard didn't have a best-seller until he was 60-years old. His first crime novel, The Big Bounce, was rejected 84 times before being published in paperback. And for those of you who have never read an Elmore Leonard book, I recommend you do so. 46 novels await you, along with essays, including a set of rules for writers. He was once quoted as saying, "If it sounds like writing, I re-write it." A local critic named him The Chaucer of Crime. That's a bit too strong for me but he certainly was a fun and prolific writer.
