Monday, October 12, 2015

Skinny Dip - Teaser Tuesday and First Paragraph / First Chapter

     I lived in South Florida for many years, and during that time, I discovered Carl Hiaasen through his columns in The Miami Herald. It wasn't long before I became a fan and started collecting his novels. Hiaasen's stories involve bizarre characters, crazy plots, sex, murder, and corruption and have an environmental twist. (Warning: R-rated.) 
     Kirkus Reviews says Skinny Dip is "bitingly satirical, sublimely zany, and deeply satisfying." I agree!

First Paragraph(s): 
     At the stroke of eleven on a cool April night, a woman named Joey Perronne went overboard from a luxury deck of the cruise liner M.V. Sun Duchess. Plunging toward the dark Atlantic, Joey was too dumbfounded to panic.
     I married an asshole, she thought, knifing headfirst into the waves.
     The impact tore off her silk skirt, blouse, panties, wristwatch and sandals, but Joey remained conscious and alert. Of course she did. She had been co-captain of her college swim team, a biographical nugget her husband obviously had forgotten.
     Bobbing in its fizzy wake, Joey watched the gaily lit Sun Duchess continue steaming away at twenty nautical miles per hour. Evidently only one of the other 2,049 passengers was aware of what had happened, and he wasn't telling anybody. 

Teaser from Page 204 (hardback copy):
     "All you wanted," the man said, "was a hot girl on your arm, Chazzie. A girl your buddies would notice and talk about--the female equivalent of a new Rolex. You weren't getting married, you were accessorizing."

Genre: Mystery / Satire
Book Length: 355 Pages (hardback)
Amazon Link: Skinny Dip
Author's Website: Carl Hiaasen

Synopsis (from Amazon):
     Chaz Perrone might be the only marine scientist in the world who doesn’t know which way the Gulf Stream runs. He might also be the only one who went into biology just to make a killing, and now he’s found a way–doctoring water samples so that a ruthless agribusiness tycoon can continue illegally dumping fertilizer into the endangered Everglades. When Chaz suspects that his wife, Joey, has figured out his scam, he pushes her overboard from a cruise liner into the night-dark Atlantic. Unfortunately for Chaz, his wife doesn’t die in the fall.
     Clinging blindly to a bale of Jamaican pot, Joey Perrone is plucked from the ocean by former cop and current loner Mick Stranahan. Instead of rushing to the police and reporting her husband’s crime, Joey decides to stay dead and (with Mick’s help) screw with Chaz until he screws himself.
     As Joey haunts and taunts her homicidal husband, as Chaz’s cold-blooded cohorts in pollution grow uneasy about his ineptitude and increasingly erratic behavior, as Mick Stranahan discovers that six failed marriages and years of island solitude haven’t killed the reckless romantic in him, we’re taken on a hilarious, full-throttle, pure Hiaasen ride through the warped politics and mayhem of the human environment, and the human heart.


Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B of A Daily Rhythm. Post two sentences from somewhere in a book you're reading. No spoilers, please!




First Chapter/First Paragraph/Tuesday Intros is hosted by Bibliophile By The Sea. To participate, share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you're reading or thinking about reading soon.

28 comments:

  1. This sounds like tremendous fun (you had me at the bale of marijuana.) I'm going to hunt down a copy of this right now.

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  2. This sounds like a lot of fun. I'd read it!

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  3. I read this one and really liked it. Enjoy!

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  4. I read and enjoyed this one a few years back. Have fun!

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  5. Have totally forgotten about Carl Hiassen; I loved Nature Girl! I haven't read this one but it sounds like it's off to a great start; hope you enjoy it!

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  6. Oh, yes, this one would definitely a fun read! I loved the excerpts and the idea of "screwing with the bad guy."

    I haven't read this author in a long while, but I think it's time. Here's mine: “SMOKE”

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  7. I meant to say "would definitely BE a fun read!" LOL

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  8. I've read about this book before and am now convinced — I'm going to have to add it to my (getting very long) list of TBR! Here's my teaser: http://wp.me/p4DMf0-XS

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  9. I really liked the first paragraph. I liked it so much that I just went over to Amazon and ordered it. This is a new author for me and I'm excited about "trying out" his writing. Thanks for sharing him with me.

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  10. Sounds like fun. I love the teaser. My teaser this week comes from Dead Ice by Laurell K. Hamilton. Happy reading!

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  11. I don't know whether to laugh or to be offended ha! How haughty of this man to think that any female is the equivalent of a new Rolex. Nevertheless, great teaser!

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  12. Margot: I hope you enjoy Hiaasen's humor. It can be weird.
    Claudia: That tells you something about the character's attitude toward women, doesn't it?

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  13. A great teaser, you piqued my interest.

    http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2015/10/teaser-tuesday_13.html

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  14. I've never read this author, but have heard of him and this looks totally fun! I'd keep reading...

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  15. Sounds like I'll be laughing and huffing at this book. I like things that get weird and also outrage me. I'm going to have to check out this author.

    My TT - http://fuonlyknew.com/2015/10/13/teaser-tuesdays-132-space-cowboys-indians/

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  16. I have wanted to try this author for some time. His books get good reviews from fellow readers. This one sounds like it would be a lot of fun.

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  17. Hi Sandra,

    I have used a couple of good Carl Hiaasen quotes, however that's about all I know of him.

    I think his style of writing is what we here in the UK would call a 'Marmite Moment' - you are either going to instantly love it, or hate it!

    I am sorely tempted to add this one to my list, just to find out which it is for me, and also because I really liked the excerpts you featured today.

    However, I then came across his book 'Team Rodent' and being an avid Disney fan, I found it quite disparaging, even though I am well aware of Disney's failings and shortcomings!

    Perhaps I'll pass, but thanks for sharing :)

    Yvonne

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  18. That sounds like a really fun read! Adding it to my TBR, thanks! Thanks for visiting Bookworm Book Reviews too! Happy reading!

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  19. I still remember this one from years ago - such a FUN read; enjoy

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  20. What an opening! I'd have to keep reading to see what's going to happen next! Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

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  21. I have wanted to try this author for a long time. It sounds really good.

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  22. Looks like a great book and a great voice too. Good teaser, thanks for sharing!

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  23. That is an interesting teaser and synopsis! I wonder if Chaz gets his comeuppance, and how!

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  24. I haven't read anything by this author before, but it's interesting enough for me to want to continue reading on. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

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  25. Love this author and like you I have been a fan for some time. Love his voice...so snarky! I haven't read this yet, so thanks for bringing it to my attention!

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  26. I adore Hiaasen! Haven't read this one yet ... actually, it's been several years since I've read him at all. I'll need to fix that soon! Thanks for the reminder!

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  27. I love walking on the beach and the cover art is so warm and inviting. This sounds like a good one that I would like to read one day. Thanks for sharing!

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  28. Read it two weeks ago. Having lived in Miami most of my life always read Carl Hiaasen's columns in Miami Herald and have enjoyed several of his books.

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