Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39264 in Books
• Published on: 1992-02-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Synopsis
A bizarre series of killings in Florida lead a one-time journalist onto the trail of a former colleague. The columnist is conducting a vendetta against tourists spoiling the beauty of the area. His headquarters are somewhere in the Everglades, his gang are a mixed-up bunch.

Customer Reviews

Tone Deaths
Keyes is an ex-reporter turned PI whose usual cases has him sitting outside a motel spying on a cheating lover. However, he is given a ticket to the big leagues when he is hired by a lawyer to help a client who is innocently caught up in a bizarre murder. A prominent member of the Miami PR has been found dead in a suitcase with a toy crocodile in his mouth. This is only the first in a series of bizarre murders. Can Keyes uncover the truth before a massacre occurs and what does this all have to do with his old days at the news desk?

Cark Hiaasen writes very dark and very funny crime novels normally set around Miami with messages about the environment and corporate greed. This is exactly the same in 'Tourist Season', but unlike the majority of his books I believe that Hiaasen's tone is well off here. He places too much sympathy onto the bad guys in this book; I for one could not like them - they are murderers. This wonky tone also alienated me from Keyes for a long time as his infatuation with a particular woman is very annoying and undermines him. I felt that Hiaasen was condoning some of the violence in this book and that made me unable to enjoy the humour. As a fan of the author this is the one and only time I have seen him make these mistakes - I assume that he improved with the later novels I read.

Highly Entertaining
This is the Carl Hiaasen we know. He turns his black comedy and satire as it relates to the ever current problem of the influx of people to South Florida. A Shriner disappears leaving only his fez behind. Another local business booster is found dead with an toy alligator in his throat. You will start to want to see what the villain of the story does next, for he is more interesting than the hero. You will not want to put this book down.

What I also like about his books is if you know a bit about South Florida you can see these things really happening. I did not want to give the plot away, for their are some twist and turns you will enjoy. And the title of the book is highly suggestive. So if you want a fun read, open "Tourist Season".

One for Hiaasen fans
I started reading Hiaasen with SKINNY DIP, which is definitely his best so far. I didn't realise that TOURIST SEASON was his first novel until after I had read it it and was surprised to feel a little disappointed in its pacing. Now that I know its place in his career, it is much more interesting, as this is where all the familar themes started. It's still a good read and, at times, very funny.