Product Description

Carl Hiaasen at the top of his form in a novel of journalists, dead lizards and rock'n'roll...Reluctant hero Jack Tagger is a frustrated journalist. His outspoken views have relegated him to the obituary page and the paper's florid owner, Race Maggad III, has decreed that his byline will never again grace the front page. But Jack has stumbled across a peach of a story. James Stomarti, rock musician extraordinaire (formerly of Jimmy and the Slut Puppies and best remembered for his seminal album, A Painful Burning Sensation) has died in a diving accident and while researching the obituary, Jack realises that the glamorous pop starlet widow may have had a vested interest in her husband's untimely death. Aided and abetted by Jimmy's webcam obsessed sister and his own rather sexy young editor, Emma, Jack wages a war to discover the truth. However, Jack's unhealthy obsession with death, spawned by years of writing obits (well, would you want to die at the same age as Elvis?) keeps getting in the way and, when he's dragged into the rampant internal politics of the paper, it seems he's never going to find sanity. Was Jimmy Stomarti murdered? Is someone trying to kill off the Slut Puppies one by one? And what significance can a dead lizard named Colonel Tom possibly have?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #96029 in Books
• Published on: 2002-02-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Carl Hiaasen has long been at the forefront of satire and outrageous comedy in crime writing but his last few books had lacked the righteous anger of his earlier efforts. Basket Case proves a welcome and thoroughly enjoyable return to corrosive form for the crusading Miami Herald journalist it's better not to cross. Instead of his customary and by now predictable targets of venal developers and corporate greed, Hiaasen here skewers the rock & roll business and its attendant denizens and hangers-on with wilful glee and a mischievous use of insider information (the title of the book is also that of a song from the forthcoming album by Warren Zevon, an iconoclastic singer with whom Hiaasen has collaborated before). A flamboyant rock singer dies in a suspicious diving accident off the Bahamas coast and disgraced and bolshie reporter Jack Tagger assigned to his obituary uncovers a nest of puzzles. Did his Courtney Love look-alike younger wife kill him to appropriate the tapes of his comeback album? Will Jack best his venal proprietors and redeem his journalistic integrity? Why does his young and nubile editor wear sexy nail polish on her toes? The jokes and witty observations come fast and furious, and it's a pleasing ride through more Florida craziness and a scintillating gallery of characters gleaned from headlines including a parade of musical crazies straight from Spinal Tap, ex-girlfriends with obligatory jailbait daughters and journalists you would never think of trusting your life to. --Maxim Jakubowski

Review
When a whole slew of authors admit to being influenced by Carl Hiaasen, it's clear that his cult status is fully established. But the strange, surrealistic quality of his writing is a hard act to sustain, and although such books as Tourist Season brilliantly create a world that is very much his own, there is a certain suspense with the appearance of each new Hiaasen title. Can he pull it off again? In the case of Basket Case, the answer is a resounding yes. This novel (with its mix of journalists, lizards and rock 'n' roll) is as outrageously entertaining as its predecessors and features Jack Tagger, a frustrated journalist whose inability to curb his tongue has consigned him to the obits page.

About the Author
Carl Hiaasen was born and raised in Florida. His previous novels are Tourist Season, Double Whammy, Skin Tight, Native Tongue, Strip Tease, Stormy Weather, Lucky You and Sick Puppy, which together have been translated into twenty languages and are all available from Pan Books.

Customer Reviews

More insight into Floridian insanity
Carl Hiaasen has stuck with his own brand of dry humour and strange characters - in Basket Case, Jack Tagger stores a pretzel-shaped lizard popsicle in his freezer and earns his living writing obituaries for the local newspaper (well, someone has to). Unhealthily obsessed with the manner and timing of his own eventual death, Jack investigates the early demise of former rock legend Jimmy Stoma in an unlikely skin-diving accident, suspecting that the grieving widow (most famous thus far for flashing more than just a smile on MTV) is even less innocent than she appears.
This book contains all the usual elements of a Hiaasen novel: bizarre coincidences, strange personality quirks and absurdly violent deaths. I also felt this one was personal for Hiaasen, a scathing attack on the demise of good journalism and quality newspapers. As a result, Basket Case has slightly less of the whimsical and flippant touch that typifies some of his previous novels, but is none the worse for it. Thoroughly recommended, as are all Hiaasen's novels.

A return to form for the master....
As someone who has always loved Mr. Hiaasen's early work, I confess I found his last book a little disappointing, and felt he was retreading old ground almost to the point of just cladding the same basic "ecological rape by besuited money-men" plot in new clothes. This was never less than entertaining, but had begun to feel as though the imaginative impetus had begun to run out of steam.
I'm pleased to say then that I thought this is a return to something like his best form, and, centred as it is on the "dumbing down" of provincial journalism and the world of rock music, subjects obviously very close to the author's heart, it couples the usual genuinely suspenseful plot line with both sympathetic and grotesquely amusing characters.
Definitely strongly recommended for previous fans. Just one minor thing - I don't know how old Mr. Hiaasen is, but I can't help wonder about a minor creeping tendancy in his work for the middle aged hero to waltz away with the gorgeous heroine 20 years his junior.....

Fast & funny: "Spinal Tap" on speed for the MTV generation
You read one Carl Hiaasen book, you enjoy it. You read four or five of his books and you begin to wonder whether he can write about anything else except the substandard intelligence of Floridian white-trash and the damage that particular subspecies does to the environment.

In "Basket Case", thankfully, Mr. Hiaasen gives us a genuinely comic story although it has to be said that it does still feature some intellectually-challenged Floridians. What makes the story especially enjoyable however is that the twin barrels of Hiaasen's satire are aimed at the deserving targets of the music industry and journalism. Anybody who has despaired at the current state of music will enjoy the description of Cleo Rio, the talentless but driven one-hit wonder, and her attempts to steal a ride to the top of the charts. The dumbing-down of journalism is also an entertaining feature of the story and anybody who reads this will pay far greater attention to the newspaper obituaries in future!

As always with Hiaasen his minor characters prove memorable. L'Oréal, the perm-haired producer; Jerry, the imbecilic goon; Mac Polk, the crotchety millionaire with revenge on his mind; Juan, the sports-journalist-stud who wants to be a real writer; and of course, the dead reptile.

This is definitely one of his best books; it's well-paced, character-driven and has new and refreshing satiricial targets. Except for the slightly weak ending I would have given it 5 stars. As it is, an enjoyable 4-stars rating . . a must for anybody who has read Hiaasen and a good introduction to the man's unique style for those who haven't.