Funny tale of a detective reduced to roach patrol while struggling to get his badge back.
I’m Jim McKeown, welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies.
I have always had a fascination with reporters who turn to novel writing. Pete Dexter, Christopher Morley, and Carl Hiaasen top the list. I have read eight of his novels, including his most recent, Razor Girl. Unfortunately, I experienced several episodes of déjà vu during my reading. So, there might be a hiatus from Hiaasen until I can sweep up the cobwebs.
Andrew Yancy was a talented detective, but a public rampage resulted in an assault and battery charge and led to his demotion to the “Roach Patrol,” i.e. inspector of eating establishments in Florida. Somehow, Yancy always ends up with three things: a stunning woman in his bed, a mobster chasing him, and his solving of a difficult case--which the reader might think would lead him to reinstatement, but Sheriff Sommers always steps in and berates him for exceeding his authority. So back to the roach patrol.
This particular adventures involves a group of brothers loosely similar to the “Duck Dynasty Gang” of TV fame, a $200,000 diamond ring, and a continuation of blocking any construction which might interfere with his view of the ocean. As a teaser, the book opens with a beautiful woman who abandons Andrew for a new life in Norway. This little teaser will keep you wondering to the end.
While the novel does have some comic moments, I would not—as some reviewers have claimed—count this as “rip roaring funny.” However, those funny spots do keep me turning a few more pages. here is one of the funny moments. Carl writes, “Merry Mansfield told Yancy a version of her life so far-fetched that he bit his lower lip, trying not to laugh. […] ‘You’ve got a charming imagination. I could listen to you go on all day.’ // ‘What did I say that you don’t believe?’ // ‘Basically every word.’ […] ‘Technically, I’m not a maritime artifacts appraiser,’ Merry admitted. ‘Also, I didn’t really go to boarding school in Switzerland. My mom wasn’t a consular attaché in Morocco. My dad never had a thing with Sigourney Weaver. I wasn’t the youngest of six sisters, all master equestrians. I did get married when I was eighteen, except my husband wasn’t pulped to death in an orange-juice factory. What really happened, he went to prison for counterfeiting food stamps and I divorced his ass. No kinds from the marriage, thank God—that parts true. What else? Oh yeah, I didn’t lose a three-million dollar bauxite inheritance to Bernie Madoff. My folks are still alive, and they’re not leaving me a nickel” (134-135). Really? Not one of six kids?
Aside from an improbable escape from some mobsters trying to recover the lost diamond ring, the story is a fun read, and certainly worth the effort. I guess, if I was forced at gunpoint, I would admit it is entertaining. Hiaasen does have six novels previous to the eight I own, so, I can see myself lingering near the “H” section of novels and having one more go at Andrew Yancy. However, by the time I come around to one of his earlier novels, I might just discover a whole new world in Florida. I you are not familiar with Carl Hiaasen, I am sure, you will get more than an ample reward for a pleasant read of Razor Girl. 5 stars!
Likely Stories is a production of KWBU. I’m Jim McKeown. Join me again next time for Likely Stories.
