From Library Journal
Those who admire the comic gifts of humorist Barry will find their appreciation rewarded with his first venture into fiction writing. He has concocted an utterly screw-wacky farce set in Miami that involves a homeless man who takes up residence in an abandoned tree house; a foul-mouthed, spouse-abusing embezzler; a dumb-cluck advertising man; two plug-ugly hitmen; and a passel of assorted psychotics. It would be virtually impossible to try to outline the complex twists and turns of the plot, and the reader has to be pretty sharp not to get confused while Barry puts his characters through their several paces. But it becomes obvious that his hand is firmly on the throttle when the action slips into high gear. To reveal the climax would be unpardonable, but the novel ends with a bang. As usual with Barry, the narrative is shot through with keen, ironic humor and subtle mockery. Highly recommended.
-AA.J. Anderson, GSLIS, Simmons Coll., Boston
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
This first novel by the popular humor columnist won't fail to satisfy his numerous fans, and it may even garner new readers for him, because it's a delightful romp through the less noble side of Miami life. The story is character driven more than plot driven, yet it's a rousing good story nonetheless. Barry simply revels in his kooky characters, of which this novel is packed. You got a former newspaper reporter now small-potatoes advertising guy working out of a small office in Coconut Grove, chasing down what people owe him. You got two high school guys looking to "kill" a girl they go to school with, "killer" being a squirt-gun game big in school these days. You got an engineering and construction firm executive, stepfather of the girl the boys want to "kill," with two hoods from Jersey after him to kill him for real. And you got two street punks who actually believe they can extort on a major level, and what they get involved in is absconding with a bomb and hijacking a plane--sophisticated criminal stuff way beyond their mental means. And, too, you got great comic relief in, among other moments of great comedy, the dog Roger, whose whole life centers on trying to keep the big, bad old toad from eating out of his own bowl. These and other characters are what this novel boils down to: comic relief, a great source of diversion, and even chuckles. Hats off to Barry's cleverness. Brad Hooper
From Kirkus Reviews
In his first-ever novel, prolific humorist Barry (Dave Barry Turns 50, 1998, etc.) proves just how easy it is, or at least how easy he can make it seem, for any zany with Miami connections to master what he artlessly calls "the Bunch of South Florida Wackos genre." Here's the scoop. Matt Arnold, the high-school son of an unsuccessful advertising man, wants to assassinate his classmate Jenny Herk, as per the rules of the Killer game they're both playing, by shooting her with a water pistol. Jenny's father Arthur, embezzling executive and bagman for a ludicrously corrupt construction business, is also the target of a pair of killers who are packing more serious heat. Both executions are about to be witnessed by Puggy, an oblivious drifter whose low-impact job at the Jolly Jackal bar has connected him to gadabout Russian arms dealers who've recently assumed possession of a really heavy suitcase filled with something that looks like a garbage disposal with a 45-minute timer. The FBI is interested in the Jolly Jackals; the Miami police are interested in the assassination attempts; and the kingdom of allegedly lower animals also plays an active role. Roger the dog thinks of every encounter with the human community in terms of a possible meal; a poisonous toad lives only to eat from Roger's food dish; and a cobra named Daphne will play a timely role several bumps down the road. Barry juggles this ship of fools with a genial ease and a disarming lack of tension that suggest, maybe not Carl Hiassen, but the sweeter disposition of Laurence Shames. The big surprise is how readily adaptable Barry's jokey rhythms are to the demands of creating characters and spinning them a farcical plot. But a host of lesser surprises are equally welcome. (First printing of 150,000; Literary Guild featured alternate; $150,000 ad/promo; author tour) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
I laughed so hard I fell out of a chair. -- Stephen King
Dave Barry has gone completely-and delightfully-bonkers. -- People
What else do you need to know? It's by Dave Barry so you know it's going to be funny. -- Seattle Times
From the Back Cover
In his career, Dave Barry has done just about everything - written bestselling nonfiction, won a Pulitzer Prize, seen his life turned into a television series. And now, at last, he has joined the long list of literary figures from Jane Austen to Tolstoy who have made the transition from humor columnist to novelist - and done it with a style and inventiveness that establishes that, yes, he is very good at that, too. In the city of Coconut Grove, Florida, these things happen: A struggling adman named Eliot Arnold drives home from a meeting with the Client From Hell. His teenage son, Matt, fills his Squirtmaster 9000 for his turn at a high school game called Killer. Matt's intended victim, Jenny Herk, sits down in front of the TV with her mom for what she hopes will be a peaceful evening - for once. Jenny's alcoholic and secretly embezzling stepfather, Arthur, emerges from the maid's room, angry at being rebuffed - again. Henry and Leonard, two hit men from New Jersey, pull up to the Herks' house for a real game of Killer - Arthur's embezzlement apparently not having been quite so secret to his employers after all. And a homeless man named Puggy settles down for the night in a treehouse just inside the Herks' yard. In a few minutes, a chain of events that will change the lives of each and every one of them will begin, and will leave some of them wiser, some of them deader, and some of them definitely looking for a new line of work. With a wicked wit, razor-sharp observations, rich characters, and a plot with more twists than the Inland Waterway, Dave Barry makes his debut a complete and utter triumph.
About the Author
From 1983 to 2004, Dave Barry wrote a weekly humor column for The Miami Herald, which in 1988 won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. He is the author of more than thirty books, including such bestsellers as the nonfiction Live Right and Find Happiness (Although Beer Is Much Faster), You Can Date Boys When You're Forty, and I'll Mature When I'm Dead; the novels Big Trouble, Tricky Business, and Insane City; the very successful YA Peter Pan novels (with Ridley Pearson); and his Christmas story The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog. Two of his books--Big Trouble and Dave Barry's Guide to Guys--have been turned into movies. For a while, his life was even a television series, Dave's World, but then it was canceled. The series. Not the life. For many years, Dave was also a guitarist with the late, infamous, and strangely unlamented band the Rock Bottom Remainders.
From The Washington Post
Absolutely wild.
