On the HahaFiction shelf
Double Whammy
Skink Series · Book 1 · 1987
A cheating allegation in Florida’s bass-fishing circuit lands private eye R. J. Decker among TV personalities and hired killers. Finding out how Dickie Lockhart wins his tournaments becomes a dangerous job, with the reclusive Skink as an unlikely ally.
From the author’s blurb
“R. J. Decker, star tenant of the local trailer park and neophyte private eye, is fishing for a killer.”Read the full description at Carl Hiaasen, official book synopsis
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What makes it funny?
In the opening, a fisherman rehearses a made-up road accident to prove that his expensive fog lights were a sensible purchase. After he dies, his wife hears that his wallet is missing and promptly phones the credit-card company.
The comedy at work
Money and status dictate what people care about, even when someone is dead. Hiaasen extends that selfishness to the fishing business and its religious sponsor, whose public piety conceals land deals and private vices.
Try this if…
The appeal is a caustic crime story with grotesque characters and plenty of contempt for hypocrisy. Fishing provides the setting for rivalries over money, celebrity and power.
Good to know
The opening includes strong language, sexual references and a corpse that ducks have pecked at. Death is part of the joke as well as the investigation.
Keep reading
More in Skink Series
The series continues with one more book on our shelf.
Book 4Sick Puppy
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A few distinguishing details
- A cheating scandal in professional bass fishing
More funny private eye & detective
Sources & further reading
- Series bibliography
Book information
- Author book page
Author commentary
- Publishers Weekly review
Review
- Publisher and opening sample
Publisher
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