# Star Island

By Carl Hiaasen · Skink Series, book 6

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/star-island-a72da009/

Ann DeLusia’s job is to appear in public as pop star Cherry Pye whenever the singer is too impaired to show up. When a photographer kidnaps Ann instead of Cherry, the singer’s handlers have to rescue her without exposing the arrangement.

## What makes it funny?

Cherry’s comeback requires lip-synching someone else’s singing. Her bodyguard Chemo has replaced a lost hand with a weed-whacker, an unusually literal addition to celebrity security.

### The comedy at work

The kidnapping gives everyone a real emergency while they keep tending a manufactured public image. The farce follows people whose livelihoods depend on maintaining the illusion of Cherry’s competence.

### Try this if…

Celebrity publicity and predatory paparazzi take the blows in this broad crime satire. Its mistaken-identity plot gives the mockery a rescue deadline.

### Good to know

Drug and alcohol abuse, sexual behavior and kidnapping are prominent. The publisher quotes a review recommending it as a starting point for new Hiaasen readers, despite Skink’s appearances in earlier books.

## What to expect

- Genre: Crime & thriller
- Kind of humor: Farce · Satire
- The atmosphere: Irreverent
- Format: Novel

## More in Skink Series

- Book 4: Sick Puppy

## Sources & further reading

- Book information: [Bibliography](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/carl-hiaasen/star-island.htm)
- Review: [Kirkus review](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/carl-hiaasen/star-island)
- Author commentary: [Author](https://carlhiaasen.com/books/star-island)
- Publisher: [Publisher](https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/carl-hiaasen/star-island/9780751543339)