Bad Monkey

By: Carl Hiaasen

Narrated by: Arte Johnson

Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

A wickedly funny novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Squeeze Me in which the greedy, the corrupt, and the degraders of what’s left of pristine Florida—now, of the Bahamas as well—get their comeuppance.

“[A] comedic marvel … [Hiaasen] hasn’t written a novel this funny since Skinny Dip.”—The New York Times

Andrew Yancy—late of the Miami Police and soon-to-be-late of the Monroe County sheriff’s office—has a human arm in his freezer. There’s a logical (Hiaasenian) explanation for that, but not for how and why it parted from its shadowy owner. Yancy thinks the boating-accident/shark-luncheon explanation is full of holes, and if he can prove murder, the sheriff might rescue him from his grisly Health Inspector gig (it’s not called the roach patrol for nothing). But first—this being Hiaasen country—Yancy must negotiate an obstacle course of wildly unpredictable events with a crew of even more wildly unpredictable characters, including his just-ex lover, a hot-blooded fugitive from Kansas; the twitchy widow of the frozen arm; two avariciously optimistic real-estate speculators; the Bahamian voodoo witch known as the Dragon Queen, whose suitors are blinded unto death by her peculiar charms; Yancy’s new true love, a kinky coroner; and the eponymous bad monkey, who with hilarious aplomb earns his place among Carl Hiaasen’s greatest characters.

©2013 Carl Hiaasen (P)2013 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“[A] comedic marvel ... [Hiaasen] hasn’t written a novel this funny since Skinny Dip.... Beautifully constructed.” (Janet Maslin, The New York Times)

“No one writes about Florida with a more wicked sense of humor than Hiaasen.” (Jocelyn McClurg, USA Today)

“[A] rollicking misadventure in the colorful annals of greed and corruption in South Florida.... Hiaasen has a peculiar genius for inventing grotesque creatures ... that spring from the darkest impulses of the id. But he also writes great heroes.” (Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times)

ANOTHER RAVE REVIEW FOR BAD MONKEY AND CARL HIAASEN!

Well, what more can be said beyond " Carl Hiaasen interpreted by Arte Johnson!"
I had a sudden flash while listening to Arte Johnson perform this work: It has been Arte Johnson's voice in my head when I read Hiaasen's books all along! What the hell he's been doing in my head all this time..... Who knows! The book is great! The performance is great! Two thumbs way up! Buy this book!

outstanding

love Carl haiisen. His humor and intelligence are so fun to read. he's the best.

Good listen

Entertaining story. Makes you want to travel to the Florida Keys. I’ll be checking out more of this writer’s works.

Love it!!

Carl Hiaasen’s novels are so fun and interesting and keep me glued! Highly recommend all of his novels.

Cute story and entertainin

I was in Florida on vacation and this accompanied me. Learned a lot about Florida!

So sad...

This is likely a perfectly fine Carl Hiaasen book, rendered "unlistenable" by the narrator. Arte Johnson is simply not a good match for Hiaasen's deadpan writing style. I'm going to have to give up (Chapter 8) and get the book.

Ok story, nearly ruined by narrator

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Don't recommend. Read the book, avoid poor Arte.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

No difference among characters. Difficult to keep straight. And the Norwegian accent was the same as the Cuban one.

Carl Hiaasen back in prime form

I was a die-hard Carl Hiaasen fan until “Nature Girl” and “Star Island” both of which were substandard (IMHO). When he took his hiatus to write kid’s books I was disappointed because I couldn’t give up on him completely but as the years passed with no new novels for the adult reader, his star faded in my firmament. I did take note of “Bad Monkey” when it came out but I didn’t rush to download it because I didn’t want to face more disenchantment. Then recently I read a synopsis of his next book (“No Surrender”) which features his iconic character, Skink, and that was the spark that renewed my interest.
I loved “Bad Monkey” and wholeheartedly recommend it. The story is suspenseful, the characters are hilarious - either lovable or despicable but always outrageous - and the plot has plenty of twists and turns. The ending is quite satisfying although there were a few plot points I wasn't clear about - a minor issue which did not detract from the overall pleasure. I've been to the Florida Keys but I'm not very familiar with the climate, flora, fauna or bug life. CH makes this part of the world one of the main characters in his novels. He makes no secret of his love for his home state and his wish to protect it from those who would “pave paradise and put up a parking lot” (thank you, Joni Mitchell).

In the interest of full disclosure, I probably wouldn’t give “Bad Monkey” a full 5 stars except that I want to bring up the average because it is definitely a 4+ star listen/read. I don’t get the complaints about Arte Johnson AT ALL. I think he did a great job but I guess narration really is a matter of taste because there are some narrators I don’t care for who are very popular (George Guidall, Scott Brick, Lorelei King). This is why it’s a good thing Audible includes a sound sample ;-)

Attention Johnsons reading is perfect

I've long been a fan of Hansen. This is an excellent example of his wit.

Tamer Hiaasen with less bizarre villains

Excellent Hiaasen novel with more believable, but less colorful and bizarre characters than his others.