Skin Tight

By: Carl Hiaasen

Narrated by: George Wilson

Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

This novel by Carl Hiaasen, author of Tourist Season and Native Tongue, begins as most thrillers do, with a killing. But this is no everyday, hum-drum, garden variety killing. Our hero, Nick Stranahan, a 42-year-old private investigator who has killed five men and been married five times, skewers his attacker's aorta with the razor-sharp bill of a stuffed marlin, setting off a roller coaster ride of events that will drop-kick Stranahan into the deep slime of Miami's prosperous plastic surgery industry.

As with Hiaasen's other books, Skin Tight is one long, extended farce, a comic take on everything from TV tabloid hosts to ambulance chasers, chronicling modern America's ever-growing penchant for tastelessness, self-absorption, and high sleaze.

You will find yourself laughing in spite of yourself at wildly improbable characters like Chemo, a 7-foot monster with a face like a bowl of breakfast cereal; Heather Chappell, who wants to completely renovate her Barbi-doll body; and Reynaldo Flemm, the host of prime time's In Your Face, who stages mock attacks to his person in order to increase the Nielsen ratings.

©1989 Carl Hiaasen (P)1993 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"Hiaasen's latest thriller is his funniest and sharpest novel to date....This wickedly amusing story is the work of a keen satirist who off-handedly exposes the moral rot at every level of society." (Publishers Weekly)

One of the best Hiaasen books!

In my humble opinion anyway. It’s got all the crazy, exaggerated, but possible in South Florida, characters. The story snowballs to the absurd, but again possible in South Florida. Hiaasen’s humor is unbreakable. If you like Hiaasen, you’ll like this book.

Good story

A bit long but still a good story. The narrator does a great job. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Entertaining and fun

This is typical good Carl Hiaasen stuff. Funny, entertaining and very enjoyable. Well Performed. All the characters have a wonderful quality that only Karl can bring out his words

This is probably true

The thing about Carl Hiaasen books is this:
there's some truth in them, no matter how OUTRAGEOUS the story may seem. Mr. Hiaasen wrote for the Miami Herald and a lot of this insanity probably, actually happened...even the weedwacker prosthesis. This is a fun read and an even better listen. It's terrific in every way! Enjoy!

keeps you on the edge

excellent narrator for an well written excellent book. I will get more of this author.

just so-so

Just an OK listen for me. The characters were quirky enough but the plot really bogged down in the 2nd act. The author could have used an editor for this one. The narrator's attempt at deadpan came off a little dull at times and the female characters had no life. The editing was a little off as well - long pauses for no reason and also between chapters were long enough to make me wonder if my battery had died.

Could have been a fun read.

This is one of my favorite Hiaasen books. I read it twice in its written form and anticipated having it brought to life as an audio book. I was disappointed! The reader is flat, artificial and forced. It's like the reader made every effort to sound uninterested and thereby subvert the author. No kudos for this one.

Absolute Brain Candy

This utterly absurd novel is a treat to listen to. I found it very hard to turn off. Hiaasen's characters and settings are perhaps just the far side of believable, but are engaging and entertaining.
The narration and production are excellent.

I liked this

OK it isn't Shakespeare... but a good yarn will get me across an angry sea anyday.
Argggg!!!

Tight Skin

A great listen,murder,mayhem,humor,detective story, and finally an ending that tells you what happened to the criminals in the story.