Wrecker

By: Carl Hiaasen

Narrated by: Ron Butler

Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Wrecker needs to deal with smugglers, grave robbers, and pooping iguanas—just as soon as he finishes Zoom school. Welcome to another wild adventure in Carl Hiaasen's Florida!

Valdez Jones VIII calls himself Wrecker because his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather salvaged shipwrecks for a living.

So is it destiny, irony, or just bad luck when Wrecker comes across a speedboat that has run hard aground on a sand flat? The men in the boat don't want Wrecker to call for help—in fact, they'll pay him to forget he ever saw them.

Wrecker would be happy to forget, but he keeps seeing these men all over Key West—at the marina, in the cemetery, even right outside his own door. And now they want more than his silence—they want a lookout.

He'll have to dive deep into their shady dealings to figure out a way to escape this tangled net. . . .

©2023 Carl Hiaasen (P)2023 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"Hiaasen packs his tale with rich character details, local history, and present-day concerns, all while carefully spinning a layered mystery that gets more serious with every turn. One heck of a ride."—Booklist, starred review

"A batten-down-the-hatches thriller anchored by critical real-life themes."—Kirkus Reviews

"Action-packed and endlessly funny."—Shelf Awareness

Fun Hiaasen Read

Classic Hiaasen. Great South Florida settings and the usual quirky characters getting themselves in quandries and pickles. Have fun with it.

Carl Hiassen provides a great escape.

Carl Hiassen blends current events and interesting historical tidbits into another great story involving unique characters. A little less outrageous than some of his stories, but still blending important community issues with unique humor as only he can. Valdez VIII is a very likable compelling character.

Great book, uninspired narrator

Being a huge Carl Hiaasen fan, I loved this book. Unfortunately, the narrator was not able to bring forth the subtle, in your face humor that is typical of the Hiaasen imagination.

Not his best

It was okay. Definitely needed Skink. Looking forward to the next one- I still have hope.

Young Adult books almost as whacky as Adult Books Is

I love Carl Hiaasen. His stories never disappoint. I didn’t realize that the book was considered a young adult book at first until I realized the lack of Florida Style mayhem, No one is eaten by a snake or dispatched in some other unique way….but there was plenty of intrigue and veiled political innuendo. The story telling was entertaining and well read and the plot had plenty of Hiaasen twists and turns. Recommended to old readers as well as young….

Punches above its weight

This is a gem. Characters and story are a delight. Really good book. Want another.

Another fun Hiaasen

First story I heard of his with a teenager for a main character. Fun story with mix of humor and odd ball criminals. Enjoyable if you have enjoyed other Hiaasen books. No surprise. Typical good time

Love love, love it

I don’t do well keeping my attention on something but this book had my attention. Enjoyed it so much! Can’t wait to listen to more by this author

Duped! But hey, what the bleep- I read it anyway

So, like most other reviewers on here, I was unaware this novel was YA, but I read it anyway. it was certainly good and imaginative enough, but it's amazing how much I miss Hiassen's gritty dialogue.. hopefully Amazon makes us aware next time he writes a YA novel. Bleep.

Terrible Narration, Cringey Dialogue

The narrator of this book sounds like an infomercial sales person. Some of the dialogue sounds like an attempt from an old person struggling to capture what young people sound like,