Sick Puppy

By: Carl Hiaasen

Narrated by: George Newbern

When Palmer Stoat notices the black pickup truck following him on the highway, he fears his precious Range Rover is about to be carjacked. But Twilly Spree, the man tailing Stoat, has vengeance, not sport-utility vehicles, on his mind. Idealistic, independently wealthy, and pathologically short-tempered, Twilly has dedicated himself to saving Florida's wilderness from runaway destruction. He favors unambiguous political statements - such as torching Jet-Skis or blowing up banks - that leave his human targets shaken but re-educated.

After watching Stoat blithely dump a trail of fast-food litter out the window, Twilly decides to teach him a lesson. Thus, Stoat's prized Range Rover becomes home to a horde of hungry dung beetles. Which could have been the end to it had Twilly not discovered that Stoat is one of Florida's cockiest and most powerful political fixers, whose latest project is the "malling" of a pristine Gulf Coast island. Now the real Hiaasen-variety fun begins....

Dognapping eco-terrorists, bogus big-time hunters, a Republicans-only hooker, an infamous ex-governor who's gone back to nature, thousands of singing toads and a Labrador retriever greater than the sum of his Labrador parts - these are only some of the denizens of Carl Hiaasen's outrageously funny new novel.

Brilliantly twisted entertainment wrapped around a powerful ecological plea, Sick Puppy gleefully lives up to its title and gives us Hiaasen at his riotous and muckraking best.

©2000 Carl Hiaasen (P)2013 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Carl Hiaasen once again produces a devilishly funny caper. In Sick Puppy, he shows himself to be a comic writer at the peak of his powers." (Publisher's Weekly)

Outrageous Tale

Excellent narration of entertaining characters and a new sidekick for Skink
A good listen for a long car ride

Another fun Florida adventure.

I think that Carl Hiaasen is a great author. I enjoy his books. And the message they deliver.

Clear understanding of how a Labrador retriever thinks and acts

I laughed and enjoyed the entire audio book. I laughed so hard my stomach HURT
Carl H is an awesome writer but has a demented mind. 🤣😂

Great story with satisfying ending.

Nothing like some Twilly & Skink justice! I really hope people aren't as horrible as Carl loves to indicate but there are times...I truly wonder. I am always surprised about some of the twists and turns Carl's novels make but it certainly keeps things interesting. As always, I highly recommend this audiobook and Mr Newbern does an excellent job with the narration.

Consistently Excellent!

What made the experience of listening to Sick Puppy the most enjoyable?

Interesting plots with a twist and great humor. They remind me of Fargo for their unexpected plot twists. Also, another great 'governor' story.

Witty as Usual

Classic Hiaasen -- memorable characters in a class by themselves. Though I gave performance 5 stars, the pronunciation of some Florida locations seemed way off to me.

Good book, but the narration...

I love Carl Heisson. And this is a really good book. I don't know why The narrator chose to do his voice for Twillie as he did, but it soundscapes to me like it's just a very bad Clint Eastwood imitation and was hard to listen to, like fingernails on the chalkboard ! Other than that it was pretty good.

Standard Carl Environment Book

Love the humor. To bad people that play golf are always the bad guys in Carl's books.

For dog lovers

Excellent characters and stories to make you laugh out loud. In the end the lab and the captain steal the show!

Wonderful!

I really enjoyed this. I took a chance on it based on the reviews, and was glad I did. Although probably part of the last third could have been eliminated (it got a little long and bogged down before the climax) the ending was worth it. The ending was absolutely hysterical, and a great pay-off.

The title, 'Sick Puppy', was great, in that the story did indeed have an actual sick canine, but the same title could have applied to many characters in the book. Great story!

Roland Dahl for adults.