Skinny Dip

By: Carl Hiaasen

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye

Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's Summary

When Chaz Perron's wife discovers that he is running a scam (posing as a marine biologist to doctor water samples so that an agribusiness tycoon can continue illegally dumping fertilizer into the Everglades), he pushes her overboard from a cruise liner. Unlucky for Chaz, Joey survives clutching a bale of Jamaican pot. Rescued from the Atlantic by a former police officer, Mick Stranahan, she decides not to report him but instead haunt and taunt him, with Mick's help, by playing dead. As a result, Chaz becomes increasingly erratic and inept, a fact noticed by his ruthless and cold-blooded coworkers. Also, the six-time-married Mick rediscovers the thwarted romantic in him, believing that the seventh time might be the charm.

©2004 Carl Hiaasen (P)2004 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"At this point in his career as a comic novelist, Carl Hiaasen did not need to get any better. He has long been writing smarty, fizzy Floridian escapades that amount to pure reading pleasure. But Skinny Dip, his latest, is something more: a screwball delight so full of bright, deft, beautifully honed humor that it places Mr. Hiaasen in the company of Preston Sturges, Woody Allen and S.J. Perelman....Mr. Hiaasen writes with finesse." (The New York Times)
"Hiaasen's signature mix of hilariously over-the-top villains, lovable innocents and righteous indignation at what mankind has done to his beloved Florida wilderness is all present in riotous abundance in his latest....Hiaasen's books are so enjoyable it's always a sad moment when they end." (Publishers Weekly)
"No reprobate escapes the satirical eye of Hiaasen, who writes like the love child of Hunter S. Thompson and Evelyn Waugh....Like Hiaasen's nine previous novels, this one's a corker, chock-full of belly laughs and blistering truths." (Booklist)

Skinny Dip

I listen to my audible books while I commute to work. This one I could not stop listening to. This is the first book I actually listend to out of the car. I just couldn't get enough. The characters were great and the story was most entertaining.

14 of 14 people found this review helpful

Cupboard bare? Time for Hiasson!

this is my second review, because somehow the first, a brilliant effort, just disappeared. So forgive my brevity.

I'm really struggling trying to find new authors and series in mysteries and thrillers. Then I remembered how much I liked Double Whammy and Striptease. Skinny Dip is just as much fun.

I was 100% invested in all the characters. It is one of best stories I've come across.

Again, I just don't have the stamina to rewrite a decent review, what you should know that I loved every second of this book!

12 of 12 people found this review helpful

Very, very funny book.

Hoye has a very droll delivery style which meshes extremely well with Hiaason's "over the top" fictional style. It's a great combination. I loved it, my 13 year old daughter loved it (although I had to fast forward through some of the gamier sections) and my wife loved it. Many of Hiaason's characters are so off the wall that his books aren't realistic, but I don't think they're supposed to be. Reading his stuff is an entrance into another world, bizzare and very funny. I love his stuff, but I don't take it seriously.

I liked Hoye so much I tracked down a couple of his other books. He's that good.

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

Narrator Deserves an Award!

This is a typical Carl Hiaasen novel - off beat characters, vaguely amusing situations, Florida setting. What makes this one outstanding is the narration. Stephen Hoye does one of the best jobs ever narrating this novel, with excellent vocal characterizations which make the story. I'm not sure I would have liked this in printed form, but really enjoyed the audio version.

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

Absolutely Hilarious and Brilliant!

I'm not going to say much about this book. It was my first Carl Hiassen book, and I'm glad to have found such a treasure! The writing is a mixture of Elmore Leonard and Kurt Vonnegut. There is a truth and accuracy to the dialog and characters, with a story that is biting, satirical, and an extremely insightful parody of Florida and the rest of this looney bin we call modern society. The audio presentation is superb. I laughed, I laughed, and I laughed some more. I have shared this program with two others, both of whom are as blown away as I am. I frankly do not understand how anyone could give this audiobook less than five stars. This is really great stuff - don't miss it!

10 of 10 people found this review helpful

Summer's Best Read

We know 'who done it' from the start after the wife is thrown from the deck of a cruise ship. We could say, 'And this is where the fun begins,' but, truth is, in typical Hiaasen style we've had a great deal of fun already. From the opening paragraph to page 355 of 'Skinny Dip' laughter abounds. Someone has said 'Carl Hiaasen is so good he ought to be illegal.' Right on! The audible voice is impeccable that he even brings the female voices to life. This is a 'can't miss' book if there ever was one.And the audible effort is first-rate.

161 of 175 people found this review helpful

Not a Hiaasen virgin anymore...

This book is absolutely hilarious. I listened to it while I was at work and I laughed my butt off.

The narrator (Stephen Hoye) is great and does an amazing job with all the characters. Especially the moronic *ss-hole, slut-chasing Chaz and dope-headed turned soft-hearted "Tool" aka Earl.

This is the first time I ever read or listened to one of Hiassen's books before and I can't wait for another adult book. I highly recommened Skinny Dip.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Great Characters and great narration

I listened to this story on a cross-country drive across the US. It was so funny, I laughed out loud, and rarely do that. The wacky characters such as the loser husband who can't ever do anything right, the "murdered" wife, and the hairy bodyguard were priceless. But a special award goes to the narrator who did the best job with his characterizations I have heard on Audible to date. Well worth the download.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

amusing & entertaining

If you want rolling on the floor laughter this is not a comedy in that sense. However a study in human foibles is amusing. As one person said, "You know who done it." in the first few pages the point is that you DON'T know the twisted web of deceit will unravel. It's a funny book with a good heart, I found all the good guys likable and all the scoundrels, buffoonish, wicked and worth laughing at. The narrator nailed all the voices. A great listen! (Last star not added because I'm getting more picky - and lest anyone get their hopes up TOO high - making whatever they hear unable to reach too lofty an expectation.)

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Hiaasen's Best

As a frequent reader of Hiaasen's works in my opinion this is his best. Joey Perrone's horndog husband Chaz tosses her overboard where she washes up on on the shore of Mick Stranahan's island clutching a bale of Jamaican weed. Thus saved from the perils of the sea she sets out to exact revenge from her two timing murdering husband. Coming at the wife killing Chaz is homicide detective Karl Rolvag; a man with two pet albino pythons and a yearning to leave the madness of Florida for the quiet of Edina, Minnesota. Added to the ensemble cast is Joey's sheepherder brother, a millionaire farmer-polluter and a redneck bodyguard carrying a bullet in a most uncomfortable place. The story veers away from the darker side that Hiaasen's works often contain. Oh one other high point too; the return of Skink. A five star favorite.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful