Carl Hiaasen was born and raised in Florida, and his novels reflect not only his love of that Everglade-filled, Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean-bound state, but also his disgust for the crooked politicians and right-wing fanatics who also inhabit the state. His newest novel, “Fever Beach,” is filled with the quirky characters Hiaasen is famous for, as well as an outrageously insane plot that is so very Hiaasen. And we love every minute.
This novel is not for the puritanical among us. It’s replete with kinky sex toys, vicious dogs, white supremacist groups, and some (mostly) upstanding people who get caught in the fracas. We first meet Dale Figgo, a true ignoramus, as he is tossing antisemitic hate literature featuring invectives and poor grammar on the lawns of suburbanites in Florida. As he is driving, he hits a pedestrian. He then leaves the scene.
We also meet Viva Morales and Twilly Spree. Viva has moved to Florida after her divorce, and her life savings was stolen from her by her now ex-husband. Twilly is an unemployed Floridian whose passion is trying to help the environment by performing acts of violence against those who would destroy Florida’s natural beauty. His violence is mostly against the objects belonging to the rich despoilers, although he also has been known to punish those who toss cigarette butts out their car window by relighting the stub and then putting it out on the ear of the hapless litterbug.
Viva and Twilly meet, and there’s a definite connection. Viva is working for a wealthy couple, assisting them with their philanthropic foundation. She rents a room from Figgo, and she is equally appalled by his white supremacist activities and his ignorance. The vile couple Viva works for are in cahoots with a crooked congressman named Clure Boyette, whose very wealthy father bankrolled his political career. Both Clure and Figgo were absent the day brains were passed out, and each makes a huge contribution to the fiascos that run rampant in the story. Yet another fabulous character is Galaxy, whom the younger Boyette paid for sexual encounters and who filmed those encounters, much to the eventual chagrin of both Boyettes. She also has the receipts on her Venmo account.
Hiaasen is revered for the brilliant manner in which he creates outlandish characters whom we either adore or hate. But make no mistake, these characters are far from black and white cardboard cutouts. Most have depth and are not completely evil or completely heroic. Twilly is a kind of anti-hero. He believes in righteous causes, but the execution of his acts of “justice” are not totally heroic. I do, however, love that Hiaasen has him use a fake inhaler to get away from unwanted conversations.
In typical Hiaasenian splendor, the right-wing congressman is set to lead a congressional hearing against changing the color of pool balls. He tells Galaxy that “The woke police are trying to get all the eight balls changed from black to rainbow-colored!” She laughs. He believes it because, he tells her, he heard it on Fox, specifically from Judge Jeanine. Ironically, the current president has just chosen that same Fox news personality to be the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. As they say, truth can be stranger than fiction.
As Twilly and Viva investigate the money trail between her employers, the congressman, and the white supremacist group that Figgo is putting together, the intrigue deepens, the humor escalates, and Hiaasen gets in some very pointed barbs at the utter absurdity of so much of the MAGA crowd. A very minor character has started a “short-lived movement called the Wives Against Filth. She and some girlfriends originally had founded the group to purge “woke” trash from school libraries, but the mission had soon morphed into a MAGA swingers’ network serving the greater Sarasota area.” Perhaps based on the real Florida couple whose sexual proclivities belied their MAGA anti-book stance. As Twilly observes, “it’s always the self-righteous ones who get caught with their peckers out, the ones who preach the loudest about family values.”
If you enjoy reading about the absurdity of the American political scene, love Florida and hate corruption, greed, and right-wing extremists, this is a novel you will devour. The situations, the plot twists, the daring antics by Twilly and others all intensify as we keep reading. And while we know that good will conquer evil because in Hiaasen’s world, that’s how it should be, we wish that we could be as sure of that in the real world.
This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.