Rating: 
Summary: 911........
Review: After reading this book I was sad in a way. It wasn't the story that brought me down, it was the fact that this still isn't the Carl Hiaason that I have become used to. By no means am I of the capacity to say if another's work is good or bad but, in comparison to other books this is not up to par.Hiaason's wit and humor are main draws for his readers. He can take serious (and sometimes dull) subjects and infuse humor-suddenly you want to read more. Sick Puppy just lacks these two elements. The plot is basically the same, peaceful land is in jeopardy of becoming condos and golf courses and someone has to stop it. One of the main differences is the absence of a reporter. The reappearence of Skink was a nice surprise (don't worry this doesn't spoil anything). A few funny moments are included, just not enough to keep you laughing. Someone suggested that Hiasson should take a new approach in his next book; I couldn't agree more. While I do hope he continues to write about the shrinking wilderness of Florida, a book about a disputed election seems tailored for him....
Rating: 
Summary: This is great Hiaasen
Review: After reading Luck You, I was extremely pleased with Sick Puppy. A trust-funded young man with anger-management problems by the name of Twilly makes it his mission to keep South Florida clean. His main target is a lobbyist with some fetishes that might be considered strange, until you read about the other characters. Twilly attempts to teach the man a lesson...several times, but he just doesn't get through to him until he gets the man's dog, renames him and then starts to sabotage one of the lobbyist's biggest projects, the ripples of which reach far into the politics of Florida, which is already funny itself. An enjoyable addition to this book is that the dog is used as a great character too. The description of what Boodles/McGuinn is thinking and doing is excellent and doglovers out there will be nodding along with this. Twilly is an okay character that is actually the most normal of them all along with Desi, the wife of the lobbyist. The rest of the characters are where the real fun can be found. The plot is fantastic in both senses of the word, but the characters have basis in real world politicians and slick businessmen, or rather how we might perceive them to be. Overall, a great book that is refreshing and humorous.
Rating: 
Summary: Eco-Terrorists, Litterbugs, Hit Men and Labradors
Review: It's a mixed blessing that we can refer to a "typical" Carl Hiaasen novel. "Sick Puppy" is one--it has the mix we're used to of dumb politicians, greasy lobbyists, skanky hit men, the ever-resourceful "Skink" and some plot devices to keep all these folks in conflict with each other (in this case, an evironmentally aware trust-fund millionaire, a lobbyist's highly conflicted wife and her black Labrador). This was an enjoyable book, but not one of his very best. At over 500 pages, it could have done with one or two fewer plot wiggles to keep the legendary Hiaasen astringency intact. Still, Hiaasen fans will enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: More Hiaasen Hi-Jinx!
Review: Carl Hiaasen is back again and venting his spleen at Florida developers and politicians as usual. His vehicle for this diatribe is full of the same formulaic characters and plot lines as all of his previous books--wacky but loveable eco-terrorists versus zany but stupid crooks and pols. In fact Hiassen's running character, the former governor and current eco-crazy "Skink" Tyree, returns in a big way, to mentor the novel's protagonist Twilly Spree. Over the last several books Skink has been comically but steadily deteriorating. (What is it with Florida's nature loving series heros? James Hall's Thorne is also being whittled away!) Fortunately he loses no body parts this time, but I wondered if Hiaasen's characterisation of Spree isn't in part designed to replace Skink eventually. Or maybe it's just a twisted Batman/Robin kind of thing... If you've read Hiaasen before, you are familiar with the scenario. To put Hiassen in august company, I'm reminded of John Irving, who also seems to be writing the same book over and over. Irving does it superbly, while Hiaasen only does it well and with a shorter reach. But if you enjoy Hiassen, you will enjoy this book. Like one of the other critics here, I had thought that his last couple of novels were getting too repetitious. But Sick Puppy recaptures the best of the absurd tone that Hiaasen had done so well in the past, and flavors it with a certain darkness and self-awareness in his characters. To call it a "mature" work seems wildly inappropriate for a novel in which one character is fixated on creating living Barbie dolls, another listens to recordings of 911 calls for enjoyment, another has a well deserved phobia about chipmunks; and the hero lives in a swamp wearing a plastic bag on his head, a kilt made from a racing flag, and a glass eye from a gypsy king. But it certainly is one of Hiaasen's best books to date, and recommended to anyone with a fondness for the absurd and no sense of delicacy whatsoever.
Rating: 
Summary: It's funny, but we've heard it before
Review: Reading Sick Puppy was kind of like seeing one of the many Pink Panther Movies again. I chuckled and smiled thru the whole thing but there was not really one original concept or character in the whole book. The same thick irony and poetic justice visits the characters in the same old way that it has in the last several books. I hope that Carl Hiaasen is capable of something besides the old "I hate Florida developers and Disney". He is a talented writer that seems to have fallen into the old trap of trying to fulfill a contract to produce a book when he has a deadline instead of an inspiration.
Rating: 
Summary: A painful read...
Review: I wish they had made this book into a movie. That way I could have wasted only 2 hours of my life watching it than one week of my life reading it. Here's yet another reason not to judge a book by it's cover. The front cover looked funny and potentially entertaining. The summary on the back-cover sounded clever. Both were completely off-base. Although I can recognize the parts of the book that are supposed to be both funny and / or clever I didn't omit one chuckle during the reading of this. No smile ever came across my face until the last page when I realized I was finally done with this book. It's not particularly well-written and I had little sympathy for any of the characters. Not because they were unlikable but because they were under-developed and just uninteresting. Sure, I've never written a book and may not be in a position to criticize someone that has but I can still differentiate between a good and bad book. And this was, well, not good. The plot was absurd but not in the good 'Confederacy of Dunces' sorta way. Often implausible plotlines are impressive because it takes a talented writer to pull of the ridiculous with interest. This was just ridiculous. However, if you like pseudo-intellectual, quasi-political books with ridiculous characters and a flimsy plot, I couldn't recommend a better book.
Rating:
Summary: I loved it.
Review: Hilarious romp the length and breadth of Florida with a thoughtful blend of environmental concern. A poke at the hypocrisy of environemntal politics. 100% entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: HYSTERICAL
Review: Man on a mission, Twilly Spree is tailing a litterbug in a Range Rover. Palmer Stoat is the driver of the Range Rover, and he doesn't know it yet, but his life is about to spin out of control. Before he realizes it, Twilly will kidnap the man's dog as leverage for the man to stop dumping his garbage everywhere, but after meeting Desie, Stoat's 3rd wife, he will change his plans. Stoat is involved in a major land deal, and Twilly wants it stopped, before long Twilly will be in a major situation, pit against a Toyota salesman turned governor, a Repulicans-only hooker, and a millionaire developer with a fetish for Barbies. While trying to foil the plans of the land developing, Twilly will steal a man's wife, risk his life (a few times), and fall in love with a dog named Boodle. "Sick Puppy" is a hysterical, entertaining read. The plot starts off crazy, and just gets crazier with each chapter. Carl Hiaasen is a one-of-a-kind author, he combines page turning thrills, while throwing in laughs a plenty. If you are a fan of Hiaasen's previous books, you will undoubtly enjoy his new novel, it ranks up there with "Striptease", "Stormy Weather", and "Lucky You". Nick Gonnella
Rating:
Summary: Again, as always, a pleasure
Review: Carl Hiaasen again writes a save the environment, good guys win, wonderfully funny novel. If you're familiar with his work, here is another fun and funny adventure and while the formula is the same, the story is not tiring. If this is your first time...read away and enjoy! It's hard to put down.
Rating:
Summary: fast paced and strangely good!
Review: This was the first Hiaasen novel I have read, and it was not at all what I was expecting. I thought it would be very good, but never imagined a story involving an eco-terrorist, a real estate developer with a Barbie fetish, a hit man whose hobby is listening to 911 phone calls on tape, an ex car salesman turned Florida governor, a political lobbyist with no ideals and a love for canned endangered big game hunts, a prostitute with a passion for Republicans, a confused young wife of the lobbyist, and a former governor of Florida named Skink who refuses to compromise his beliefs and a sick Lab puppy that you just have to love!!!. How all these tie in together to come up with a great tale is terrific. There are several other characters in this book that were minor players, but major interesting developments. I believe that Carl Hiaasen is probably the only one who is capable of wrapping a leash around all these people and taking a briskly paced walk successfully!!
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