Rating: 
Summary: Lucky You? No, Lucky Me!
Review: Once again, Hiaasen proves that he is a master at making you laugh hysterically and cringe in horror at the same time. Yes, I too miss Skink, but we must go on to other characters that only Carl can develop in such a bizarre way. I will never be able to look at a road stain or a little turtle in the same way. Hollywood, please don't try to destroy a a wonderfully funny novel like you did with "Striptease." By the way, if you love Hiaasen, I know you will also thoroughly enjoy reading any book by Christopher Moore. Give him a try. If you don't laugh out loud countless times while reading his mystically demented tomes, you need an extra fix of humor. Write on, Hiaasen and Moore!
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Summary: Carl's best yet: great characters, plot, dialogue, ending.
Review: The odds of being struck by lighting is something just under than 7 million to one. The odds of winning the Floridia lottery are around 14 million to one, so I always figured that after I got struck the second time, I'd buy me a Lotto ticket. I'm sorry to say, as yet, I haven't got hit so's much as once. Good fortune recently came however, not in a series of six numbers, but in the form of Carl Hiaasen's latest comic novel, "Lucky You." Fans of earlier deranged trips through Flodida such as "Native Tongue" and "Double Whammy" will again be rewarded for thier investment. Hiaasen has pulled together his best-yet cast of misfits, wannabes, and reluctant heros to infect the Florida landscape. A lottery ticket worth 14 million has been stolen from a small-town veterinarian's assistant, JoLayne. Feature reporter Tom Krone is onboard for the wild ride as the two track down the pathetic thieves and would-be white supremacists, Bodean and Chub. The small town itself serves as the twisted touchstone for the hilarious plot, a place where Christian pilgrims gather to witness the "Weeping" Madonna ("Charlie"-scented tears), the Apolisitic Turtles, and brake-fluid Jesus. When the latter becomes the victim of scheduled road maintainence, a minor character reflects on the loss to the apparition's sponsor, "She's had a bad day. The D.O.T. paved her road stain." The generous dialogue afforded even lessor roles proves beyond doubt that the author has achieved new heights of colloquial brilliance. The pursuit of the missing ticket is interwoven with hilarious sub-plots of divorce, arson, adultery and money-laudering, all which lead back to the smitten feature-writer who leaves a speed-boat wake of turbulence behind him as he and JoLayne seek palmetto jusitce. Some of Hiaasen's PET PEEVES GET PILLIORIED (assistant editors, judges, developers) and this we expect and hope for. Humor makes his contempt that much more scathing. Tom's boss tranfigures into Turtle Boy and the contemptable jurist's clever get-away plot is foiled by his adultering but all-too honest wife ("thirteen times, but that's counting oral relations too.") Once again, Hiaasen offers up some female heroines. Amber, a Hooters waitress, is more than a match for the thieves' accomplice and helps to wind up the headlong story perfectly, offering up just-in-time moral heroics and well, a little luck.
Rating:
Summary: Carl, I love you!
Review: I have absolutely loved Carl Hiaasen for so many years. His antagonists are the worst. Carl's way of doing them in is so-o-o- utterly gross that you can't even believe it. Laugh if you may, but then go to the serious side of life. If you like Carl, please go and read Christopher Moore. His works are To-o-o-o funny. He will also respond to your E-Mail. He's my favorite author to date. Please read "Bloodsucking Fiends." I do love him!
Rating:
Summary: Hiassen, back to old form, scores a 10.
Review: Take a $28 million Florida lottery payoff; divide it between a beautiful black veterinary nurse and two dull witted militia wannabes; fold in a burned out journalist, a hooters waitress, and a statue of Mary that weeps prefume scented tears; salt with pickups, convenience stores, and escapes by land an sea and you have perfect Hiassen recipe for hours of delightful reading. His best in years and a welcome return to the highjinks of previous books.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Book, But Not His Best
Review: "Lucky You"'s concept of trying to steal a multi-million dollar lottery ticket is very interesting and intriguing. Mr. Hiaasen does a good job of developing his looney set of characters, but none of them are going to be as memorable to me as those in his previous novels. Part of the fun of a Hiaasen novel is finding out what kind of wacky stuff he is going to come up with this time around (his past books have depicted interesting uses with "The Club", Weed-Wackers, etc.). I found very little of that in "Lucky You". If you like Hiaasen, you'll like the book, but you'll probably not be totally satisfied. If you've never read anything by him before, I recommend either "Native Tongue" or "Stormy Weather".
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Summary: Lucky me
Review: Whenever you've read a lot of books by one author (and Hiaasen has written quite a few), you tend to get nervous. Well, the first three or four were great, but what about this next one, you think to yourself? It's like waiting for lightening to strike--you know it's got to happen some time and you dread it. You KNOW you're going to finally run across a book by this author that you don't like. You KNOW he's finally going to run out of steam. But he doesn't. I'm happy to report that LUCKY YOU is just as good as any of the other Hiaasen books (think SKIN TIGHT or HOOT) and this guy just keeps going like the Energizer bunny. With the same great writing, style, humor, and insight into the south that are found in Jackson McCrae's books (THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD) Hiaasen gives us a wonderful if not disturbing portrait of the wacky characters that make up the southern-most region of our United States. Few living outside this region will recognize that Hiaasen isn't making this stuff up--for some of us, it's too real! All I can say is, buy this book and read it. If you're fortunate to, then . . . Lucky you.
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Summary: Predictable Hiaasen Continues to Entertain
Review: Like clockwork, Carl Hiaasen delivers a book every two years chock-full of the oddest characters in the Sunshine State. "Lucky You" does not depart from that formula, providing a story full of rednecks, reporters, Hooters waitresses, and other assorted odd Floridians. While it doesn't pack the pure laugh power of "Skin Tight" or "Native Tongue," it proves to be an enjoyable ride. The biggest criticism I can think of is that Hiaasen takes no chances with this story. His common themes (the environment, dumb criminal rednecks, smart-assed reporters) are all in evidence, just as they were in most of his previous works. Yet, the basic formula continues to entertain, for Hiaasen is a master of delivering a story at a breakneck pace. My only question is how much longer can he continue to write what is basically the same story? "Lucky You" is the story of two winning lottery tickets and the people who are lucky enough to own them. One of them, JoLayne Lucks, is a small-town vet's assistant who wants to use the money for altruistic purposes. The other, Bode Gazzer, is a career criminal and would-be militia participant, who wants to arm himself and his sidekick for the impending NATO invasion. JoLayne and Bode come together in one horrifying moment, and for the rest of the book, we learn what happened and why JoLayne wants to catch up with Bode and his sidekick. To reveal more of the plot would be to ruin many of the twists that make Carl Hiaasen as enjoyable as he is. If you're a Carl Hiaasen fan, you might not love this book, but you'll find yourself laughing out loud. If you've never read any of Hiaasen's previous works, "Lucky You" might not be the one you want to start with, but it shouldn't be missed.
Rating:
Summary: I hit the jackpot
Review: I had never read a book by this author before, trust me it will not be my last. The characters are all incredibly funny and fun to read. The basic plot runs like this a peaceful veterinarian in the town of Grange Florida has just won the lottery 14 million dollars. She is a women and black. Nothing big ever goes on in her quite little town except for the busloads of tourists coming to view the local favored religious shrines. There would not be story without a conflict which arrives in a pair of two skinheads who just so happen to have the other winning lottery ticket. The two racists steal the ticket and rough her up. Now she has to get it back, with help from an investigative reporter, a friend in the ATF and a waitress at Hooter's. My impression-I liked the characters, some of the one-liners are classic. The book would not be as good if the author were not as prolific but mystery writers as a general rule have to be. The book is not without flaws the largest of which is that it is too long in my view but the conclusion does not feel rushed or convenient. If enjoy a good fun read treat yourself to this
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Summary: Hiaasen at his silly best!
Review: About ten times while reading this book - I wanted to toss it across the room and SCREAM! Why? Because NO ONE should write so doggone well! Mr. Hiaasen is silly, irreverent, and a pure genius. His pokes at religious zelots and redneck militia men will leave you clutching your sides and gasping for breath. Have tissues handy - you will probably have to keep wiping the tears from your eyes to get through this one. Carl? You are the incredible - crazy - but incredible! And I love ya ...
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Summary: Get Rich Quick Fever Wrecks Havoc on Scammers!
Review: Do you play the lottery? If so, you'll feel an affinity with appropriately named, JoLayne Lucks, the heroine of this novel.
How would your life be changed if you suddenly won $14 million? Naturally, you would find good use for it. But what negative consequences would follow? If you favor your privacy, personal safety and sanity, you will find Lucky You presents a living nightmare of all the things that can go wrong.
Naturally, lottery winners become targets for all kinds of fraud. In fact, some will even try to claim that they own the winning tickets. But how often do envious people actually try to steal the ticket? That's the premise of this book.
The plot line though is merely an excuse for the ever satirical Mr. Hiaasen to unloose his humor on those who operate beyond the fringes of legal and ethical behavior including purveyors of fake religious miracles, crooked officials, cheating spouses, white supremacists, racists, the mob, counterfeiters and thieves. In addition, the humor spills over to include those who marry too quickly and unwisely, overeager managers and law clerks, and the overconfidence of men. Those who enjoy reading about writing will be thrilled by the many satirical references in the book to the degradation of the written word in small town newspapers.
Mr. Hiaasen is at his best when he focuses narrowly on fields of endeavor that he knows well. There his humor is sharp, on target and original. When he moves outside of his arena, the humor moves into burlesque and broad strokes that tend to belabor an obvious point past its potential. That's the weakness of this book. He's mostly off solid ground for his humor. Because his targets are people for whom we feel little sympathy, the humor sort of works.
This book contains one of Mr. Hiaasen's favorite themes: the significance of natural beauty being marred by greedy people. But there's no Skink here to take the story line to its usual brilliant potential.
If you are, however, a fan of Mr. Hiaasen, I definitely recommend this book to you. Just realize that this isn't one of his most brilliant efforts.
Appreciate what you have and live in harmony!
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