Rating: 
Summary: Vile
Review: I love Dave Barry's weekly column in the paper, and I really liked his prior novel, Big Trouble. His book Dave Barry Does Japan is also a wonderful read. So, by any standard I'd be called a Dave Barry fan. I was severly disappointed to find I hated this book. It was vile and disgusting. In the beginning of the book, there is a disclaimer about the book containing bad words. Okay, fine, no problem there. The book should have had a disclaimer worded something like this: "This book contains graphic and gratuitous depictions of torture, and very little humor". Then I would have skipped the whole thing and saved myself from being deeply disturbed.
Rating: 
Summary: 'Business' proves Barry still has a few tricks up his sleeve
Review: It was an unexpected but pleasant surprise a few years ago to find that Dave Barry, whose column is read, laughed at, and enjoyed the world over by hundreds upon thousands of people, could actually write stories. But in his debut novel, Big Trouble, he proved just that. His follow up, Tricky Business, trails in the wake of 'Trouble'...literally. The story, about a casino cruise ship and those who come to find themselves upon it on a fateful 'dark and stormy night', has many of the same trappings that made Barry's first foray into fiction so well received. Here we have interesting characters (among them, the dysfunctional members of a band called Johnny and the Contusions, a few fed-up cocktail waitresses, and an endearing pair of nursing home rebellers - Arnie and Phil), a plot that twists, turns, and eventually comes together in a way that will make you smack your head in amazement when you finally realize what's really going on.
The only real departure in this book is the violence that Barry inflicts on some of the characters we become attached to. While every character in Big Trouble survived to the end of the book, the body count in Tricky Business is fairly high, sometimes even used as a dark joke (as is the case with some unfortunate workers at the fictious Newspex Nine news station). It is at the same time appropriate to the story and disturbing. One almost expects Barry to resurrect his fallen characters at some point before the end - though he never does. This is, however, a small bone to pick with a book that is laugh-out-loud funny and just as entertaining as anything else Barry has come up with.
And, if you're a fan of Dave's style, that's saying a lot.
Rating:
Summary: Very funny
Review: Dave Barry has done it again! A hysterical glimpse into a very strange night on a casino ship. Not for the weak stomached, as there's a pretty gruesome vomiting scene, and some other stuff pretty high on the blood-and-guts meter. Dave Barry pokes fun at sensationalist newscasts, rock bands, the preparation for storms, and just about anything else you can think of.
Rating: 
Summary: Clumsily written, wierdly violent, a little funny.
Review: There's no question that there were some really funny moments in Tricky Business. And, excepting some really grotesque dipcitions of torture, it's a light, easy read, which I suppose was the goal. But as much as the plot came together, the writing didn't. Barry drifts between slapstick comedy, sappy romantisism, and noir crime novel violence.The changes in voice and style were sudden, and completely unconnected from the story. It kept me from getting lost in the story in a way that I wanted to. I was always aware that this was an effort - "Ah, Dave's trying to be funny. Ah, Dave's trying to be a serious writer. Ah, Dave's making fun of South Florida. Not bad for a couple hours of diversion, but one could certainly do a whole lot better with an author who knew what he was trying to write.
Rating:
Summary: Humorous Read
Review: Particularly if you're a South Floridian...otherwise, I'm not sure you'd enjoy it nearly as much. The best parts were poking fun at the local news coverage of a storm. After living in South Florida for 16 years and having witnessed them in action with my own eyes (particularly since Hurricane Andrew), those parts made me really laugh out loud. The only thing that kept me from giving it 5 stars was that it was a bit graphic and violent. Hopefully, Dave will tone that down in his next offering.
Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious, silly and highly entertaining
Review: Do you need a laugh? Have you been depressed, and need something to pick up your mood? Well Dave Barry can do that. The characters in this high seas farce are silly, but entertaining. The humor is non-stop. You know the outcome as you read it, but who cares? It's just a fun ride, and a quick read.
Rating: 
Summary: Finally the proof Barry is human.
Review: The first Dave Barry book I read was "Guide to Guys." I laughed so hard I thought I was going to die.
When his first novel was published ("Big Trouble") I wasn't dissapointed either. I'd read it next to some people who tought I was going insane laughing so hard out of written text.
Then out came "Tricky Business." Barry's streak it's over.
It's not that "Business" it's not funny. But in the laugh-o-meter it doesn't come even close to Barry's previous work.
Barry, one of the most gifted writers in America today, tells us a story full of violence, sex, and profanity, which it's okay to use if, like other writers, you lack Barry's wit.
But Barry is definitively better than this. I believe "Big Trouble" was so funny because he didn't take his job as a novelist so seriously.
It's very readable, but don't expect big laughs.
Rating:
Summary: It's Dave Barry. It's funny.
Review: This book starts out with a warning stating in huge letters: 'THIS BOOK CONTAINS SOME BAD WORDS'. It says that three times. Nobody listens, and then they complain. Get off it. This book is laugh out loud funny. I flew threw this book in a day. It was that funny. When a cruise ship, which has been transferring drugs, goes in a tropical storm, Hector, everything goes crazy, Dave Barry style. If you love Dave Barry's humor, and you loved Big Trouble, you will love this book. Trust me.
Rating:
Summary: WARNING: Scenes of physical torture!
Review: WARNING: This book is not a light-hearted comedy. It contains graphic descriptions of physical torture. (And, as the author often says in his columns, I am not making this up.)
If you can tolerate that, the humor in the rest of this disturbing and disappointing book is worth two stars.
Rating:
Summary: Not as funny as Big Trouble, but few things in life are.
Review: If you don't like to read books with swearing, sex, graphic violence and/or and endless reminder of just how stupid stupid people can be, don't read this book. The story is absurd, and I loved every minute of it.
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