Basket Case

Rating:
Summary: A Black Humored Detective Story
Review: Basket case takes a story of a Journalist worried about his own mortality and his run in with the world of Rock-n-Roll. A down and out reporter, Jack Tagger, lets us have inside look at the workings of a reporters mind. Jack works at his local paper who is run by a man who moves the company headquarters to San Diego so his sports car will not rust. And his goal is for the paper to make a 25 percent annual profit margin, at the expense of good news reporting.

Unlike Mr. Hiaasen's other books that I have read, "Basket Case" is written in the first person. And stays with our hero, Jack. It reminds me of the old style detective novels. The book does have violence, with the Hiaasen touch. I especially thought the sever bludgeoning with a frozen monitor lizard was original. So we follow Jack Tagger, down-on-his luck obituary writer for South Florida's Union-Register, as he investigates the mysterious death of a onetime rock star named Jimmy Stoma.

If you are looking for a good read give this one a try.

Rating:
Summary: The one, the only
Review: I've only read one other writer/book that took me by storm the way Hiassen did: McCrae with his "Bark of the Dogwood." But even he can't compare to Hiassen. "Basket Case" is not as boisterous as many of Haissen's previous books, but it has its hilarious moments. Many of the previous books expose over-development of the Florida landscape. Basket Case has serious points to make too - about the current state of the newspaper wing of the 4th Estate. Haissen, a longtime newspaperman himself, knows wherefrom he speaks. There is only one Carl Hiaasen. Sure there are a few pretenders out there but he is the master of the Florida landscape and it's peculiar brand of weirdoes, corrupt officials and sunseekers. Also recommed: Sick puppy and Lucky you.

Rating:
Summary: "This is not your textbook kidnapping ...
Review: this is *Fargo* squared." That's how Jack Tagger, obituary writer for a fictional daily newspaper, describes this latest Carl Hiaasen romp through Florida. There is no wood chipper here, but... well, I recommend that you read it and see what resourceful Floridians can "make do" with!

Tagger, former ace investigative reporter, was busted down to Obit writing for ruffling managerial feathers. He has developed a morbid occupational affect of classifying everyone by their age - and the age of famous people who died at that same age. For instance, his editor is 27. "Hendrix Joplin Jones Morrison Cobain." One day, Jack, 46, (Elvis, JFK) comes across a death notice for a former Rock & Roller, Jimmy Stoma, of Jimmy and the Slut Puppies, and the fun and games are on. Who is killing the Slut Puppies?

Basket Case is not as boisterous as many of Haissen's previous books, but it has its hilarious moments. Many of the previous books expose over-development of the Florida landscape. Basket Case has serious points to make too - about the current state of the newspaper wing of the 4th Estate. Haissen, a longtime newspaperman himself, knows wherefrom he speaks. And what he's saying is that we're losing the Woodward /Bernstein caliber to sell more Cheerios and Gucci loafers, and make a larger profit for the paper at the expense of a less-informed public. Because of the cut-backs, Jack's paper could only afford to send a reporter to alternating City Council meetings. So, on the "off" week, when the reporter was away ... "For the corrupt politicians in our circulation area, it was a dream come true. While Maggard-Feist was racking up a twenty-three percent profit, the unsuspecting readers whom MacArthur Polk had promised to crusade for - were being semi-regularly reamed and ripped off by their elected representatives, all because the newspaper could no longer afford to show up." [p. 230]

Will the good guys win? and what about that wood chipper?