Tim's Reviews > Skin Tight

Every so often I gotta have my "Hiassen fix." This guy writs hilarious, violent, complex and generally outlandish mysteries set in Florida and his works are very supportive of the ecological balance there, pus he sets to right those whose egos are bigger than their brains. Case in point: Rudy Graveline, plastic surgeon to the stars and anyone else with a LOT money to preserve their frail vanities. Seems a young student, Victoria Barletta, disappeared after a nose job some years ago, and now the hitherto-unsolved case is coming back up into the forefront. The hero, Mick Stranahan (Hey, where did I see that name before? Oh yeah! In "Skinny Dip," the ex-investigator for the DA who got terminated after he put away a crooked judge; in that one he rescues a woman who is tossed overboard and survives by hanging onto a huge bale of floating marijuana, but I digress; read the book, you'll laugh), seems to have several people out to kill him and it's leading back to this here "nose job" case. Mick reminds one of Jack Reacher, of Lee Child's series, all well worth reading; Mick, like Jack, is tough, a loner, not good with relationships with women, but with an overriding sense of justice as a motivator. In the middle of this is Reynaldo Flem (read "Geraldo Rivera" or "Jerry Springer"), a sensationalist TV host who gets ratings by angering and then getting beaten up on camera by his sleazy interviewees. His production assistant, Christina Marks, is growing tired of this egomaniac but continues to go along with his flamboyant excesses, well, for awhile, and becomes a sort-of love interest for Mick. We add Maggie Gonzalez, former nurse to Dr. Graveline, who promises to give Reynaldo an exclusive interview about what really happened to Ms. Barletta; a thug nicknamed Chemo who at one point gets fitted with an -well, let's say "appendage" which helps his work; Rudy's brother George Graveline, tree trimmer (yup, he has a par); Chloe, third of Mick's ex-wives; Al Garcia, homicide cop; Kipper Garth, Mick's brother-in-law, sleazy attorney; and Roberto Pepsical, crooked (well, ain't they all?) county commissioner, and a twisting plot and the glee doesn't stop. Oh yeah, Biscayne Bay, where Mick's stilt house is, is also a sort-of "character" in this work. Very enjoyable book, meets all expectations, kudos to Mr. Hiassin!

Wait! Here's the REAL fun part! This book was published in 1989, and has MANY pop-culture references that most of those under 40 won't get. I'll just give a few, but there are many more: Pernell Roberts (now deceased; played Adam on "Bonanza," then "Trapper John, MD", sort of a latter-day spinoff of MASH); Sandy Dennis (actress with a pert nose that is a running reference for those rhinoplasties (now deceased also; best known for "Up the Down Staircase," and "The Out-of-Towners" - first one); Collect calls; "Miami Vice"; teleytpes; Patrick Duffy and Victoria Principal ("Dallas"), and VCR tapes. Accidental sources of chuckles these 23 years later. Actually I was gonna give this one five stars just for the unintended fun factor, but of course one must rate on the merits of the work in itself. Please to enjoy.