'Bad Monkey' by Carl Hiassen

Bad Monkey, Carl Hiassen (3.5)

This is the first Hiassen book I have read and I found it quite entertaining, both funny and suspenseful. Since this is his most recent book, I plan to read some of his earlier, more acclaimed books – he is quite prolific. The hero qualifies as a bit of an anti-hero: a southern Florida detective who gets kicked-down to a health inspector due to an unfortunate incident with a car vac and his mistress’s husband’s derrière. In order to win back his position at the Sheriff’s department, he decides to solve the mystery of a severed arm that unceremoniously washes ashore. Add in a sex offender ex-girlfriend, a motorized wheelchair riding voodoo witch, a less than upset wife of Mr. severed arm and, of course, the monkey from the Johnny Depp pirate movies, and you apparently have a typical Hiaasen book. It was easy and fun to read, though a bit gross – easy to imagine given severed body parts and a restaurant inspector.