Welcome to the ninth of my ‘Year of the Book’ posts, in which I take the books I received in my 2025 book advent – each cover representing an animal from the Chinese Zodiac – and review them for you!
September is the MONKEY and the book is Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen.
Read on to find out more…
Blurb: When a severed arm is discovered by a couple on honeymoon in the Florida Keys, former police detective – now reluctant restaurant inspector – Andrew Yancy senses that something doesn’t add up. Determined to get his badge back, he undertakes an unofficial investigation of his own.
Andrew’s search for the truth takes him to the Bahamas, where a local man, with the help of a very bad monkey (who allegedly worked on the Pirates of the Caribbean movies) is doing everything in his power to prevent a developer from building a new tourist resort on the island, with deadly consequences . . .
Outrageous, hilarious and addictive, this is the unique Carl Hiaasen at his absolute best. Bad Monkey will have you on the edge of your seat and laughing out loud.
Review: I do usually love a chaotic, comic crime caper but this one was a little bit on the manic-ridiculous side even for me.
I’ve seen Carl Hiaasen’s books described as being inspired by typical ‘Florida Man’ antics and can definitely see how that applies here, with the severed arm murder investigation often playing second storyline to disgusting restaurant inspections, neighbourly espionage/vandalism and a poo-flinging monkey co-opted and corrupted by a voodoo Dragon Queen on a mobility scooter. Shenanigans all round!
All the characters, including main character and investigator Andrew Yancy, are of questionable sanity at their best and thrive on poor decisions and outlandish amounts of risk-taking. Including the poor ‘Bad Monkey’ of the title, Driggs, who is quite frankly abused and neglected and therefore the only character I retained sympathy/empathy for (despite my relief that I never, ever have to meet him – or any of the rest of them – in real life).
I did enjoy the humour and the mystery elements of the plot and found the book well-written but, while many will definitely love this, I found myself increasingly reluctant to engage. It was just a little too wacky and zany for my personal reading taste. But if you love your murder plots bursting with mayhem and OTT antics then it might be perfect for you.
About the author:
Carl Hiaasen was born and raised in Florida, where he still lives. He is a prize-winning journalist with a regular column in the Miami Herald and many articles in varied magazines. He started writing crime fiction in the early 1980s and has recently branched out into children’s books; he has also had several works of non-fiction published.
Website: https://carlhiaasen.com/
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