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Trap Line

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Key West is a smuggler's paradise. All that's needed are the captains to run the contraband, and Breeze Albury is one of the best fishing captains on the Rock. He's in no mood to become the Machine's delivery boy, however. So the Machine sets out to persuade him. It starts by taking away Albury's livelihood and his freedom. But when the Machine threatens Albury's son, the washed-out wharf rat turns into a raging, sea-going vigilante.

©1982 Carl Hiaasen and Bill Montalbano (P)2012 Recorded Books, LLC Crime Fiction Suspense Thriller & Suspense Vigilante Justice Fiction Crime
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Hiaasen fans appreciate his sly, quirky humour, convoluted plots, all-encompassing sense of impending comic doom, a thorough insights into a specialised aspect of life (bass fishing?) and characters who never, ever stop digging, because they haven't noticed the hole yet. Maybe the Florida landscape and his strong ecological stance are also attractions.

Unfortunately, this novel is lacking in most of these elements. The plot is linear and straight-forward. Since it is set in the 1980s, the ecological theme is very minor. And the characters are not well-rounded. The hero is a manly man with many of the stock features of the type. There are two well fleshed out female characters, though one acts very uncharacteristically at the end, which undermines credibility. The ending is generally weak, really unsatisfactory. The heroic individual determined to overcome adversity – against all medical science and logic, but what the heck. Cue the massed choirs.
Non-US readers may well find the handling of the baseball theme way too idealised and romanticised.

On the upside, the reader was good; I'll be looking out for more of his work.

Sadly, not your typical...

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This is Carl Hiaasen at his very best. He, together with Bill Montalbano, bring the Florida keys to life and manage to weave an intriguing story line into the exotic setting. Their care for the area's nature and wildlife and their abhorrence of the impact on it of commerce and political corruption, shines through.

Wonderful story telling

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