Celebrity's not always what it seems, but you've certainly never seen it like this: Talentless pop starlet Cherry Pye is such a wild, uncontrollable mess that her handlers have hired a body double to cover her absences. It works perfectly, mostly, until an obsessive paparazzo nabs the wrong girl in a misguided kidnapping. Throw in a matched pair of publicists without a whit of morality between them, parents only worried about their cash cow, and a bodyguard with a string-trimmer for a hand ... well, it's a classic, absurd Hiassen comedy/drama combo.
If you haven't read Hiaasen before, go ahead and start here. You won't be disappointed. It's dark comedy with a social conscience. You'll feel smarter, yet still thoroughly entertained.
For those of you who have read Hiaasen before, this one feels like coming home. Hiaasen's been writing kids books and nonfiction the last few years, and I have to say I've been missing his adult fiction something fierce.
In Star Island, I was rewarded with visits from several familiar characters: when Jim Dial first appears I thought, "Oh look! Jim retired. How nice!" ... like he's a distant uncle.
Each of Hiaasen's books take a jab at one or two (or more) of Florida's abundant evils: stupid tourists, greedy developers, addled retirees, faux environmentalists, clueless anglers or duffers, etc. The pickin's ripe in Florida. But he was overdue to give the bloated, star-studded world of South Miami it's due diligence.
To me, this book feels like a postcard from a long-lost friend.
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