I enjoyed Double Whammy a lot. I went back to the beginning of Carl Hiaasen’s Skink series after reading a couple of later books; I certainly wasn’t disappointed, but I think Hiaasen improved from here as he really hit his stride.
As well as explaining Skink’s origins, the story has many of Hiaasen’s trademarks: bad guys destroying Florida’s precious natural habitat and wildlife for sleazy gain, political corruption, people with obsessions (in this case bass fishing) and decent people threatened but taking sweet revenge on the scumbags. He is excellent at saying serious things in a witty way and it’s all done with his usual humour and excellent storytelling, so it’s both gripping and very amusing in places. It could perhaps have done with a little tightening up here and there and the wit isn’t quite as dry and biting as in some later books, but it’s great fun nonetheless. Hiaasen is an excellent writer and I was, as always, carried along very enjoyably.
This isn’t absolutely top-notch Hiaasen, but it’s still way ahead of most others in the genre. Warmly recommended.
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