In his career, Dave Barry has done just about everything--written bestselling nonfiction, won a Pulitzer Prize, seen his life turned into a television series. And now, at last, he has joined the long list of literary figures from Jane Austen to Tolstoy who have made the transition from humor columnist to novelist--and done it with a style and inventiveness that establishes that, yes, he is very good at that, too.
In the city of Coconut Grove, Florida, these things happen: A struggling adman named Eliot Arnold drives home from a meeting with the Client From Hell. His teenage son, Matt, fills a Squirtmaster 9000 for his turn at a high school game called Killer. Matt's intended victim, Jenny Herk, sits down in front of the TV with her mom for what she hopes will be a peaceful evening for once. Jenny's alcoholic and secretly embezzling stepfather, Arthur, emerges from the maid's room, angry at being rebuffed. Henry and Leonard, two hit men from New Jersey, pull up to the Herks' house for a real game of Killer, Arthur's embezzlement apparently not having been quite so secret to his employers after all. And a homeless man named Puggy settles down for the night in a treehouse just inside the Herks' yard.
In a few minutes, a chain of events that will change the lives of each and every one of them will begin, and will leave some of them wiser, some of them deader, and some of them definitely looking for a new line of work. With a wicked wit, razor-sharp observations, rich characters, and a plot with more twists than the Inland Waterway, Dave Barry makes his debut a complete and utter triumph.
Publishers Weekly
The zany plot has more twists than the I-95 Miami airport interchange and more pratfalls than a Three Stooges comedy. Despite an occasional stiffness and tendency to strain for one-liners, the narrative moves at a breezy pace. Barry is indisputably one of the funniest humorists writing today, and his fiction debut will not disappoint a legion of fans.
Library Journal - Kristin M. Jacobi
Humor columnist and writer Barry delights us with his first full-fledged novel....Highly recommended for those who like sophomoric silliness.
Carl Hiaasen
Despite wealth, fame and a tendency to undermedicate himself, Dave Barry remains one of the funniest writers alive. Big Trouble is outrageously warped, cheerfully depraved--and harrowingly close to true life in Florida. This book will do for our tourism industry what Dennis Rodman did for bridal wear.
Elmore Leonard
The funniest book I've read in fifty years.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Timmy O
Harmless, silly fun. This book is non-stop and full of craziness. Good stuff.
Rated of 5
by your mother
This book was ok but it would be better if someone could type up the summary and gove it to me
Rated of 5
by Justin
Not only is this book funny, it's beleivable. The idea of arms smuggling, nuclear weapons, FBI agents, beer, snakes, toads, Russians, Gzrkjistanis, New Jerseyans, Ad Executives, Journalists, Housewives, Executives, Embezzlers, Low-Life Bums,... Read More
Rated of 5
by sophie
This is such a funny book. People would lookat me funny when I laughed out loud though.
Rated of 5
by Mike
I have long awaited the first novel by the hilarious weekly columnist for the Miami Herald. His columns are a weekly treat and his first book is a welcome addition to the South Florida fiction of Carl Hiassen, James Hall and Lawrence Shames. Try... Read More
If you've ever wondered what you would do if you owned a football team ...well, Lupica's your guy. This is a delight from beginning to end.. smart, funny, and tough.
Another pitch-perfect mystery in a series that never disappoints, always surprises, and keeps the laughs -- and corpses -- rolling right along.
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Carl Hiaasen
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