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Published May 2023
320 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times bestselling author and actual Florida Man Dave Barry returns with a Florida caper full of oddballs and more twists and turns than a snake slithering away from a gator.
Jesse Braddock is trapped in a tiny cabin deep in the Everglades with her infant daughter and her ex-boyfriend, a wannabe reality TV star who turned out to be a lot prettier on the outside than on the inside. Broke and desperate for a way out, Jesse stumbles across a long-lost treasure, which could solve all her problems—if she can figure out how to keep it. The problem is, some very bad men are also looking for the treasure, and they know Jesse has it.
Meanwhile, Ken Bortle of Bortle Brothers Bait and Beer has hatched a scheme to lure tourists to his failing store by making viral videos of the "Everglades Melon Monster." The Monster is in fact an unemployed alcoholic newspaperman named Phil wearing a Dora the Explorer costume head. Incredibly, this plan actually works, inspiring a horde of TikTokers to swarm into the swamp in search of the monster at the same time villains are on the hunt for Jesse's treasure. Amid this mayhem, a presidential hopeful arrives in the Everglades to start his campaign. Needless to say, it does not go as planned. In fact, nothing in this story goes as planned. This is, after all, Florida.
"Florida's humorist laureate finds chaos and comedy in the Everglades....Gold bars, pythons, and TikTok videos of swamp monsters add up to a hilarious Florida tale....Barry makes mirth of all this mayhem with his usual aplomb." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Crime fiction doesn't come much funnier than this Florida-set caper....Barry conducts the hijinks like a maestro of comic suspense. Carl Hiaasen fans will be in heaven." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Before you open this book, ask yourself one important question: How hard do I want to laugh? Because (a) it's Dave Barry, and (b) it's Dave Freaking Barry. Of course Swamp Story is about greed, fraud, and viral fame, but there are also big-ass reptiles to keep the sketchiest characters on their toes. Everything that happens in this wild novel could easily happen in South Florida, and probably will. Read it here first. Dave's version is always the funniest." —Carl Hiaasen
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
The Miami Herald
Dave Barry is an author and humorist who won a Pulitzer Prize for his syndicated column, which ran in more than 500 newspapers and was the inspiration for the TV show Dave's World. He has also written dozens of bestselling books, most recently Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog, and Swamp Story, published by Simon and Schuster in June of 2023. Along with Ridley Pearson, Barry wrote the bestselling Starcatchers series of young-adult novels, one of which was adapted as the Tony-award winning Broadway play Peter and the Starcatcher.
Barry once set fire to a pair of underpants with a Barbie doll on national television. He is also largely responsible for the popularity of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, although it was not his idea. In recognition of Barry's ...
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