More like 3.5 stars, but still...

Carl Hiaasen is a genius. Along with Elmore Leonard, Christopher Moore, and Tim Dorsey, he's on my short list of writers whose new novels I must read the moment they are released.

Along those lines, I wasted no time in placing my advance order for BAD MONKEY the moment I knew it was coming out. After all, I have read all of his other adult novels--and have re-read some that I found especially well done.

And make no mistake; BAD MONKEY starts out with the usual Hiaasen flair for distinctly Floridian dark humor, as a deep-sea fishing tourist hooks a severed arm with its middle finger extended. Thus begins a tale which runs up and down the Florida Keys, involving homicide detective-demoted-to-restaurant health inspector Andrew Yancy, who launches an off-the-books investigation of the suspected murder with the aid of a sexy/kinky Dade County medical examiner; the victim's widow, who seems nonplussed about her husband's demise; her daughter, who hates her stepmother as much as she loves her late father's ill-begotten estate; and a bevy of other whacked-out characters, including Yancey's fugitive ex, and a real estate speculator from upstate New York who is spoiling Yancy's corner of paradise.

Yancy's investigation eventually leads him to the Bahamas, where he meets and befriends a fellow with whom he shares a common plight (the loss of the natural splendor surrounding his home). Their paths further intertwine with a voodoo queen, a hired thug named Egg, and a mangy capuchin monkey named Driggs--leading to a plot twist amid an approaching hurricane, which was at once unexpected and satisfying.

Overall, BAD MONKEY is vintage Hiaasen. However, there are aspects of this book I found disappointing. For example, while conducting his investigation in the Bahamas, Yancy witnesses Driggs riding the roof of a moving vehicle. By itself, this incongruous scene is funny. But in a subsequent chapter, Hiaasen explains in depth how Driggs wound up on the roof of said vehicle--from the monkey's POV. This chapter, and some other passages--including far too many scenes involving Yancy's restaurant inspections--lent little if anything to the story's flow or advanced the plot in any appreciable manner. While reading these parts of the novel I couldn't help but think, "Can we get on with it, please?"

Still, this story padding wasn't sufficient cause for me to dismiss the novel entirely. In BAD MONKEY, Hiaasen takes sardonic delight in skewering Florida cronyism while he addresses the greed-fueled destruction of his home state's environmental resources. These are common themes in his novels, yet they still hold up in BAD MONKEY. And the characters are as alternately manic and laconic as any he's introduced us to previously...although, I hope he brings back Skink next time around.

BAD MONKEY is a fun romp, although it could have been better. Still, Hiaasen remains a master of his craft, and die-hard fans will enjoy this novel...hopefully, with both arms intact.