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Basket Case

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Basket Case

By: Carl Hiaasen
Narrated by: George Newbern
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Once a hotshot investigative reporter, Jack Tagger now bangs out obituaries for a South Florida daily, “plotting to resurrect my newspaper career by yoking my byline to some famous stiff.” Jimmy Stoma, the infamous front man of Jimmy and the Slut Puppies, dead in a fishy-smelling scuba “accident,” might be the stiff of Jack’s dreams—if only he can figure out what happened.

Standing in the way are (among others) his ambitious young editor, who hasn’t yet fired anyone but plans to “break her cherry” on Jack; the rock star’s pop-singer widow, who’s using the occasion of her husband’s death to re-launch her own career; and the soulless, profit-hungry owner of the newspaper, whom Jack once publicly humiliated at a stockholders’ meeting.

With clues from the dead rock singer’s music, Jack ultimately unravels Jimmy Stoma’s strange fate—in a hilariously hard-won triumph for muckraking journalism, and for the death-obsessed obituary writer himself.

“Always be halfway prepared” is Jack Tagger’s motto—and it’s more than enough to guarantee a wickedly funny, brilliantly entertaining novel from Carl Hiaasen. Contemporary Fiction Literature & Fiction Witty Mystery Fiction Genre Fiction Suspense Hard-Boiled Literary Fiction Thriller & Suspense
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Critic reviews

“[A] rollickingly comic and suspenseful adventure.”
—Los Angeles Times

“Fresh and juicy ... A sunny delight.”
—Entertainment Weekly

“As delicious as ever ... [Hiaasen is] a master of the comic crime novel.”
—People

“Hiaasen delivers a culpable caper that’s a pleasurable hit.”
—USA Today

“A riot ... It’s one thing to be twisted and funny. It’s quite another to manage twisted, funny, and serious.... Hiaasen consistently juggles the heavy with the light.”
—Detroit News

“Frisky.... The real music here is Mr. Hiaasen’s self-assured banter.”
—The New York Times

“Riled, righteous, and rip-roaring funny ... Hiaasen’s novels ought to bear the warning label: may be hazardous to your sides. They may split.”
—New York Newsday

“[Hiaasen] is head and shoulders above the rest.... Straight crime fiction with a biting, satiric edge, and it proves what his hardcore fans have known for a long time—he is, at heart, simply a great storyteller and a better writer.”
—Charleston Post and Courier

“Great good fun ... Basket Case is typical Hiaasen. In other words, it’s wildly hyperbolic, with lots of digs at South Florida's zany lifestyle and (in this case) a total smearing of corporate journalism.”
—St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Humorous Writing • Entertaining Plot • Perfect Narrator • Satisfying Ending • Witty Dialogue • Excellent Reader

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Carl Hiassen, based on some of his earlier novels, is a favorite of mine. Unfortunately, this one just seemed to drag, and a lot of the humor seemed forced. He has certaimly done better.

Too wordy

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Carl Hiaasen never disappoints and George Newbern was an excellent reader. I’m ready to download another Hiaasen book.

Love this author

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My favorite narrator does it again. Fun story - incredibly witty writing. Loved the ending the best. Worth the listen!

Fun story

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Liked the reader. The story was funny and I couldn’t stop listening. Have read a few books by this author and have enjoyed them all. Good quick reads.

The satire is fantastic.

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I have listened to several of Carl Hiasson's books. Have enjoyed each one even though there is a theme and style that is a little repetitive. Still, I like the witty and clever human twists. Fun read/listen.

Hasson never disappoints

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