Customer Reviews

Pest Control

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Pest Control by Bill Fitzhugh is a truly wonderful novel. Fitzhugh takes a classic mystery story set in New York and adds a bunch of weird charachters and plot twists. The book is about an exterminator and his family. The exterminator is appalled by the use of pesticides to kill bugs and is creating his own all natural method using his genetically engineered assasin bugs. He quits his job and sees an ad in the paper offering 50,000 bucks for an extermination job. He sends in a resume and is given the job, unaware that his victim is to be a swiss millionaire. The guy dies anyway, and asassins around the world flock to NY to eliminate their new competitor. Klaus, a soft-hearted crack asassin, befriends him, and the rest of the story is a hilarious chase through the big apple. The book is often found under mystery in bookstores, but it is really a comedy. This book is definetly a read for anyone with a sense of humor!

"Pest Control" is a hard book to describe. I have to admit there are some truly hilarious scenes and situations in the book, but there are times when Fitzhugh bogs it down with his relentless insistence on letting us know how Bob feels about his work, his wife, and his child. Bob comes across as a selfish, inane, inept, and generally ridiculous man. Each time one of his cross-bred non-pesticide attempts fail, he seems dumber and dumber. But, he's your hero, and you have to wish him well. The assorted supporting characters are wonderful, particularly the suicidal #1 hitman, who befriends Bob; the clothes-conscious Jean, assistant to Marcel, the hit negotiator; and some of the other assassins, particularly the French beauty who has a hilarious moment when looking for gourmet chocolates in a quick-stop place. Another interesting moment occurs when the transvestite dwarf killer comes on to an overweight, underloved woman, who wants to make out while eating peanuts. This is a rather "touching" and poignant moment, almost out of place in this frantically paced novel. Give Fitzhugh credit, though--it's vastly entertaining, and you can forgive it's obvious flaws because it does make you laugh.

If Robert Ludlum and Douglas Adams had wild homosexual monkey love (not that there's anything wrong with that) with each other before their individual demises, their bastard love child would have been Bill Fitzhugh.

More succinctly, Fitzhugh's novel Pest Control takes the best thriller elements of Ludlum's memory-addled spies and Adam's irreverent humo(u)r and sensibilities and hybrids them (to verb a noun) like so many assassin bugs in the Bugarariums of protagonist Bob Dillon.

In a world where the top 5 assassins know their individual ranks, and where there are still "exterminations" that need doing, hapless Dillon answers a classified ad in a drunken stupor. An ad to kill a man.

When that man dies, Bob's to blame, and everyone from a transvestite dwarf to the CIA gunning for him.

It's a fast page-turner, with at least one chuckle, smile or groaner on every page. Fortunately, the groaners are outnumbered by the smiles and chuckles at least 3-to-1.

Characters are all unique, in some cases (ok, all cases) bizarrely so, as in the case of Bob's daughter's best friend's mother, who has a circus fetish involving dwarfs, bags of peanuts, and... well, really, isn't that enough?

You have to come into this book with a sense of humor. Perhaps even an advanced sense of humor. Curmudgeons will flee this book faster than an cockroach from a flashlight.

Lo and behold, there is something fun about bugs. Fitzhugh makes it so. The writing style is very likeable, giving this mystery-ish novel a light but slightly heart-stirring feel. The characters are well done, in a comical style, and the realistic touches add a little weight to the story.

My only criticism of this book is that I thought it would be laugh-out-loud funny. It IS humorous in the makes-you-smile-on-occasion sort of way, but I don't think I once laughed out loud. There are plenty of things about this book that are unplausible, as well, but you'll be fine with that as long as you dive in knowing that.

An entertaining first novel. Would probably read the second one if I happened upon it, but would not go out of my way to look for it.

I can never get enough of Carl Hiaasen. Twenty years ago, it was Donald Westlake (Dancing Aztecs, for instance), and so I'm constantly on the lookout for writers capable of creating that elusive hybrid of humor and thriller. Ben Elton falls into this category, although sometimes his books tend to run on a bit. Danny King fills a particular niche. So, all that being said, I cannot believe it's taken me this long to discover Bill Fitzhugh. Although the reader comes away from this book with far more knowledge about entomology that they'd bargained for, the story is fast, the characters believable, and the humor sharp. Can't wait to read more.

Fitzhugh's debut novel Pest Control introduced the reading public to a new great author who proved through subsequent novels such as The Organ Grinders, Cross Dressing and Radio Activity to name but three, that he was neither a one hit wonder and that he can keep coming up with masterpiece quality surreal and unique ideas that will entertain until the final page. The next book to be published by Fitzhugh (assuming you are reading this review still when the latest published novel was Highway 61 Resurfaced) is apparently the sequel to Pest Control. Can't wait to get a copy of that!

In Pest Control Bob Dillon's aim is to become the ultimate exterminator, and fed up with the way his current employer is polluting the environment and only providing a short term band aid solution to cockroaches, silverfish and other pests he quits determined to start his own business. Only problem is Bob is in severe financial debt, behind on the rent and about to have his electricity cut off so his wife understandably is a bit annoyed with his hasty decision. Bob is undeterred though, knowing he is about to have a breakthrough with his environmentally sustainable cross bred Assassin Bugs that will be the next big thing, make him rich and more importantly allow him to afford a new truck with a really big fibreglass bug on top, maybe even two.

Meanwhile the world's top ranked assassin has turned down a hit on a target that really needs to be killed straight away so with other top ranked assassins not available in this short time frame underworld organiser of this sort of thing Marcel, reluctantly places an add in a New York newspaper. Professional Exterminator Needed ASAP $50K in a weekend. Drunk at the time Bob doesn't read between the lines, applies for the job then forgets all about until Marcel turns up on his doorstep. Marcel never figures out Bob is an insect exterminator and gives the terrified Bob the contract. When the target turns up dead, Bob's career as a highly paid hitman is underway. Unbeknownst to Bob, through coincidental deaths he is fast climbing the ranking of the best hitman for hire. It is not long before the CIA want to employ him, and one of his 'victim's' brothers puts a record price on Bob's head that brings the world's top assassins out of the wood work and after him.

This is one of the best books I have read in a long while. Also check out Fitzhugh's other work. If you like this sort of thing and want to read similar authors also check out Dave Barry's fiction novels or Carl Hiaasen as well.

As a New Yorker, I found a few of the NYC sterotypes a bit over the top, but the story is histerical. I think I flew threw this book in a weeks worth of subway rides, and found myself missing it's comedy by the time I was done. Now I am reading Fitzhugh's second novel "Organ Grinders" and the pleasure continues. Great new novelist, give it a shot.

The book is average but the writer shows potential. The book was way too long and sometimes highly predictable (like a television sit-com).

This book is an outstanding first novel. If Mr. Fitzhugh can write more books like this one, he will get to the top very quickly. I know I am already looking forward to his next book. The characters in this book are very interesting and the dialogue is hilarious, not to mention all the information on insect species used in the book is a nice touch and also very interesting. I found myself wrapped up in the outrageous plot, not able to put the book down, snickering well into the night. I liked the main character, Bob Dillon a.k.a. "The Exterminator," for his go get 'em attitude. This man is in a world of trouble and he isn't even aware of it. When he is made aware, his attitude still remains the same. He is a character with a lot of heart in a book that will make you laugh.

Pest Control is a light-hearted book which uses a fast pace and off-the-wall humor to make up for any depth problems.

Standard story. Upstart assassin bursts onto the scene, creating mayhem in the world of professional killers. Problem. Upstart assassin can't even fulfill a contract to rid a restaurant of roaches, let alone kill some of the most guarded men in the world.

The story of Bob Dillon's flirtation with contract killers is a page-turner. Not really out of suspense, because you can't imagine that Fitzhugh would subject his characters to anything other than a fairy-tale ending, but out of unabated curiosity. You want to know how in the heck Dillon and his cohorts will survive to breed another strain of hybrid bug-eating bugs. Of course Fitzhugh answers with simple and hilarious solutions which are, towards the end of the book, more and more absurd and predictable.

Overall, I'm slightly embarrassed that I like this book as much as do. Nonetheless, I would recommend it to anyone looking for an easy and humorous read.