Skin Tight (Paperback)

~ (Author) "On the third of January, a leaden, blustery day, two tourists from Covington, Tennessee, removed their sensible shoes to go strolling on the beach at..." (more)
Key Phrases: tarpon gaff, marine patrolman, curly eyebrows, Rudy Graveline, Mick Stranahan, Kipper Garth (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hiaasen's latest thriller is his funniest and sharpest novel to date. Set in a south Florida swarming with ripoff artists, crooked cops, nude sunbathers and corrupt politicians, it features a Mafia-connected plastic surgeon with butterfingers, a bitchy Hollywood starlet, a remarkably inept hit man and a pompous TV journalist "nationally famous for getting beaten up on camera." Retired state investigator Mick Stranahan, the hero, kills an intruder in his seaside house on stilts by impaling him with a trophy spearfish. Then one of his five ex-wives is found drowned. Due to an unresolved missing-person case, someone wants Stranahan eliminated, and his efforts to flush out the mixed bag of bad guys let Hiaasen ( Tourist Season ; Double Wham my ) display his manic sense of humor at every turn. The cynical sleuth has just the right mix of sour and smarts to get a fix on a mad world. This wickedly amusing story is the work of a keen satirist who off-handedly exposes the moral rot at every level of society. 50,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild, Mystery Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Somebody wants Mick Stranahan dead. Mick is sure of this, because he just had to dispatch a pistol-packing intruder with the help of a stuffed marlin head. But who would want to hurt a former Florida state investigator? The answer is plenty of people-as Stranahan soon finds himself acquainted with a litter of nefarious players, including a hit man whose skin problems could fill a comprehensive (if bizarre) medical textbook, a lawyer of questionable repute who advertises on billboards, and a TV show host whose taste for sensationalism is exceeded only by his vanity. The whole thing gets downright harrowing for the ex-cop in one of Hiaasen's most breathtaking, madcap romps ever-where even a plastic surgeon with extremely shaky hands waits to wring Stranahan's neck.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (April 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446695696
• ISBN-13: 978-0446695695
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #57,503 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can a weed-whacker be funny? You bet!, December 28, 1999

By	Doug Vaughn (Washington, Dc USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Skin Tight (Mass Market Paperback)

I am always amused when I see Hiassen's books referred to as 'mysteries' or 'thrillers'. People who want these kinds of books won't really find them in Hiassen's work. What he creates are darkly comic morality plays about excess - specifically that of south Florida. What is wonderful about his books, apart from the zany characters, great dialogue and memorable absurdaties, is that in each one we see the 'forces of evil' suffer the fates they deserve. Maybe good doesn't triumph in real life, but Hiassen gives us the satisfaction of seeing horrible things happen to horrible people.

In Skin Tight, Hiassen gives us his usual cast of interesting and very peculiar players drawn from the mix of modern day Miami. Without giving any of the plot away, I will only say that there are two things about this book that I bet will stay with any reader: the fate that befalls the vain and insufferable TV host in his Geraldolike quest at expose and the character Chemo's choice of a prosthesis - a weed-whacker. These are a couple of the overthetop high points in Skin Tight, one of Hiaseen's grizzliest and funniest tales.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funnier than a Botched Nose Job, November 22, 2004

By	Gary Griffiths (Los Altos Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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This review is from: Skin Tight (Mass Market Paperback)

"Skin Tight" is one of Carl Hiaasen's earlier novels. Given the consistent quality of Hiaasen's prolific and wickedly funny skewering of south Florida and its wacky inhabitants, it is difficult to pick a Hiaasen "best", but "Skin Tight" is definitely a contender. In other works, Hiaasen has taken on south Florida institutions from televangelism to trophy bass fishing to stripping. In "Skin Tight", he tackles cosmetic surgery as the unlikely but content-rich target. Fans of this summer's Hiaasen bestseller, "Skinny Dip", will find this introduction to retired state investigator Mick Stranahan a somewhat darker and more grisly prequel. Cast with the author's usual collection of miscreants, sleaze balls, corrupt officials and incompetent crooks, "Skin Tight" ricochets from one bizarre and brutal high jinx to next, each one more depraved and disturbed than the previous. Given the seemingly endless stream of mayhem and murder in this zany tale, superlatives are risky, but certainly the method in which two terminally corrupt Miami detectives are dispatched is especially memorable.

Yet at the core of Hiaasen's carefully crafted chaos and black humor lies an insightful dissection of the shallowness and material corruption of American culture. In a tribute to Hiaasen's skills considerable literary skills, these messages never overshadow the entertainment value, nor require "progressive" political views to be appreciated. Ironic, sarcastic, and biting, "Skin Tight" represents another page-turner from Carl Hiaasen, today's undisputed master of mordancy.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, a Lot of Fun, October 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Skin Tight (Mass Market Paperback)

This was my first Carl Hiaasen book and I thought it was terrific. The characters are excellent, the story moved along at a brisk pace and some of it was downright hilarious. After reading more serious crime/thriller type novels, this was a great break. I tore through the book quickly. People looked at me funny when I laughed out loud on the exercise bike or treadmill trying to read as much as possible, anxious to find out what happens next. I will definitely order more books from Hiassen in the future!!