For readers who have yet to discover the wonder and glory of Carl Hiaasen’s satirical thrillers, this one is a great place to start. The story about malfeasance and murder in the skeevy world of largemouth bass fishing tournaments is both outlandish and true to life. Hiaasen, a long-time columnist for the Miami Herald, knows how to skewer the skewerable. The crazier the event in the novel, the more likely it is to have happened in real life. As with Hiaasen’s later novels (Double Whammy was published back in 1986), this lighthearted crime story gets filtered through the prism of the countless insanities of life in Florida. While many authors have tried this brand of satire, none do it nearly as well as Hiaasen. The book is shrewd and hilarious. Reviewed on Sept. 30, 2021