Basket Case by Carl Hiaasen

"'Basket Case'
by Jimmy Stoma and Warren Zevon

My baby is a basket case,
A bipolar mama in leather and lace.
Face like an angel,
She's a perfect waste.
My baby is a basket case.

Dracula's daughter, Calamity Jane,
Smoke on the water, water on the brain.
Pretty as a picture
And totally crazed.
My baby is a basket case.

She's gonna make a mad man outta me.
She's gonna make a mad man outta me..." 

My husband an I enjoyed the audio version of this book on a round trip to Tennessee by car. We don't really choose the same reading material so it was a wonderful surprise that we both liked it so much. We were familiar and appreciative of Carl Hiaasen as a writer of young adult fiction but I don't think I'd ever read one of his "grown up" books. Apparently he is considered a master of Florida Noir fiction. Who knew?

In this novel Jack Tagger, a former newspaper journalist demoted to obituary writer for the fictional Union Register, is confronted with the death of James Bradley Stomarti, a has-been rock star. As a fan of Stomarti, known as Jimmy Stoma of the rock band Jimmy and the Slut Puppies, Tagger becomes suspicious and begins his own investigation of Jimmy's fatal and mysterious scuba diving accident. It doesn't take long for him to be convinced that Jimmy's widow, Cleo Rio, a one-hit-wonder rock star wannabe, is the one who somehow arranged his death.

The reader/listener learns that Jack has been relegated to the obit section after blatantly insulting the CEO of his publishing company, Race Maggad III. (He calls him Master Race!) In fact, Jack admits to being an "incorrigible hothead." His work has led to a morbid obsession with death which likely contributed to a break up with his girlfriend. An underlying factor is the disappearance of his father when he was young and his curiosity about the man. As the plot evolves the reader/listener meets numerous quirky characters read engagingly by the talented George Wilson, including his ex-girlfriend's sassy daughter, Carla; whiz kid Dommy; the elderly MacArthur Polk, band member Jay Burns and, of course, the far-from-grieving and usually drunk Cleo Rio.

Layered into this murder mystery is message about the sorry state of newspapers today, not surprising since Hiaasen is a journalist for the Miami Herald. I also read that Basket Case was his first novel using first person point-of-view. I cannot imagine the story told by anyone other than Jack Tagger.

Tagger, a rather bitter and cynical man at the beginning, is rather eccentric with his kooky fixations on death and a very strange pet, a Savannah monitor lizard named Colonel Tom. (Wait until you see how Colonel Tom fits into the story!) His irreverent humor kept us laughing through much of the book. The dialog was hilarious, with lines like "I'll be there like a gator on a poodle." The novel was even more fascinating because of the many mentions of real-life celebrities, both living and dead, and for us as Floridians, references to many places in Florida, even our hometown Orlando. Add a little romance and a satisfying ending with Tagger describing himself as "the luckiest nutcase I know" and you get a first degree entertaining read. Both my husband and I give Basket Case a 5 and we will be looking for another Hiaasen for the next car trip!