"The sitting President of the United States was a soulless imbecile who hated the outdoors but, in Angie's view, at this point Teddy Roosevelt himself couldn't turn the tide if he came back from the dead. All the treasured wilderness that had been sacrificed at the altar of growth was gone for all time. More disappeared every day; nothing ever changed except the speed of destruction, and only because there were fewer pristine pieces to sell off, carve up and pave."
-Angie Armstrong's reflections on the state of Florida's environment
I have read a few novels by this author and they are quite amusing. This one is no exception. Hiaasen's writing style is very different from authors I've read recently mainly because of his crudeness and liberal use of profanity. It seems one of the underlying themes of the novel is concern for nature which occurs in a few of Hiaasen's works, I believe. (Note the quote.) Being a tree-hugger, I can appreciate that.
Angela Armstrong, self-proclaimed wildlife wrangler, has her work cut out for her when giant pythons start appearing around Palm Beach Florida. It starts with one of the huge reptiles having swallowed a rich elderly woman, Katherine "Kiki" Pew Fitzsimmons, a member of a group called the Potussies, a portmanteau of POTUS and pussies. (I did mention crudeness, right?) There are so many unsubtle references to our former president that one couldn't miss the satire---Winter White House in Florida called Casa Bellicosa, womanizing, xenophobia, compulsion for tanning and social media. (Again, the quote.) I found it very humorous but I doubt if DJT would!
The novel is a page-turner with frequent foreshadowing, the mystery of who is responsible for a couple of murders including Kiki and where these scaled beasts are coming from, not to mention romantic tension between Angie and Paul Ryskamp of the Secret Service and I already mentioned the humor. I will rate Squeeze Me a 5 for entertainment value and a 3 for literary value---so it's a solid 4!
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