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Sick Puppy (Abridged) Audiobook
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(3.00) - 11,675 listener ratings
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When Palmer Stoat notices the black pickup truck following him on the highway, he fears his precious Range Rover is about to be carjacked. But Twilly Spree, the man tailing Stoat, has vengeance, not sport-utility vehicles, on his mind. Idealistic, independently wealthy and pathologically short-tempered, Twilly has dedicated himself to saving Florida's wilderness from runaway destruction. He favors unambiguous political statements -- such as torching Jet-Skis or blowing up banks -- that leave his human targets shaken but re-educated. After watching Stoat blithely dump a trail of fast-food litter out the window, Twilly decides to teach him a lesson. Thus, Stoat's prized Range Rover becomes home to a horde of hungry dung beetles. Which could have been the end to it had Twilly not discovered that Stoat is one of Florida's cockiest and most powerful political fixers, whose latest project is the "malling" of a pristine Gulf Coast island. Now the real Hiaasen-variety fun begins . . . Dognapping eco-terrorists, bogus big-time hunters, a Republicans-only hooker, an infamous ex-governor who's gone back to nature, thousands of singing toads and a Labrador retriever greater than the sum of his Labrador parts -- these are only some of the denizens of Carl Hiaasen's outrageously funny new novel. Brilliantly twisted entertainment wrapped around a powerful ecological plea, Sick Puppy gleefully lives up to its title and gives us Hiaasen at his riotous and muckraking best.
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"Carl Hiaasen is very funny, a few times. He has a tendency to reformulate the same book over and over, but I didn't know that when I read this, and I still regard it as one of his best efforts. He shares a horror of environmental despoilment and domestic violence with writer Stephen King, perhaps in reverse order for the latter. If you are a fan of Florida wildlife preservation and have a dark sense of humor, this is your book. He writes what might be referred to as "crime capers", a phrase originally used as far as I know to Donald Westlake's books. His touch is not quite as deft as Westlake, but then that's a hard standard to be held up against. I really enjoyed this book as well as its implied sentiments."
— Donna (5 out of 5 stars)
Sick Puppy Listener Reviews
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" Carl Hiaasen is known for writing madcap Floridian adventures full of zany characters--but in this one I think he came off the rails a bit. The characters are awfully one-dimensional and are too easily divided into "the good guys" and "the bad guys." All the same, Hiaasen's blatant-but-wacky criticism of Florida's corrupt politicians and land-grubbing developers was entertaining. Fine for people who read his books all the time and enjoy his style, but not the best choice for someone looking to try him out for the first time. He has better ones out there. "
— Hillary, 2/12/2014 -
" Sick puppy is right. This is like Edward Abbey and whoever wrote Sexy Beast had a baby and named him Carl Hiaasen. If you are into environmental terrorism and weird kinky stuff and don't mind distasteful language- this is the book for you. "
— Tara, 2/10/2014 -
" incredibly funny and engaging. lots of laughs cover to cover. "
— Mike, 2/2/2014 -
" Good mindless fun, I like the idea of a guy who gets this bent out of shape about a litterbug. An his creative punishments were really funny. Not a deep book, but a fun quick read. "
— Soubhi, 1/30/2014 -
" Carl Hiaasen can be considered one of the funniest authors of our time! I loved this book. It was outrageous, and a blast to read the whole way through! I couldn't put it down. "
— Singalma, 1/24/2014 -
" I don't generally like mysteries. They aren't my favorite genre, but Carl Hiassen is always entertaining and hilarious. I laughed out loud throughout the whole of this novel. "
— Tenessa, 1/23/2014 -
" Carl Hiaasen + Ed Asner = fun read. "
— Brandon, 1/16/2014 -
" Hiaasen is always good for a laugh! "
— Julia, 1/16/2014 -
" I'd say 3.5 stars. It was fun. Not the most best ever, but I enjoyed it and I'll read more of his stuff. "
— Joy, 1/10/2014 -
" Loved this book! If you've read Hiaasen, you'll be happy to see some old characters' stories continued. "
— Kathy, 1/7/2014 -
" Loved it! Absolutely hysterical; especially if you have ever lived in South Florida. "
— Heycynh, 1/4/2014 -
" Sick Puppy indeed. I loved the characters in this book. Hiaasen's writing never fails to leave me in a good mood. "
— Deirdre, 1/2/2014 -
" It was definitely a break from the dark mysteries I have been reading. He writes great books for kids ("Hoot", "Flush" & "Scat"), and hilarious, irreverent, laugh out loud books for adults (definitely not for kids)! I have enjoyed any of his books that I've read. "Skinny Dip" is my favorite. "
— Colleen, 12/20/2013 -
" Hiassen's books are a quick read and make a good beach book or airplane book. This was my favorite one of his books. They usually involve a reporter and a mystery. They take place in south Florida and have an environmental twist to them. "
— Josh, 12/11/2013 -
" One of my favorite authors! "
— Betsy, 11/30/2013 -
" My new favorite quick read....great story...fun and witty...always with an environmental twist. Eccentric characters that are as lovable as one can get. The best for a long winter night. "
— Terri, 11/29/2013 -
" I found this book hilarious! A fast read, wacky, bizarre, and fun. "
— Heidi, 9/4/2013 -
" Hysterical if you have a slightly quirky warped sense of humor! Carl Hiaasen's books are always enjoyable with a good mystery atatched. The main characters were sarcastic, brilliant, and exactley the type of people I would want to drink a beer with. "
— Tally, 7/21/2013 -
" The plot was ok... But mostly there was unnessary stuff that was lame. :P "
— Erin, 4/26/2013 -
" hahahahahahahhaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!! "
— Deanna, 4/24/2013 -
" This one is one of my favorites by Hiaasen. Loved it. "
— Melissa, 3/23/2013 -
" Frolicsome. Loses points for over-zany. Gains points for a delightful black lab. Breaks even at 3 stars. "
— Joanna, 2/18/2013 -
" I actually snorted and laughed out loud while reading this. I have bought this book twice, because, I keep lending it out to people. For a while I was almost "evangelical" about telling people to read Hiaasen "
— Roger, 12/19/2012 -
" Fun way to spend a Saturday. Eccentric Floridians converge on Toad Island. Will it be developed or will it remain a natural habitat for some ugly (but non endangered) frogs. Hiaasen's unique blend of satire and social conscious converge in this fun story. "
— R.J., 7/24/2012 -
" My favorite Carl Hiaasen book! "
— Kris, 6/23/2012 -
" The very best of Hiaasen. You don't get much better than eco-terrorist Twilly Spree. "
— Antoinette, 6/17/2012 -
" So fun. Smarty-pants fun. "
— Mary, 6/1/2012 -
" Yes, sick. Typical Hiaasen. But they're always sick when Skink is involved. "
— Melanie, 3/28/2012 -
" HIlarious, quick read. Love Carl Hiaasen's dry/twisted sense of humor. "
— Sam, 3/17/2012 -
" Every time I think that a Hiaasen book can't possibly get more insane, I pick up a new one and am proven wrong. I think this may be my favorite one yet as I really adored the lead characters and the story was hysterically funny! "
— Muriel, 3/12/2012
About Carl Hiaasen
Carl Hiaasen is a successful journalist and novelist. He is a writer and investigative reporter for the Miami Herald, and his work has appeared in Time, Life, Esquire, Playboy, Gourmet, and Sports Illustrated. His earliest novels—Powder Burn, Trap Line, and A Death In China—were cowritten with fellow journalist Bill Montalbano. Since then, he has written books in a variety of genres. His novel Strip Tease was made into a movie in 1996, and his young adult novel Hoot, a Newbery honoree, was made into a movie in May 2006. A number of Hiassen’s works have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, including Star Island, Chomp, Sick Puppy, and Scat. In addition to being a writer, Hiassen is also a public speaker. He lives in Florida with his family.
About the Narrators
Edward “Ed” Asner (1929–2021) was an American actor best known for his Emmy-winning role as Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, later continued in a spin-off series, Lou Grant. He made dozens of appearances—including voice-over work—on television shows and recorded a number of audiobooks.
George Newbern is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and a television and film actor best known for his roles as Brian MacKenzie in Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride Part II, as well as Danny in Friends. As a voice actor, he is notable for his role as Superman on the Cartoon Newtork series Static Shock, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited. He has guest starred on many television series, including Scandal, The Mentalist, Private Practice, CSI: Miami, and Numb3rs. He holds a BA in theater arts from Northwestern University.