4.5 stars. I’d never read Dave Barry’s fiction before, but, as you’d expect from him, this novel is very funny.
Jesse made some errors in judgment and is now stranded, penniless, in a cabin in the Everglades with her hapless but attractive baby daddy Slater and his lecherous friend, Kark. Kark is going to film Slater as Glades Man and then they’ll sell their reality show for a zillion dollars. In another section the Everglades is Ken of Bortle Brothers Bait and Beer. Business hasn’t been great, but he comes up with a scheme to explode social media by a citing of the “Everglades Melon Monster,” who is really unemployed alcoholic Phil in a painted Dora the Explorer head. Ken, Kark, Slater, and Phil team up to film a mystery citing of this Melon Monster, and, shockingly, the scheme works. People desperately want Melon Monster merch, and things seem to be looking up . . .
There are good guys and bad guys but mostly borderline idiots whose inane conversations are hilarious. This novel is a lot of fun.
NetGalley provided an advance reader copy of this book, which RELEASES MAY 2, 2023.

Dave Barry’s “Swamp Story” is a laugh out loud story in the Carl Hiaasen mold. It has two main tracks- found gold and trying to set up a tourist trap based on fictitious swamp monster melon man. An easy read like all of the authors previous works. I would like to thank the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for the advance review copy.

99 pages in and I just don't care enough about the resolution of this story to finish. Maybe I just need to stick to Barry's nonfiction?

I do appreciate the eARC from NetGalley and Simon & Schuster, but this story just isn't a great fit for me.

Just finished Dave Barry's Swamp Story, and I find a huge smile on my face! Such a fun romp through the Florida Everglades in the style of one of my favorite writers, Carl Hiaason! Barry's hilarious (stoned and drunken) characters decide to make a video of a mysterious swamp dwelling "mellon" monster, and in the process, meet up with excitement and chaos. This story is full of humor and even has a little romance running through it. At times, it got a little violent - I might have toned that down some. Ultimately, the story ends just the way it should. I highly recommend this book for light vacation reading, or just an escape from winter doldrums. The chapters are short and though there are quite a few characters, the reading is straightforward and fun.

Thank you, NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review Dave Barry's Swamp Story.

The book starts off with Jess and baby Willa living with her loser boyfriend who wants to be a reality TV star, Slater and his best friend and also the “cameraman“ Kirk . While gazing at the swamp with baby Willa in her arms A humongous python came slithering around the cabin and when she calls for slaters help eventually he comes swaggering out the cabin in his box or shorts and calls for the cameraman Kork end it looks like she’s going to be rescued until they discover the camera battery is dead. When they both run in the house to look for the battery jess must take matters into her own hands and beats the python with the stick until it finally leave her alone. Now elsewhere in the Everglades there’s brothers Ken and Brad, they owned Bordles Brothers Bait and Beer and Ken has come up with a fabulous idea to make loads of money. He is going to pay a YouTuber to pretend to be the melon monster and when the YouTuber Phil puts it on his channel people are going to come in droves to buy the melon monster merch… That Ken has already ordered. Now back to Jess and baby Willa even though she owns the cabin Slater and Kork spend all day smoking weed and talking about making a big ass reality TV host. This is why Jess was walking through the swampyEverglades with baby Willa when she stumbled across a massive pile of gold bars. Now this is where it gets great jess doesn’t know what to do about the gold so she eventually consult a lawyer. This is after she makes it back to town with Brad‘s help. The lawyer owes a loan shark. So thinking on his feet and wanting to get hold of all the gold he makes a deal with her and give her a cell phone so they can keep in touch. Really it is so he can watch her every move and when he tells said loanshark about the deal The loan shark has dollars in his eyes and wants it all. This is why he enlisted his head henchman to go with the lawyer with two ATVs in tow but while this is happening there’s two brothers Billy and Butch Who also Noah about in want the gold. Add in the interior secretary an emotional support boar and a 15 foot pregnant snake and an alligator just as big, A humongous crowd, the python challenge and pinky and you get the cluster crunch that is A Swamp Story and what a story it is. I laughed out loud so much I had to go into the living room so my husband could sleep. This book although sweet as OMG funny. I loved it and think it should be a movie and they should call it a day in Florida. I hope everyone reads this book if you just need a pick me up you need to read this book it will make you laugh I just loved it. I received this book from NetGalley and Simon and Schuster but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review..

This is pure and vintage Dave Barry!! Fun, hilarious and completely credible!

The thing I have always loved about Dave Barry is that everything he writes is entirely plausible. It’s ridiculous that people can act as he portrays them, but every single word is entirely believable in their settings.

In this book there’s a mix of social media, good ole boys, ne’er do wells, drunks, druggies, bad guys, politicians, TV newscasters that all come together in the Everglades.

Also having a teenaged grandson (as I do) who totally believes everything he sees on social media, shows me how thoroughly this generation is duped by something as absurd as a Melon Monster in the Everglades.

Absolutely wonderful! Highly recommended!

Many, MANY thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Simon & Schuster, for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As usual, 1 of my 2 beloved “Florida is cray-cray” authors (Carl Hiaasen is the other) has another home run zooming out of the park!

Following Jesse & baby Willa’s stoic path with the GladesMan was a smidge far-fetched but what a woman can convince themselves of is a real truth. Evolving with the characters like Brad was enjoyable - even the downwardly evolving ones like those bad-guy brothers. Don’t want to give anything away but if you've read any of these tales (that are most likely not too far from being the truth), you will enjoy this one as well. If you are one of the unlucky people that have not taken a ride down Crazy Blvd,, here’s you a chance - hop on & buckle up!.

I thank the publisher and netgalley for this ARC opportunity

I’ve never gotten around to reading anything by Dave Barry, but I’m ecstatic that I had the chance to read an ARC of his new book, Swamp Story.

This is one of the zaniest books I’ve read in a good while. Two parallel plots, one of the accidental discovery of gold bars in the Everglades, and the other the creation of a made up monster that becomes a TikTok sensation, eventually collide into a hilarious finish. Full of goofy situations and crazy characters, Swamp Story continually kept me chuckling, if not outright laughing.

My thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing an ARC of this zany book.

Crazy Dave Barry! You gotta love him. This book is a roller coaster ride. It is a bit of a slow start but it picks up speed as it gets going. If you are a fan of Carl Hiaasen then this is the book for you.


Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon Books for the ARC of Swamp Story by Dave Barry.

This was my first Dave Barry book, and it looks like it will not be the last. Barry's ridiculous characters and stupid but totally believable ideas in Swamp Story have me hooked.

Swamp Story features Jesse, once Miami club girl turned mother who by mistake or willful disregard has found herself living in the Everglades with Slater, who is basically a pair of abs with a guy attached. Jesse and baby Willa are left to roam around the swamp while Slater and his videographer, Kark, get stoned and try to produce a pilot about being a "Glades Guy" (or is it Glades Man?". While trying to find a way out of her predicament, Jesse makes a discovery that could change the trajectory of her entire life. Slater, on the other hand, does find fame of a sort on the back of the Everglades Mellon Monster.

Swamp story was funny, quick, and overall satisfying to read. I really enjoyed the characters, who, though funny, all had a darkness in their pasts. The situational humor was on point for most of the book, just absolutely ridiculous things happening everywhere you look. Where Barry really shines, however, is the dialogue. Back and forth banter really gets me, and there was a good amount of it here. I had some frustrations with the Jesse character, but mostly because as a mom, I could not imagine putting my daughter in similar situations. However, overall, I give this book a 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4!

If you looked up quirky or zany in the dictionary you’d find this book. It was action packed full of over the top action that is fitting for Florida Man headlines. It’s all so unrealistically real (since it’s in Florida). I feel like most books in this style would have me rolling my eyes but this authors tone & voice was perfect for this style of Novel.

Jesse Braddock is living in a tiny Everglades cabin with Slater, a pretty boy who is the father to her infant daughter Willa.

Meanwhile, Ken Bortle of Bortle Brothers Bait and Beer is busy hatching another hair-brained scheme to lure tourists to the long-since failed business he inherited with his brother, Brad. Only Dave Barry could develop these misfit characters so hilariously as they concoct yet another fantastic idea to make their millions. The idea is so stupid, so idiotic, that it’s sure to get shut down immediately—except it doesn’t.

There are the bad guys out in the swamp looking for treasure who noticed that Jesse found it. Barry knows how to heap on the absurd with satirical bits of LOL observations, side-splitting analogies, and dialogue dead on to the character. It quickly goes from crazy to wild and dangerous and riotously tongue-in-cheek.

The CE notes: “Dumb and Dumber meet the Three Stooges in this slapstick adventure in the Florida Everglades…Dave Barry is a classic writer who weaves average intellect with personal avarice and jealousy. Between enjoying various illegal substances and devising a script for their story [of the Everglades Melon Monster], Ken’s prime motivator is cash flow.”

This is a book loaded with twists, unique atmospherics, and an outrageously imaginative plot. Engaging, entertaining, and totally recommended. LOVED IT! 5 stars

This is my first Dave Barry book. Swamp Story is filled with colorful characters , hilarious observations & amusing dialog. I found myself laughing out loud many times.
A young woman, Jesse & her baby, Willa are living in a cabin in the Florida swamp. Her vapid boyfriend, Slater fancies himself an outdoorsman. With the help of his friend, Kark they are shooting a pilot for reality tv.
Local shop owner brothers, Ken & Brad are desperate for business. The Everglades Melon Monster is born.
Local alcoholic, Phil is hired to become the Monster. His buddy, Stu tags along.
While the men are scheming, Jesse goes out for a walk. She is followed by two hardcore criminals who are looking for lost gold. When hiding she stumbles on the treasure.
The characters eventually converge in the same tiny swamp area as a press conference, Melon maniacs, Russian mobsters, local reporter Patsy Hartmann & swamp man Skeeter Toobs with his emotional support boar, Buddy.

Thank you Simon & Schuster and Net Galley for an advanced readers copy of this book. I am now an official Dave Barry fan!

Very funny, like most Dave Barry books are. A few tense moments, lots of the f-word, a bit of suspense, very unlikeable villains, realistic heroes, and more. Makes me certain I don't ever want to vacation in the Florida Everglades!

Hilarious laugh out loud fun. Dave Barry is the master of creating characters from the Everglades, who have the best misadventures.

What a hoot! After reading one serious, depressing book after another, I was blessed to receive a copy of this hysterically funny satire of life in the South Florida Everglades and life in general. Dave Barry never fails to make me chuckle, smile and feel good.
In Swamp Story, we meet Jesse Braddock , a damsel in distress, who is living in an Everglades cabin with her infant daughter, Willa, and Willa’s self centered would-be reality show star, father. They are all practically penniless.
Enter , Ken Bortle, of Bortle Brothers Bait and Beer, a failed business, also in the Everglades. Ken, a schemer and dreamer concocts a get rich quick plan with a cast of misfits, clowns, and a pretend monster alcoholic.
When Jesse accidentally stumbles upon something very valuable that has been hidden for a long time, in comes a bevy of crooks, thieves a dishonorable politician and very dangerous but bumbling bad guys. Added to this menagerie of losers, is a peeing pig and a hungry alligator. Put them all together with Dave Barry’s incredible talent for the absurd and we have a book that is a rollicking ride that twists and turns into mounds of fun.
I am so grateful to #NetGalley and publisher #Simon&Shuster who gifted me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The pleasure is all mine.

A wacky trip into the world of the Florida Man... Or, more precisely, several Florida Men, one Florida Woman, a baby, hidden treasure, and a mythical creature called The Mellon Monster (the second L is intentional). This tale features a whole assortment of oddballs, misfits, malcontents, and just plain idiots. Lots of fun!

Dave Barry writes in a style that will remind you of Carl Hiaasen; that's intended as a compliment to both writers (after all they are both "Florida Men" themselves). Swamp Story takes a few solid jabs at social media and the modern culture of celebrity, plus the reality of what constitutes "reality" vs. what is really "real." Barry does a great job of making that concept both accessible and confounding at the same time.

While this particular story isn't the most original thing you'll ever read, it sure is a lot of fun.

Well written and hilarious are apt descriptions of this book. Dave Barry takes his readers on a journey to the Everglades in a manner that only he can pull off. A wannabe actor/model, a new mother, a couple of stoners, some very bad guys and a man in a Dora the Explorer head make up the cast of characters that could only make sense in Florida. If you want a laugh out loud book (in a shake your head in disbelief kind of way) this is the book for you.

First of all, I have to say that I received an advance reader copy of this book for an honest review. That fact has no bearing on my feelings about this book. I can totally see this story playing out in Florida, especially in the Everglades. There is just so much that seems unbelievable, that it makes it more believable. as they say, only in Florida. The description of the Melon Monster search is just like you are watching it play out. Then you bring a politician into the Everglades and what could possibly go wrong with that???? So many laugh out loud scenes. Really enjoyable read.

Swamp Story by humorist Dave Barry makes for another successful fiction novel from the writer. Taking place in the Florida Everglades different groups of down on their luck, yet extremely likable, characters come together through a cumulative effort that becomes an internet sensation.
Add to the plot the discovery of gold bars hidden following the Civil War, the book becomes the very romp one expects from the mind of Dave Barry.
When a book can make me chuckle, guffaw, and laugh out loud, it is both embarrassing and life affirming. Swamp Story delivers and though the story tied up nicely and completely, I, for one, vote for a sequel.
Action and humor are the promises when one picks up Swamp Story, and not surprising, Dave Barry delivers just that. A wonderful book that is hard to put down.