White nationalists with the combined IQ of a goldfish, corrupt politicians, and a good guy who is set to self-destruct all come together to make a rip-roaring ride through election season in Florida. If you loved Bad Monkey, then grab this book asap because it's written for you.

Dale Figgo picked up a hitchhiker on a September afternoon and then took him along to distribute anti-Semitic literature in a gated community in Tangelo Shores, Florida. When confronted by an angry citizen, Dale ran him over and left him for dead. As soon as the hitchhiker left Florida, he called the police and turned Dale in. Come to find out, Dale is the head of a new underground militia group, the Strokerz for Liberty. He got kicked out of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers for being incompetent and he is looking for payback. Unfortunately, Dale has a roommate, Viva Morales, who is informing on him to his very formidable mother and also to Twilly Spree, a millionaire with a lot of time on his hands who hates what is happening in Florida, including a development called The Bunkers that Viva's bosses at The Mink Foundation are building along with a group of other real estate investors. The Minks have a Congressman and a local city commissioner on the payroll, so Viva has a lot of information to share with Twilly. Always hilarious, but deadly serious as bodies begin to pile up. Recommended.

Fever Beach is peak Carl Hiaasen—wild, weird, and dripping with that swampy, sun-bleached Florida chaos he does best.

It kicks off with Dale Figgo, a clueless hate-monger who somehow manages to be too dumb for the Proud Boys (yes, really). From there, the story spirals into a delicious mess of corruption, extremism, eco-vengeance, and dark money. Viva Morales and Twilly Spree—our unlikely heroes—are clever, chaotic, and exactly the kind of characters you want leading the charge against Florida’s worst.

Hiaasen’s trademark satirical bite is as sharp as ever. The villains? Unforgettably awful. The pacing? Mostly smooth, though a few moments wade a little deep into the absurd. And while I adored the humor and wild plot twists, I wouldn’t have minded a bit more emotional grounding, especially with characters like Viva.

Still, this book is a ride—and a half. Outrageous, timely, and funny in that “I probably shouldn’t be laughing but I am” kind of way. If you like your fiction bold, irreverent, and filled with bizarrely satisfying justice, grab a copy and prepare to be entertained.

Thank you Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf for this advance copy via NetGalley for my honest, voluntary review.
#NetGalley #FeverBeach

The story is heavily based upon politics surrounding current affairs, conspiracy theories, white power and corruption in Florida. Whilst it was interesting to read about it from a fictional stand point tackling real life topics. I found the start a bit chaotic and confusing. Nonetheless I did enjoy the writing and the story overall was good it was something very different to what I've read before and what I would usually read. It has lies, deceit, murder and cover ups. Some comical dialogue as well. I've enjoyed previous books of the author and I'm still interested to read more of his work in the future. I just feel this one wasn't quite for me

Laugh out loud funny, Hiaasen takes us to the depths, the absolute bottom, of what Florida has to offer. Dale Figgo is the "leader" of the Strokers for Liberty, after being kicked out of the Proud Boys for basically being too dumb. Everything out of his mouth is wrong, every action misguided. There's a plot, there's a lot of action, there's retribution. Dirty congressmen and philanthropists. Drag queens. An election. Tiki torches. Mix it all together and we have Fever Beach.

"You can't fire me, not in Florida. This is where woke comes to die!"

"confederacy of bumblef*cks"

"What would Keith Richards have done?"

Satirizing the absurdity that is 2025, Fever Beach was a zany, cringey romp. Classic Hiaasen.

My thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf for the Advance Reader Copy. (pub date 5/13/2025)

This is my first Carl Hiaasen book, so I didn't know what to expect going in, but what a wild ride. Never shy about skewering the rich and infamous, this is his 2nd book indirectly about Donald Trump and the maga subculture he's created. A serious satire of our present day culture that is hysterical if it weren't so sad. And the characters!
A few of my favorites are the pair of billionaire philanthropists with way too much plastic surgery and a secret right-wing agenda—and Congressman Clure Boyette—who dreams of being Florida’s most important politician, his love for hookers and young girls the only thing holding him back. It's filthy, foul-mouthed and a laugh out loud take on the current state of Florida, and all the crazy characters that inhabit that State. The plot is complex and entertaining as we sit back and wait to see how much trouble these deplorables can get themselves into without killing each other. You have to take everything here with a grain of salt as you realize the similarities to present day personas in power. You just hope it all works out for the best in the end and someone has a conscience.

First , I would like to thank Netgalley for the e-arc. Secondly, I had to DNF this book. It just was not for me due to politics, religion, drugs, the writing, & white supremacy. I stopped reading at 16.9%.

I've always been a fan of Hiaasen but this time I had to close this without finishing. Not Hiaasen's fault. This is the same high spirited snort out loud satire he's know for. It just was too much for me in the current climate. Thanks to Netgalley for the ArC. Over to others.

Florida was already trying to crawl out of a political meth swamp wearing jorts and yelling about liberty, and Carl strolled in with a blender full of satire, hit “purée,” and dumped the whole thing onto a Publix sub. This book is a sweaty, bug-eyed fever dream where everyone’s guilty of something and most of them should not be allowed to vote, let alone hold office. I finished it feeling like I’d been hit by a fan boat full of felony charges.

Let’s start with Dale Figgo, who is somehow both a punchline and a domestic terror risk. He gets kicked out of the Proud Boys — yes, expelled from a hate group — for being too unhinged, which is like getting banned from Burning Man for being too dusty. Naturally, he starts his own bootleg militia called “Strokers for Liberty,” which sounds like a strip-mall massage parlor or a militia-themed OnlyFans. He delivers antisemitic flyers like they’re coupon books and works slinging dildos at Bottom Drawer Novelties — home of the infamous “Darcy’s Dream Booty,” which I really wish were a joke. Figgo is a sweat-drenched panic attack in cargo shorts and watching him chase clout is like watching a third grader try to declare martial law.

Then there’s Viva Morales — queen, survivor, unwilling tenant of fascist nonsense. She just wants to live in peace post-divorce but instead ends up renting a room from a neo-Nazi and working as the donation coordinator for the Minks — a rich, right-wing cryptkeeper couple who treat political bribery like a hobby. The Minks are laundering money into a fake charity propping up Congressman Clure Boyette’s reelection campaign tied to Figgo’s crew (hello, hello Strokers for Liberty). Viva is the only sane adult in this melting port-a-potty of a narrative, and naturally, the book throws her directly into the fire. Oh — and she’s hooking up with Twilly Spree. Their relationship is a bit unclear and untitled. It’s messy. It’s Florida.

Twilly Spree? Still feral. Still doing crimes in defense of wetlands, a weird version of human decency, and now, Viva. He’s basically the Lorax if the Lorax had a grudge, a burner phone, and access to homemade explosives. Every time he shows up, something flammable gets detonated, someone corrupt gets pantsed (literally or figuratively), and a new chapter in Florida's “Book of Shame” gets written in Sharpie. He’s also using poor Jonas Onus, Dale’s frenemy, as a glorified pawn in his war games.

And then there’s the human oil slick known as Congressman Clure Boyette — a sentient ethics violation with the sex appeal of a damp sock and the moral compass of a blackjack dealer. On a slow day, this man is picking fights with a sex worker, racking up a DUI, and not-so-casually stringing along what he claims is a breakup with a 17-year-old girl, who is also the previously mentioned sex worker — which he’s handling with all the urgency of a man returning library books three years late. He’s the kind of guy who thinks “statutory” is a suggestion and “campaign finance” means “bribes but fancier.” Watching him go toe-to-toe, although mostly indirectly, with Twilly is like watching a very drunk frat boy from up north try to fight a gator — loud, ill-advised, and somehow still maybe legal in Florida.

Just a heads-up: this book is filthy. Like, foul-mouthed, sex-toy-laced, graphic-deed-filled filthy. If you’re squeamish about language, perversion, or politics that feel a little too real, this probably isn’t your beach read. “Fever Beach” is not for the faint of heart or the easily confused — it’s a beer-soaked, humidity-choked explosion of crimes, caricatures, and catastrophes, all wrapped in very specific Florida energy. It’s like trying to stomp out a political yard sign fire and accidentally lighting yourself on fire instead. But it works, mostly because it commits to the chaos with zero hesitation. It’s not tight. It’s not clean. It’s just full-speed satire barreling toward the edge with no brakes and no regrets.

This is a solid 4 stars. Not because it’s flawless — it’s not — but because it’s downright hilarious and just believable enough to be absolutely terrifying.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the ARC.

Fever Beach is another humor filled novel that takes on racism in a make believe Florida white supremacists group. Viva rents a room from the leader of a white supremacists group. Twilly is a millionaire that takes on bad guys, greed, and corruption. Together the two new romantic partners attempt to stop racism in its tracks while uncovering some dirty politicians. In true, Hiassen fashion, chaos reigns as the reader is led through a humorous romp where the good guys win and karma comes calling. My voluntary, unbiased, and non-mandatory review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

Thanks to NetGalley for the loan of this book. A well timed humorous look at Stokers for Liberty, White lives Madder, a group of burly white bigots who are anti Jews, blacks, Hispanics, gays with regrets at having missed out on the January 6th event and want to create an event that tops it. The leaders are Dale Figgo who works for Bottom Drawer Novelties that make a well used device and Jonas Onus a retired fireman who lived well on his disability checks until he had three children with three different women. Viva Morales rents a room from Dale and works for millionaires Claude and Electra who made their millions buying up orange groves and turning them into subdivisions and are now funding worthy causes one of which is for Clure Boyette a congressman who needs funds for his reelection campaign but claims the funds will be used to construct a subdivision built by children which he really has no plans to build. He’s also having trouble with his mistress Galaxy who’s demanding a car or she’ll share some photos with the press undermining his reelection. This is just the bones of the book with a lot of delicious meat to savor with a great cast of characters whose lives intersect in a most delightful way. Did Galaxy get her car? Was the Congressman reelected?

It’s been many years since I read a Carl Hiaasen novel but I was immediately taken back into the rollicking pleasure of his farcical plotting, the dimwitted lowlifes (all male), the sleaziness and corruption of politics and big money, the sharpwitted and ecologically forward protagonists (mostly, but not all, female), and broad, and occasionally mean, humor.

With the election looming, Republican congressman Clure Boyette is in a must-win seat in Florida. Unfortunately his lack of intellect and predilection for very young women and bondage, has put him in a precarious position in what should be a very safe seat. His solution is to get wealthy philanthropists Claude and Electra Mink to fund Wee Hammers, a shell charity that purports to have children build houses, and funnel the money to a small fry white supremacist group, the Strokerz for Liberty (the s was changed to z after a cease and desist order from rowing club Strokers Liberarti) headed by Dale Figgo.

Enter our heroes: Viva Morales, assistant to the Minks and Dale Figgo’s lodger, and Twilly Spree, an independently wealthy man with a short fuse and a love of nature.

The plot rattles along, through an internecine struggle for the leadership of the Strokerz and an abortive Strokerz action in Key West, until the final climax at a small town polling station in an assisted living facility.

It’s all tremendous fun with lots of laughs at the expense of Boyette, the Minks, and the Strokerz, with everyone getting the end they deserve, sometimes literally. A few turtles are saved along the way and a citrus grove is not turned into a condo complex (yet), so there’s some small victories for the side of good.

Nothing much has changed with Carl Hiaasen in the decades since I last read one of his novels, so I’m comfortable in saying if you like this sort of thing, you’ll like it. If you’ve never tried a CH novel and feel tempted, this is as good a place to start as any.

Thanks to Knopf and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

This is the first novel of the best-selling author Carl Hiaasen that I have read. I was offered an ARC and thought I would give it a read. While his writing style is easy & fast-paced, the setting and satirical nature of present-day Florida is a little too close to the truth & leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I should probably have started reading a different Hiaasen novel.

Much like his last adult title, Hiaasen's latest book again focuses on a political satire format more than the usual "Florida-crazy-hijinks." This book follows the political career of a crooked idiot of a congressman who is certain he will retain his seat by mere merit of his party declaration, a redneck who got kicked out of the Proud Boys for being too dumb and who then decided to start his own extreme-right club, and the heroes, Viva and Twilly, both with backstories of their own. When their paths all cross, something has to give, and it does in high-Hiaasen fashion.

I will always read Hiaasen's newest title, and each book always makes me want to immediately pack up and move to Florida, if for nothing other than the daily cheap, live entertainment. This is not my favorite title, but it still made me giggle. I would just caution readers that this book is for those who share Mr. Hiaasen's political opinions or ones who can take the political jabs in stride and enjoy the book for the humor it offers.

Thank you to Knopf Books and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Carl Hiaasen is back with his laugh-out-loud satire set for this current era. MAGA Dale Friggo has been expelled from the Proud Boys after an unfortunate incident (for Dale) but that did not diminish his racism and anti-Semitism. He started his own MAGA group, the Strokerz for Liberty. Unfortunately for Dale, he is an idiot! His tenant, Viva Morales, works for the wealthy Mink family who like having their name plastered everywhere and support the MAGA movement. And then there’s Twilly, who inherited a fortune, and is out to deliver justice to those who litter, destroy the environment, and those who harm others. He has hooked up with Viva to infiltrate the Strokerz to cause chaos. If you have read any of Hiaasen’s adult books, you know hilarity ensues and what will happen in the end. I absolutely loved this book and would definitely recommend it.
#FeverBeach #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the digital ARC of ”Fever Beach” in exchange for my honest opinion. I love Carl Hiaasen’s adult and middle grade books. It’s hard to rate this book because I can’t figure out if it was satire or unintentional nonfiction based on the current status of our country. Jonus and Figgo are basically in charge of our country right now and all of the events should seem outrageous, but are actually happening every day. I use reading as a way to escape and unfortunately the events in this books are daily news stories. It did make me laugh out loud a few times, but overall I am just sad that all of these opinions have become commonplace in our society.

I don’t know which came first, the meme of Florida Man or the skewering novels of Carl Hiassen, but they do seem to work in tandem to present a hilarious but appalling view of life in our most southern state.
In Fever Beach Hiassen focuses on a group of right wing political crackpots so bad their leader, Dale Viggo is the only man ever kicked out of Proud Boys for incompetence. In his latest scheme to guarantee the results of a local election, Viggo hopes to achieve national prominence for himself and his organization and gain access to funds bankrolled by local philanthropists.
The scheme is sabotaged internally by Viggo’s arch rival in the organization Jonas Onus, as well as by two characters in the story who offer a refreshing dose of reality..
As you come to expect with a Hiassen story, the plot is a complex Rube Goldberg set of twists and mishaps ranging from amusing to downright hilarious. Of course they will have you comparing the antics to the current resident of the White House and his venal crew, but Hiassen always manages to show some empathy for his characters even as they get their just desserts.
Fever Beach is another winner for readers on one end of the political spectrum. If, on the other hand, you are hoping to get an invite to Mar-a-Lago, this story should definitely not go on your TBR list

Fever Beach is my first Carl Hiaasen novel, and I don't think it will be my last. Funny, outrageous and engaging.
The story starts in Florida with Dale, who is a white supremacist, picking up a hitchhiker and taking him along for a ride to distribute propaganda for his group. He had to start his own hate group, because of an embarrassing incident at January 6th. Dale is not the brightest bulb in the box, so his schemes are not effective, and when distributing the flyers with the hitchhiker in the car, he basically runs into an angry homeowner.

Dale's renter, Viva Morales, works for a philanthropic couple who give millions to charity, but are not sincere in their giving. They are also bank rolling Dale's group via a dishonest Congressman, who has a few skeletons in his closet. Enter Twilly, who has had his issues with the law, and tends to like to disrupt anyone hurting the environment, acting rudely, bullying someone, I guess you could say he has a short fuse.

There are so many characters, but it never feels confusing, Hiaasen somehow keeps the story moving along and I loved every minute of it, I highly recommend #Fever Beach. Thank you to #NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor Publishing for an advance ebook to review.

This book was Hiaasen at his finest and it was a wild and fun ride.

I always know I’ll get some colorful characters in his books, and boy did we get some here. There’s a lot to not like about some of them, but nonetheless they were entertaining. There’s also a handful of characters that I found easy to root for (especially Viva and Galaxy), so it all evened out. The antics that all these characters were getting up to had me laughing out loud multiple times.

I loved how there were so many threads to this mystery, and they all manage to come together slowly over the course of the book. There are a lot of clever reveals in how some people are connected, and some things kept me guessing until the end. I really enjoyed how everything played out in the last couple chapters, and that all the loose ends were tied up.

A lot of what drives this book is politically-based, so I don’t think this will be for everyone, but it worked for me.

This book is exactly what I've come to expect from Hiassan: wild wacky characters, a meandering plot that ties together in the end and lots of satire. this story is all about politics and requires the right audience. You may not like it if you are not interested in politics of if you are in the right side of the fence. It is over the top in every type of generalization out there! Some parts are laugh out loud and some just left me shaking my head!