I generally enjoy Carl Hiaasen's tales of Floridian adventures but sometimes politics can get in the way.  Definitely lots of messiness included with plenty of cringe factors and his characters persist  Fever Beach proves families can be rather messy no matter how you try to tidy things, especially when views and plans keep tripping them up. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Another collection of batass Florida crazies that can only be conjured up by Carl Hiaasen. White supremacists, under-age escorts, land grab hucksters, politicians on the take and unknowing good Samaritans – could not help laughing aloud during the entire book. Great pool read!!!

I enjoyed being able to laugh at the politics and extreme right groups of Florida. The humor certainly is not politically correct but that is what Carl Hiaasen does well. There is a creative mix of characters from all walks of life in this satire that follows some crazy plot lines with both light and dark humor. I did enjoy the first half of the book more than the extreme craziness of the last bits of this satire. But I'm glad to have read this and could suggest that when one can't stand the craziness of our current world, pick up this book and enjoy the crazy story that Hiaasen creates from the real world.

Fever Beach is a wild and hilarious American satire that blends sociopolitical commentary with outrageous storytelling. Carl Hiaasen delivers a fast-paced, darkly comedic tale full of absurd characters and chaotic events.

The story follows Dale Figgo, a hapless extremist expelled from the Proud Boys, whose misadventures—including defacing the wrong statue during the January 6th Capitol riot—spark a series of disastrous events. These unfold as he crosses paths with Viva Morales, a woman recovering from a messy divorce, and Twilly Spree, an angry millionaire. Together, they unravel a corrupt conspiracy involving dark money, shady deals, and right-wing extremism, all while encountering a cast of inept and corrupt figures.

With memorable characters, including clueless white supremacists, eccentric philanthropists, and a hapless congressman, Fever Beach weaves a story that’s both entertaining and biting. The characters may not get what they want, but they certainly get what they deserve, culminating in a satisfying, chaotic conclusion. This witty ride through Florida’s strange and dangerous underbelly turns polarizing issues into sharp, satirical commentary.

This book was super entertaining! I used to read a lot of Carl Hiaasen in elementary school (Hoot, Scat, Chomp, Flush) and I really enjoyed the way his stories were told. It's been over a decade so I figured I'd give this new book a chance. His writing style is very similar to what I remember. The style is this book is very comparable to the movie Pulp Fiction, with there being multiple different storylines occurring at once, yet all being related at the same time with overlapping characters and motives. The first third of this book was a little slow because there's a lot of jumping around between each character's timeline, but once you have all the details it's easier to follow and absorb. The content was different than what I would usually read so it was fun to branch out for once.

Wild, highly entertaining and immensely gratifying, Fever Beach is American sociological and political satire at its finest. Carl Hiaasen has crafted a no-holds-barred, over-the-top, laugh out loud story that grips you early and propels you forward at high speeds with an insatiable thirst to see how it all unfolds.

Dale Figgo, a hapless extremist so incompetent he was kicked out of the Proud Boys, whose misguided antics – including defacing the wrong statue during his participation in the January 6th storming of the Capitol – set off a chain of absurd events. His already disastrous life collides with Viva Morales, a resourceful woman recovering from a brutal divorce who reluctantly rents a room from Dale, and Twilly Spree, a millionaire with a short fuse, difficulty letting things go, and a penchant for putting people in their place. As Viva and Twilly unravel a scheme involving dark money, corruption, shady dealmaking, and right-wing extremism, they encounter a bevy of crooked, bumbling and inept people that are out to shape the political landscape in their image. Can they pull it off? It’ll take a miracle.

Fever Beach is a character driven story, and whoa boy there are some amazing characters introduced in the pages of this novel. White supremacists who don’t know their ass from their elbow. Wealthy eccentric philanthropists with hidden agendas. A congressman who can’t stop stepping in the shit and who keeps asking daddy to clean up his messes. A rich man with an anger management problem who easily gets restless and seeks to teach others a lesson. A woman in the middle of it all who is just trying to put her life back together after her ex-husband ran off with all her money. And that’s not to mention an underage prostitute, a Jewish hitman, a corrupt local politician, child construction laborers, and a bevy of Floridian racists. It’s a dash of the good, with a smorgasbord of the bad and the ugly, with most characters not getting the results they desire but receiving the outcome they certainly deserve. Which makes for a straightforward yet twisting novel that builds anticipation to high levels before delivering a satisfying conclusion that makes the journey through the Floridian underbelly totally and completely worth it.

It’s witty and fun. A riotous ride through Florida’s uniquely bizarre culture and citizenry that takes deadly serious and polarizing issues and lampoons them in a way that elevates the Florida Man meme to an artform.

I’ve been a fan of Carl Hiaasen forever. His wit, intellect, insight into engagingly hilarious characters are just wonderful. That being said…… I listened to an older audiobook of his on a trip recently, right after finishing the delightful new “Bad Monkey” series based on his book….. when I began this new one, unfortunately, it fell a bit stale - just following a tried & true formula possibly? I’ll go back & try it again later, maybe I was just “Hiaasened out” - hopefully so.

Twilly Spree is the reason I started reading Hiaasen. Nearly 20 years ago I picked up Sick Puppy based on the description of Twilly as an "eco-terrorist with a trust fund" and have enjoyed Hiaasen's darkly humorous portrayals of Floridian life ever since. In Fever Beach Twilly has matured, and developed some of the fatalism familiar to those of us who believe that America's narcissistic selfishness is a disease, but he's still fighting the good fight and isn't afraid of the consequences. He's just gotten better at remaining calm enough to keep from getting caught, despite dealing with self-aggrandizing millionaires, nepotism baby Congress critters, and illiterate neo-fascists trying to one up the Proud Boys. Times like these call for a protagonist like Twilly Spree, because everyone needs a superhero to root for.

A few years back, during the surreal summer months when we were isolated due to the pandemic, I stumbled upon Squeeze Me by Hiaasen. I had read quite a few of his middle grade books (being a middle school librarian) and a couple of his adult books, so I thought I knew what to expect. Being frustrated with the federal government during the pandemic (and for many reasons), it didn't take me long to see the thinly-veiled references to certain politicians in the book, and it turned out to be a rollicking good read. Fast forward a few years, and I saw that Fever Beach is out. According to the description, the politics in it looked like they would align pretty closely in it, so I expected to be entertained. Hiaasen did not disappoint. While he wrote Squeeze Me in such a way that the whole, "This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual people..." etc. kept him from naming names, even though you knew who he was referring to in his characters, this one isn't about actual people in the news as much as actual events. It focuses more on the events of Jan. 6th and several wanna be Proud Boys and the trouble they get into. The characters have their usual eccentricities that you'd expect in one of this author's novels, and the action is outrageous, as always. I did my usual amount of shaking my head over the conversations and action in the novel, though I will say that Squeeze Me seemed to flow a little easier. There were a few times that I felt like Hiaasen was trying a little too hard to create characters that are over the top, and the ending wasn't as satisfying as I wanted it to be. That being said, I will still recommend it to others who I know will enjoy the themes in this book. Thank you to Knopf publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read Fever Beach.

I must admit, I had a hard time with this book and nearly decided to DNF it. However, I felt it was only right to give it a fair attempt before leaving a review. I respect the hard work that authors invest in their writing, but this one simply wasn’t for me. While many readers found it amusing, I found the ignorant and hateful characters too relatable to reality, which made it tough for me to find the humor in the story.

Thank You Netgalley for allowing me to review this book.

Unfortunately, this just wasn't for me. I know that many found this funny but for me it's just to close to what I think some people really are like. The ignorant, hateful characters just made this a struggle for me. I couldn't find the humor.

In a world where every day is a dumpster fire, FEVER BEACH is a friend standing beside the flames, roasting a marshmallow in the putrid smoke.

It is far too easy to get caught up in the fear and theater of the MAGA movement, but Hiaasen takes their ridiculousness and dials it up to eleven for laugh-out-loud moments. Though there is much less emphasis on a particular crime as you would find in his other work, this book felt like a cleanse, both for reader and writer. Twilly is the man we all wish we could be, a chaotic force for good, and it was a delight to watch him work against the forces of corruption and hypocrisy with Viva along for the ride.

Highly recommend this book for those of us who are aching to see those like Clure and the Minks and the Strokers for Liberty get what's coming to them.

I always understood that Carl Hiaasen's Florida depicted the real one all too accurately, and now he has immortalized the MAGA-metastasis of society. The jokes are still funny and wry, the plot is thrilling and twisted, but it's a little disturbing to go from doom-scrolling the news to reading this as fiction. Carl has always demonstrated how criminals are a special kind of stupid, but this time around it's making me sad to think so many of my fellow Americans are making these appallingly bad choices in life, driven to criminality and paranoia by political disinformation.
One criticism of the writing, which I make to one of my favorite authors with all trepidation: in managing the multiple points of view, it seems there are several places where the narration goes into a nineteenth century kind of musing, "if she only knew..." or "never to be seen again"; I think it is unnecessary even for the laugh.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC in hopes of my honest review. You got it! I have consumed nearly everything Hiaasen has written for adults, and I do mean consumed, and have enjoyed almost all of it. Here we have two new leads that we could perhaps meet again? It is the same screwball antics you come to expect from the master of antics! The sleaze of the bad characters yells a 3, but the LOLs I kept throwing out on a weekend retreat with my lady friends pushes it up. I like to be able to depend on the jerks getting their just desserts and the good guys heading off into a sunset of sorts. As always, this is firmly grounded in the present day landscape, which makes the humor all the more creepy! Take a break and enjoy this one!

When I saw that NetGalley and Knopf wrote that I would have early access to a new book by Carl Hiassen, I was THRILLED! After months of reading thrillers and suspense, I needed some wacky Florida characters. And I was NOT disappointed!

Hiassen takes a look at the "failed" Proud Boys. And seriously, how pathetic do you have to be to get kicked out of the Proud Boys??? This group wants to make a name for themselves - even though they are the biggest cast of misfits you could find. And honestly, not lovable misfits, but the lowest character available - and that's saying a lot for a character in a Carl Hiassen book!

But he captures their ineptitude brilliantly, with help from our "heroes" who help them right along the way toward the road of failure.

The book also shines a light on our corrupt political system, where the rich think they can buy their way into everything - particularly getting inside government by writing a check. Maybe that's how it used to be, but "the times, they are a changin'".

This was a fun read, and a ray of Florida sunshine I needed. The only negative I could see is if you're really as tired as I am of hearing about politics, some of this may hit too close to home. But if you're a Hiassen fan, or if this is your first book... you should enjoy!

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

I enjoy Carl Hiaasen's writing, witty and humorous, and this book doesn't disappoint.

Wild and wacky adventures with some true Florida men, who may or wished to have stormed the capital on Jan 6th. I loved the premise of this book, I love Carl Hiassen, but this one fell a little flat for me.

I love Carl Hiaasen and was very excited to be given his latest, Fever Beach. The unusual cast of characters are typical of a Hiaasen novel. I loved Viva and Twilly and hope that they make appearances in future novels. If it wasn't 2025, with the world dealing with what we're dealing with, I would say that Figgo is an outrageous, unbelievable character. Now, though, it's not hard to imagine him making a bid for president of the US (and somehow winning). Trigger warnings should probably include: n-word, death of dog.

Fever Beach is classic Carl Hiaasen—wickedly funny, sharply satirical, and packed with quirky characters navigating Florida’s wildest corners. Hiaasen’s signature mix of crime, humor, and environmental themes shines as he weaves a fast-paced story filled with outrageous twists and razor-sharp dialogue. His ability to blend absurdity with real-world issues makes the novel both wildly entertaining and surprisingly insightful. The setting is vivid, the villains are delightfully despicable, and the plot keeps you hooked from start to finish. If you love smart, irreverent thrillers with a dose of Florida mayhem, Fever Beach is an absolute must-read!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of Fever Beach by Carl Hassan.

This was the first book I have read of this author and thought it was just ok. I did laugh out loud a few times but these characters are crazy and all over the place.