by Carl Hiaasen
First published 2016
Lane Coolman drives toward the Florida Keys when Merry Mansfield rams his car from behind. The collision looks like an accident but starts an elaborate con game. Merry calls herself the Razor Girl and pulls Lane into a world of beach sand thieves, New York mobsters, and reality TV frauds. Andrew Yancy once worked as a detective until he attacked his lover's husband with a vacuum cleaner. Now he inspects restaurants for roaches and dodges giant Gambian rats. Yancy thinks solving a major murder case will restore his detective badge. The investigation connects him to Merry and her scam. Other players include Trebeaux who runs a sand stealing business, mafia boss Dominick Aeola who loves tropical shirts, and Buck Nance who fakes a redneck persona for his reality show Bayou Brethren. Miami lawyer Brock Richardson gets addicted to the erectile dysfunction pills he sues over. The characters collide in ways that surprise everyone involved. Yancy discovers that Merry might hold the key to his future as the chaos escalates around them.
Genres: adventure, mystery, crime, contemporary, thriller, action
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Florida Keys, Miami
Period: 21st-century
335 pages · Hardcover · Knopf