Sick Puppy by Carol Hiaasen

 

Twilly Spree has a goal in life.  Florida born and bred, he has devoted his life and wealth to saving the environment from the developers like his father who want to pave over every inch of land, especially if it is oceanfront and make the entire state a conclave of gated golf communities.  

Palmer Stoat has the opposite goal.  He is a lobbyist and as such, is always on the side of wealthy developers.  He has an in with the governor and when one of his buddies, a former drug dealer turned developer, wants to turn a pristine uninhabited island into a golf community, Palmer is the man to intercede with the governor and legislature.  In order for the island to be developed, it's rickety bridge to the mainland needs to be replaced with a big concrete monstrosity and that's Palmer's forte.

Twilly and Palmer are never going to be best friends, but events conspire to turn them into enemies.  Twilly sees Palmer carelessly littering from his car and it makes him livid.  He follows him, learns all about him and finally breaks into his home and abducts his labrador dog.  While negotiating for its return, Twilly also takes Palmer's wife, who is about done with Palmer and very interested in Twilly.  Palmer has influential friends but Twilly is about to get an ally in Skink, who used to be governor and now lives wild and free in the brush.  Who will win this battle?

Carl Hiaasen is a native Floridian himself and the ecological message scattered throughout the humorous narrative is his personal belief.  He is a journalist and has written seven Skink novels.  Readers will enjoy the skewering of the rich and powerful and the humor scattered throughout the book.  This book is recommended for thriller readers who also want a good laugh.