Native Tongue

Native Tongue follows Joe Winder, a former investigative reporter working in public relations at the Amazing Kingdom of Thrills theme park in Florida. When two endangered voles are stolen from the park's rare animal pavilion, Joe begins to investigate despite warnings from his superiors. The park's owner, Francis X. Kingsbury, is a former criminal who built his theme park empire after entering witness protection. His latest development project threatens a nearby wildlife preserve, drawing opposition from environmental activists and creating tensions that ripple through the community. The story tracks multiple characters including elderly environmentalist Molly McNamara, bumbling burglars Bud Schwartz and Danny Pogue, and the Kingdom's aggressive head of security Pedro Luz. When suspicious deaths occur at the park, Joe's investigation expands beyond the missing voles. The novel examines the collision between profit-driven development and environmental preservation in Florida, using dark humor to explore themes of corruption, greed, and the exploitation of wildlife.

Readers call Native Tongue a satirical crime novel that blends absurdist Florida humor with environmental themes. Multiple reviews describe it as "laugh-out-loud funny" with memorable characters, particularly the villainous PR man Charles Chelsea. Liked: - Fast-paced plot with interconnected storylines - Dark humor and outrageous situations - Commentary on Florida tourism and development - Quirky side characters and running gags Disliked: - Some found it too over-the-top and unrealistic - Plot threads can be hard to follow - Violence level makes some readers uncomfortable - Character development takes a backseat to comedy Ratings: Goodreads: 4.0/5 (17,000+ ratings) Amazon: 4.4/5 (500+ ratings) Sample review: "Like a Carl Hiaasen version of Elmore Leonard - zany Florida criminals, environmental messages, and laugh-out-loud scenes. Not deep literature but pure entertainment." - Goodreads reviewer

Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen A disgraced detective in the Florida Keys investigates a Medicare fraud scheme while dealing with a vengeful monkey and corrupt real estate developers.

Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen A Miami reporter tracks an eco-terrorist group targeting Florida's tourism industry through a series of bizarre murders involving stuffed animals and orange juice.

Squeeze Me by Dave Barry A Florida wildlife wrangler becomes entangled in a missing person case involving Palm Beach socialites and Burmese pythons.

Florida Roadkill by Tim Dorsey A deranged Florida history enthusiast chases stolen drug money across the state while leaving destruction and chaos in his wake.

One For The Money by Janet Evanovich A newly-minted bounty hunter in New Jersey pursues bail jumpers through a web of crime and family connections with unconventional methods.

🌴 The blue-tongued mango voles featured in the novel were a fictional species, but Hiaasen based them on the real-life Key Largo wood rat, which is critically endangered. 🎢 The Amazing Kingdom of Thrills theme park was partially inspired by Disney World's early years in Florida, when the company secretly purchased large tracts of land through dummy corporations. 📝 Native Tongue (1991) was Hiaasen's fourth solo novel, following Tourist Season, Double Whammy, and Skin Tight. 🦎 Before becoming a novelist, Hiaasen worked as an investigative journalist for the Miami Herald, where his reporting on environmental issues and corruption heavily influenced his fiction writing. 🌿 The book's publication coincided with a period of rapid development in Florida during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the state lost approximately 8 acres of natural habitat per hour to construction.