Tricky Business

A casino ship named Extravaganza of the Seas sets sail into dangerous weather off the Miami coast. The vessel carries an assortment of characters including criminals, gamblers, musicians, and undercover agents, all caught up in schemes involving money and drugs. The story centers on Wally, a musician in the ship's house band, and Fay, a cocktail waitress who is more than she appears to be. Their paths intersect as multiple criminal plots converge during a single stormy night at sea. The narrative moves between various locations on the ship and the Miami shoreline as different characters pursue their objectives. The action takes place over a compressed timeframe of roughly 24 hours. Dave Barry combines crime fiction with his signature humor to explore themes of greed, deception, and the unexpected connections that form between people thrust into extraordinary circumstances.

Readers describe this as a lighter, more comedic take on Carl Hiaasen's style of Florida crime fiction. The humor hits for many readers, though some note it feels stretched thin over novel length compared to Barry's newspaper columns. Liked: - Fast-paced plot with quick chapters - Memorable characters, especially ship band members - Florida setting details and local color - Sarcastic observations about tourist culture Disliked: - Violence level surprised some expecting pure comedy - Plot gets convoluted with too many characters - Humor feels repetitive by end - Less polished than Big Trouble (Barry's first novel) Ratings: Goodreads: 3.7/5 (6,800+ ratings) Amazon: 4.1/5 (300+ ratings) "Fun beach read but not his best work" appears frequently in reviews. Multiple readers noted it works better as "Carl Hiaasen-lite" than as a pure comedy novel. Several mentioned skimming sections to get back to the funnier parts.

Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard A Miami loan shark pursues a debt to Hollywood and becomes entangled with movie producers, drug dealers, and competing criminals in a plot that blends crime with entertainment industry satire.

Big Trouble by Carl Hiaasen Multiple characters and storylines intersect in Miami when a mysterious suitcase triggers a chain of events involving hitmen, police, and ordinary citizens caught in criminal schemes.

Florida Roadkill by Tim Dorsey A manic chase across Florida follows a stolen briefcase full of drug money as various criminals, misfits, and accidental participants become entangled in escalating chaos.

Lucky You by Carl Hiaasen Two lottery winners clash in Florida as competing claims to the winning ticket draw in journalists, criminals, and locals in a fast-paced pursuit of fortune.

Ocean's Story by Peter Mayle A group of unlikely allies plan a heist aboard a luxury cruise ship, mixing criminal schemes with maritime adventure during a Mediterranean voyage.

🌊 Prior to writing novels, Dave Barry won a Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for his humorous newspaper columns in the Miami Herald. 🎸 The band in "Tricky Business," called Johnny and the Contusions, was inspired by Barry's real-life rock group, the Rock Bottom Remainders, which included other famous authors like Stephen King. ⛈️ The book's climactic storm scenes draw from Florida's actual hurricane history, where gambling ships often tried to outrun approaching storms in the 1990s. 🎯 The novel's title is a play on "Risky Business," the 1983 Tom Cruise film, reflecting Barry's fondness for pop culture references in his work. 🏆 After transitioning from journalism to fiction, Barry successfully co-wrote the Peter Pan prequel series "Peter and the Starcatchers," which was adapted into a Tony Award-winning Broadway play.