"Strip Tease" by Carl Hiaasen
Have you read of Carl Hiassen's books? His books are very much in the style of Elmore Leonard with a twist. Cops, dumb crooks, crooked politicians, strong women, sex, graft, corruption and long strings of chaotic chance-circumstances where the good guys triumph in the end. (Even when it seems impossible for things to work out.)
The twist is that Hiassen's books are based on real people, real politicians, real events. All of them in Florida.
60 Minutes did a bio on Hiassen a while back. In addition to being a life-long Florida resident, he was a journalist, a fisherman, and an avid supporter of Florida's natural beauty, like the Everglades. He obviously has a great sense of human and seemed like a nice guy.
This is the second Hiassen book that I have read and I cannot recommend them more highly. At parts he made me feel terrible about the injustices of the world and our systems. At other times, I laughed out loud (making a scene on the airplane). His characters are likable and despicable (depending on their role) and always colorful. Hiassen's style is easy to read and a real page-turner.
One also begins to wonder who these characters really are and how much of it is true. (I found a few with Google.)
Reading this book, I found myself thinking about Bill Clinton and politics. Hiassen's view of the world is probably a lot more accurate than my own and that calls into question all the assumptions we make about justice, laws, fairness, and appearances. Haissen's books will probably get me to view elections in a different light, although Washington seems rather tame compared with the long traditions of the South.
