Squeeze Me: A Novel

WINNER OF THE CRIMEFEST LAST LAUGH AWARD FROM THE BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF SKINNY DIP AND RAZOR GIRL, A HILARIOUS NEW NOVEL OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL INTRIGUE, SET AGAINST THE GLITTERING BACKDROP OF FLORIDA’S GOLD COAST It’s the height of the Palm Beach charity ball season: for every disease or cause, there’s a reason for the local luminaries to eat (minimally), drink (maximally), and be seen. But when a prominent high-society dowager suddenly vanishes during a swanky gala, and is later found dead in a concrete grave, panic and chaos erupt. Kiki Pew was notable not just for her wealth and her jewels—she was an ardent fan of the Winter White House resident just down the road and a founding member of the Potussies, a group of women dedicated to supporting their President. Never one to miss an opportunity to play to his base, the President immediately declares that Kiki was the victim of rampaging immigrant hordes. This, it turns out, is far from the truth. The truth might lie in the middle of the highway, where a bizarre discovery brings the First Lady’s mo-torcade to a grinding halt (followed by some grinding between the First Lady and a lovestruck Secret Ser¬vice agent). Enter Angie Armstrong, wildlife wrangler extraordinaire, who arrives at her own conclusions after she is summoned to the posh island to deal with a mysterious and impolite influx of huge, hungry pythons . . . Carl Hiaasen brightens even the darkest of days, and Squeeze Me is pure, unadulterated Hiaasen. Ir-reverent, ingenious, and highly entertaining, Squeeze Me perfectly captures the absurdity of our times. “The undisputed master of organized chaos . . . Hiaasen’s satire is a fierce unmuzzled snarl, swiftly followed by a painfully ironic bite. Quite simply, brilliant.” THE SUNDAY TIMES “Carl Hiaasen [is] a superb national satirist . . . A great American writer about the great American subjects of ambition, greed, vanity, and disappointment. ” ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY “[Hiaasen is] a master of the comic crime novel.” THE DAILY TELEGRAPH