I think I'm finally getting comfortable with this whole Hiaasen formula. You're not _supposed_ to like the characters, which has taken me a while to figure out. If you try reading the books expecting that the "good guys" are just sandbagging it and hiding their true, nice inner selves, you're going to be disappointed and frustrated, since they stay just as mean and stupid to the end of the book. So you have to learn to take the characters as they are, with flaws and everything, and just enjoy the ride while it lasts. Which isn't long as this is a definite page-turner.