Bad Monkey

Few authors capture a place with the same humor and critique as Carl Hiaasen. Born in 1953 outside Fort Lauderdale, Hiaasen grew up as the eldest of four children, leaving Florida only briefly to attend Emory University in Georgia before completing his degree at the University of Florida (“Carl Hiaasen.” Biblio). Hiaasen’s novels, set against Florida’s distinctive landscapes, blend his love for the state with sharp satire and frustration over its political and environmental issues.

After graduating, Hiaasen began his career as a journalist for the Miami Herald, where he wrote investigative pieces and later a weekly opinion column (1985-2021) critiquing Florida’s politics, corruption, and environmental policies (“Biography.” Carl Hiaasen). His novels draw heavily on these experiences, portraying Florida as both a paradise and a battleground for unscrupulous developers and corrupt officials.

Hiaasen has authored more than 25 books across various genres, but his work consistently reflects his deep concern for Florida’s environmental issues. His 2020 novel, Squeeze Me, satirizes Florida’s political and social climate while addressing the state’s invasive python problem, a growing ecological concern. Although Hiaasen’s adult novels explore Florida’s corruption and ecological challenges, he is perhaps best known for his middle-grade novels, which include Hoot, Flush, Scat, Chomp, and Skink—No Surrender. These books combine humor, suspense, and environmental themes, introducing younger readers to essential conservation issues through engaging narratives.

In Bad Monkey, Hiaasen uses real-world elements that reflect his journalistic insights. For example, he adapts the “sailfish scam,” a con in which charter boats use previously caught sailfish to fake a big catch, with a twist in the book, substituting a severed arm for the fish. Similarly, Miami’s infamous cases of dismembered body parts washing ashore lend credibility to Hiaasen’s fictionalized portrayal. While Miami may not quite be the “floating-human-body-parts capital of America” (4), the area’s currents have washed a piano, a bathtub, and even body parts onshore, highlighting the unusual debris for which Miami waters are known.

The state’s ongoing struggle with Medicare fraud, exacerbated by its large elderly population, also factors into Bad Monkey, reflecting a problem Hiaasen frequently addresses. Florida’s Medicare program has faced oversight challenges, which Hiaasen criticizes in his works as symptomatic of a larger failure to protect vulnerable populations. Finally, Hiaasen’s conservationist perspective shines in his critique of real estate corruption and its threat to wildlife like the Key deer, underscoring his enduring love for Florida and dedication to environmental protection.