Tricky Business

Dumb and Dumber meets the Mafia in a story that fails miserably where humor is concerned. Having laughed out loud through ALL of "Insane City", reading this was drudgery. Underwhelming is the best description I can provide.

Here's the recipe: a sleazy business man buys a Miami casino ship that's a front for organized crime; add an equally stupid cover band called Johnny and the Contusions and a crew of miscreants who plan to rip off drug money, its about as predictable as they come. I chuckled a couple of times and had to do everything I could to stop yawning.

This is one of Dave's earlier books so its obvious his humor has evolved. Regardless this will be the last book written by him I'll bother with. And no, I don't recommend show more it...obviously :) show less

I was very disappointed by this, after reading 2 Dave Barry novels that were clever, intriguing, and full of fun.

In this one, Barry seems to substitute violence, including fairly graphic scenes of torture, for humor.

I do not find this a winning strategy.

The excessive violence- Ok, mostly toward the Bad Guys- and especially the torture really turned me off. I was not expecting grimdark here.

The plot is OK. The senior citizens who save the day are great. The use of farting as a plot device was... interesting. All endedd well except for the Bad Guys, who met gruesome fates.

Parts of the plot were silly, and without the violence might have made a much more fun novel.

I really do not recommend this one. Barry has written some fabulous southern show more Florida funny crime novels- read them instead. show less

Dave Barry's second novel delivers the same hilarious and fast-paced action as his first. Tricky Business is a wonderful novel in the true Barry style.

The plot revolves around a gambling cruise ship that leaves a wharf in Florida every night to take its passengers into international waters, where they can gamble to their hearts' content until it's time to turn around and go home. Unbeknownst to the gambling passengers, the ship is not just a floating casino; the owners of the boat use it for drug smuggling and money laundering.

So what happens when a sleazy, rich, and relatively stupid guy buys the boat, is forced to be party to the ongoing smuggling, and decides to take action --- because he wants a piece of the action. On the same show more night that one of the smugglers has also decided to take over operations and abscond with all the money and drugs being transported that night.

And what will the crew --- including the aging garage band that plays, essentially, Muzak for three hours every night --- do in the insanity that erupts when the takeovers start conflicting all over the place? Is the sexy single mother serving as a cocktail waitress really just a waitress? And who is in the pink foam conch suit?

This is not a book for children. Aside from lavish use of the F-word, there is a good bit of sex and violence in the story. So, this is a grown-up book. But it's a grown-up book that will leave you feeling like a kid again. show less

I don't know why this scores less than Big Trouble, because Tricky Business is definitely funnier than the latter. Not only that, it's smarter and more imaginative. Unfortunately, the surprise factor of Big Trouble had worn off. Still, the gags are hilarious and if you tell them to your friends, you'll get laugh out loud laughs. Just like Big Trouble, this book is funniest in the first few chapters, after which the plot thickens and the jokes dry up. For such a good book there's quite a few pages dedicated to flatulence and barfing jokes. If you can get past that, then definitely pick up this book to read.

Silly story about a casino ship hijacking during a tropical storm. Some very funny lines the Dave Barry who is a Florida humorist, but overall I got bored with the whole thing.

Another laugh-out-loud funny book from Dave Barry. Although I remember enjoying "Big Trouble" more, this was a fun, quick read that I devoured in a couple of big gulps.

Not his best. Too much graphic violence for my taste. As always lots of laugh out loud spots and lovely twist at the end. Not up to Carl Hiaasen's standards.