Powder Burn

Architect Chris Meadows gets caught up in a drug war in Florida when he witnesses an old flame and her daughter get hit (and killed) by a car. He unwittingly ends up the next target, as he was a witness and can identify the people responsible.

Unlike Hiaasen’s other books, this one did not include humour, nor did it have an environmental theme. I do believe this was co-written with someone else, as well. There was one brief “scene” near the end that was somewhat amusing. I don’t think I really liked any of the characters (including Chris, aka “Meadows” (I am also not a fan of referring to characters by last name only)). Not my favourite topic – drugs – and not as good as the others I’ve read by him. At the same time, show more I’d consider this one “ok”. show less

A very dark side to an already somewhat dark author. A hero that is very much anti-hero, a cop that has his own views on justice, and a drug war between the Cubans and Colombians as the backdrop. The result is a dark, almost disturbing view of the drug culture and how easy it is to get sucked in. A good read.

A very well-written story of the nascent days of cocaine smuggling in South Florida. Pot was giving way to coke, locals were being pushed out of the business, and violence ensued. One of the better novels about the drug business in Miami in the late 70's and early 80s'.

Before Hiaasen struck out on his own, he and Montabano wrote three novels and this is the first of those three. Since today Hiaasen is not writing new books fast enough for me, I decided to try these three. This first one is good - it doesn't have the humor and wackiness of a current Hiaasen but it's good. Chris Meadows is an architect in Miami and he has a nice but pretty boring life. One day he runs into a woman he loved and lost some 10 years before. In the span of 15 minutes the woman and her captivating daughter were making plans to get together with Christ. They turned to cross the street and were struck by a car and killed. Chris' life turns upside down as he works to find out why.

I really wasn't in the mood to deal with the Cocaine Cowboy aspect, but am looking forward to see how the characters develop.

Typical Carl Hiaasen, minus the humor and wackiness, and with all the joy sucked out. I'm glad he found a different approach to write about the plagues of Miami.

Tags: a-favorite-author, e-book, give-me-my-time-back, read, thought-i-was-gonna-like

Cops, drugs and smuggling in 1980's Miami.