A smart topless dancer and a cool but clueless cop join forces to trap a dirty congressman, aided by one of the funniest cast of characters ever collected in a suspense novel.


From Publishers Weekly
Inventive blackmail schemes, grisly murders, power politics, greed, revenge and sex all figure in Hiaasen's ( Native Tongue ) latest comic crime novel. At the Eager Beaver, a topless bar in Fort Lauderdale, former FBI clerk Erin Grant dances nightly to pay for legal fees in her custody fight for her young daughter. There David Dilbeck, a poorly disguised, somewhat kinky and imbecilic U.S. Congressman owned by the state's sugar interests, is recognized by a sharp-eyed regular who, infatuated with Erin, initiates a blackmail plan meant to influence her court case. The resulting mayhem, occuring in an election year, involves machinations up to the highest state level, most of which are orchestrated by Dilbeck's arrogant, sleazy lawyer, and leads to an escalating body count that ends in a frenzied revenge caper arranged by the resourceful Erin deep in some sugarcane fields. Dead-on dialogue ("My boots are full of Vaseline," says Dilbeck one night, his only other clothing a black cowboy hat) and clearly limned characters from society's fringes--notably the taciturn, inventive Eager Beaver bouncer; a Cuban cop who works the case off hours; Erin's psychopathic ex, and his sister who raises hybrid wolves outside her double-wide trailer--round out this somewhat coincidence-ridden but consistently entertaining, warm-blooded tale. 60,000 first printing; Literary Guild alternate; author tour. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.


The New York Times Book Review, Donald Westlake
Mostly there's Erin. Keep an eye on her. She, and Strip Tease are winners.


From AudioFile
Ed Asner's heavyweight performance style is a good choice for this humorous story of a sleazy bar patron who happens to be a congressman. His raspy voice captures the underlying seediness of corrupt politicians and their shenanigans. Particularly strong are his characterizations of the bar owner and his bouncer. Asner's Southern drawl is surprisingly good and even. Though they share some similarities, his other characterizations are consistent and believable. Asner enjoys his narration; you can sense him smiling as he reads. J.A.H. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Kirkus Reviews
It's a wonder Florida hasn't yet banished Hiaasen (Native Tongue, etc.). Here's the Miami Herald reporter's fifth comic thriller--a marvelous madcap yarn pitting a stripper vs. a congressman--depicting the Sunshine State as the weirdest place this side of Oz. And the most venal as well: Hiaasen's satire is more barbed than ever here, pricking at Florida's apparently corrupt sugar industry. The typically bizarre action begins at Fort Lauderdale's Eager Beaver club, where a drunk fan is pawing star stripper Erin Grant. Out of the audience rushes an old gent who clubs the mauler with a bottle of Korbel. No big deal--except that the white knight is Congressman David Dilbeck, toady to sugar interests and up for reelection. Two men try to blackmail Dilbeck: one, a lovestruck fan of Erin's, wants the congressman to help reverse the judicial decision that granted custody of Erin's daughter to her psycho husband, Darrell; the other, a sleazy lawyer, wants money. Both wind up dead, victims of the sugar-growers' long and homicidal arm. Meanwhile, warfare erupts between the Eager Beaver and the rival Flesh Farm, and not even the Beaver's new attraction--patrons wrestling strippers in a vat of creamed corn--can stem the tide of customers to the Farm and it's ``friction'' dancing. In any case, Erin won't do corn, so--desperate for money to run away with her daughter, whom she's snatched from Darrell--she turns to dancing privately for the slobbering congressman. But now Darrell's hot on her trail, rusty knife in hand, and it takes all of Erin's wiles, plus some help from a kindly Cuban cop and the Eager Beaver's bald giant of a bouncer, to keep Darrell off her back and Dilbeck out of her pants--and bring justice to the sugar industry as well. Prime Hiaasen, and with a new edge: sexier, more violent, more political, but just as funny. (First printing of 60,000) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

ANNOTATION

Somebody wants Mick Stranahan dead. But who? Could it be the plastic surgeon with the shaky hands; the ambulance-chasing lawyer; the host of TV's "In Your Face?" The whole thing is downright harrowing. "A high-speed tale of murder cover-ups and gonzo revenge."--The Seattle Times

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Congressman David Dilbeck has a bad problem. "I should never," he says, "be around naked women." But he just can't stay away. And late one night, at a gaudy Fort Lauderdale strip joint, Dilbeck loses control. He leaps onto the stage with the performers and proceeds to demonstrate his affections in a most unconventional way. The congressman barely escapes the scene, but not before being recognized by an odd little customer known as Mr. Peepers - an unlikely blackmailer, but (it turns out) a cunning one. To save himself from an election-year sex scandal, David Dilbeck desperately turns to Malcolm "Moldy" Moldowsky, a devious and cold-blooded political fixer. It is Moldy's mission to protect the congressman's reputation, shaky as it might be, and soon the stakes are murderously high. Meanwhile, the lust-struck Dilbeck secretly pursues the current woman of his dreams, a formidable nude dancer named Erin Grant. She has her own special plans for the wayward politician. The chase leads from the staid corridors of Congress to the sweltering cane fields of Lake Okeechobee, from a topless wrestling pit to a sunken Guatemalan banana boat. It's a manically inventive and suspenseful tale that resonates with the furious intelligence, merciless characterization and savage good humor that we've come to expect from Carl Hiaasen. "He is so good," says Donald Westlake, "he ought to be illegal." In Strip Tease, Hiaasen is better than ever.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Inventive blackmail schemes, grisly murders, power politics, greed, revenge and sex all figure in Hiaasen's ( Native Tongue ) latest comic crime novel. At the Eager Beaver, a topless bar in Fort Lauderdale, former FBI clerk Erin Grant dances nightly to pay for legal fees in her custody fight for her young daughter. There David Dilbeck, a poorly disguised, somewhat kinky and imbecilic U.S. Congressman owned by the state's sugar interests, is recognized by a sharp-eyed regular who, infatuated with Erin, initiates a blackmail plan meant to influence her court case. The resulting mayhem, occuring in an election year, involves machinations up to the highest state level, most of which are orchestrated by Dilbeck's arrogant, sleazy lawyer, and leads to an escalating body count that ends in a frenzied revenge caper arranged by the resourceful Erin deep in some sugarcane fields. Dead-on dialogue (``My boots are full of Vaseline,'' says Dilbeck one night, his only other clothing a black cowboy hat) and clearly limned characters from society's fringes--notably the taciturn, inventive Eager Beaver bouncer; a Cuban cop who works the case off hours; Erin's psychopathic ex, and his sister who raises hybrid wolves outside her double-wide trailer--round out this somewhat coincidence-ridden but consistently entertaining, warm-blooded tale. 60,000 first printing; Literary Guild alternate; author tour. (Aug.)

AudioFile - Melody Moxley

While fighting her sleazy husband for custody of their daughter, stripper Erin Grant becomes involved with a kinky congressman linked to corruption in the sugar industry. Ed Asner is perfect for this material: his gravelly, expressive voice and skill at vocal characterizations are dead-on. Some characters are sketchily presented, but the constant action will keep listeners involved. M.A.M. ￯﾿ﾽAudioFile, Portland, Maine

AudioFile - Jeffrey A. Holway

While fighting her sleazy husband for custody of their daughter, stripper Erin Grant becomes involved with a kinky congressman linked to corruption in the sugar industry. Ed Asner is perfect for this material: his gravelly, expressive voice and skill at vocal characterizations are dead-on. Some characters are sketchily presented, but the constant action will keep listeners involved. M.A.M. ￯﾿ﾽAudioFile, Portland, Maine

Donald E. Westlake

Hilarious....Your sides hurt after a while, just from reading. This novel could be dangerous to your ribs....Erin Grant, a real-honest-to-God human being, an appealing young woman, and Strip Tease are winners. -- New York Times Book Review

Donald Westlake