Tricky Business. Dave Barry

Tricky Business is Dave Barry's second novel. Like his first novel, Big Trouble, this work is set in south Florida, has elements of a crime novel, and is filled with the eccentric people that Barry creates so well. Unlike his books of nonfiction, both these novels contain what Mr. Barry calls "bad words." This is because his novels contain "unsavory characters" and they use bad words. Not all the characters are unsavory. Most are just eccentric, funny, or inept.

Although this novel is not as laugh out loud funny as Big Trouble, it attempts to compensate for this by having much more actual violence and sex. Speaking of sex, the song "Sex Pootie" by the Seminal Fluids, which played a prominent role in Big Trouble, makes a cameo appearance in Tricky Business. It must be a personal favorite of Mr. Barry.

The story is about one of the gambling ships that leave Miami every day to go out three miles into international waters for a couple of hours of entertainment and return. It is the only ship to go out with a hurricane approaching. It does this because it is owned by a gangster who uses it to pick up smuggled drugs from boats coming from the Bahamas and he can't miss a delivery. All the events in the novel take place the day of the storm.

If you like Dave Barry's humor, you will love his novels.