I was recently criticized by my friend Tim for not mentioning Carl Hiaasen here. Shame on me, because I have laughed out loud at some of Hiaasen’s books. Unfortunately, the key word is “some” of his books.“Skinny Dip” is my favorite Hiaasen novel. I found the characters to be hysterically funny and the whole story was like a Janet Evanovich book written by a man. What could be better than a man who collects road side crosses? Granted, this does require a certain brand of sick humor, which clearly I have.

I just finished “Tourist Season” by Hiaasen and while it had me chuckling once or twice, it was less than his best. Still, it wasn’t as bad as “Strip Tease” which I found to be so tedious that I never finished.

“Tourist Season” stars a poor private investigator who’s hired to find an old friend of his, who has since stolen his woman. There’s also a rash of murders of tourists by a band of lunatics, including a former NFL player. And, naturally, there is a man-eating crocodile involved.

The lead character was likable enough. The villains weren’t quite as creative as Hiaasen sometimes includes. His unlikely heroes came in the form of Shriners from out of town, which was nominally amusing, but eventually seemed to fall a little flat.

Hiaasen has a love of Florida, which is glorified in his books, particularly the Everglades. So if you live in Florida, or just love visiting there, you may enjoy that angle. His books always have a “mystery” in them, though sometimes it is bizarre or simplistic. And there’s usually a beautiful woman who is either the damsel in the distress or the villain, depending on the novel.

Still Hiaasen has a sense of humor that is both dark and sometimes deeply hilarious.