Skinny Dip is as refreshing a summer time read as a real skinny dip. Custom built for beach (or at least hot weather) reading, this revenge comedy about a woman thrown off a cruise ship by her husband who survives and plots his downfall is light, fun, and near great.
Very Elmore Leonard, with kooky characters, quirky dialogue and less than brilliant criminals. It's understandable why this was such a hit at the time of its release, earning bestseller status. Unfortunately, Skinny Dip falls short of easy reading perfection in the last third of the novel, the pay off is non-creative compared to the set up, an almost unforgivable offence in a revenge story with so many possibilities. And while I admire Haaisen's devotion to Everglades Conservation, his views are clear enough in the story without paragraphs of preaching.
By the end I felt akin to an old liberal man who spends his time in a boat reading comic mysteries just like this. In short, reading this made me feel like my father-in-law. It's a light weight fun read if you can forgive the weak follow-through and just let it wash away like the tide on the beach you should be reading it on.
But what do you think?