Pest Control

Rating:
Summary: I could not put it down.
Review: Fitzhugh has a talent for bringing out a variety of emotions, from his readers, through his characters. I would love to read more from this author. He is very talented and the book is one of the best I've read in a while.

Rating:
Summary: Bill Fitzhugh's got great potential
Review: Pest Control was a good way to pass a weekend that would have been otherwise been spent cutting grass and performing other mundane chores. While Bill hasn't yet reached his full potential as a storyteller, one can gather by reading this novel that more original and readable stories lie ahead. Pest control, while providing plenty of laughs, suffers from slight over-usage of literary cliches. Nevertheless, I'm glad I snatched it from the shelf at the bookstore, and look forward to the future of Bill's creativity.

Rating:
Summary: Bugs are Funny. Bob's not so hot.
Review: The first 150 pages that deal with Bob and his family are slow going and I had a feeling I read this before only better. I related much better with Klaus and thought he was a much better character. It was a good first novel and I would recommend it with some reservations

Rating:
Summary: An average book with charming features.
Review: Pest Control doesn't quite live up to it's billing, but is still worth a read. The cartoony villains and supporting characters push the story along through predictable twists and turns. The vanilla Bob Dillon is out shined by his assassin bug crossbreeds. I found I didn't really care if he survived or not, but I wanted to see if his natural pest control method ever worked. Calling this book 'hilarious', as it is plastered all over the back of the paperback, is an overstatement, but the book does have its charms. The sub-plots and supporting characters are so intriguing, that I am going to pick up his next book to see is these strong points can come into the forefront.

Rating:
Summary: This book is a scream!
Review: I laughed all the way through Fitzhugh's extremely inventive and funny novel. Often, a humourous novel sacrifices the story for the sake of keeping the characters delivering amusing dialogue amidst wacky scenes, but his story is compelling while moving a parade of outrageous participants along toward the very satisfying end. Bob is a terrifically sympathetic protagonist and you "feel his pain" through all the laughs. Klaus is a complex and droll-to-death killer turned hero and you've gotta love 'em both. Kudos to Mr. Fitzhugh for a breezy laugh-fest. What else has he written? I want more...

Rating:
Summary: Insects, assassins, and laugh-out-loud fun!
Review: Don't start this book on the Friday before a busy weekend, or you'll end up cancelling all your plans, like I did. Few writers can sustain a complicated, fun plot line like Fitzhugh. Not to mention the jokes, puns, and Dylan references sprinkled throughout. I hope Fitzhugh had as much fun writing this as I did reading it. And I can't wait for his next one.

Rating:
Summary: Bugs are funny!!!!
Review: Very funny and entertaining. I love Robert Crais and Carl Hiassen and this deserves to be read with their work. Anyone who can bring a dwarf, transvestite assassin to life on paper deserves at least eight points from this reader. I laughed out loud. Looking forward to Bill's next book.

Rating:
Summary: never stopped laughing
Review: A truely amusing book. I admit at some points it was a bit far-fetched, but that's what makes it even more fun to read. It had a more sophisticated humor than most books about an exterminator who is hunted down by the world's best assassins. Watch out for any dwarf/widow relationships.

Rating:
Summary: cheap jokes
Review: I bought this book because of the terrific cover, and about midway through the book realized the cover no longer amused me. poor Bill fitzhugh has to go so far to be funny, you almost feel sorry for him. It reminds me of the desperate writers and actors on a second rate sitcom, punching away trying to be funny to no avail. this guy goes off on tangents pages and pages long trying to make some silly joke about "kids today". When he wants to make a joke about "beavis and Butthead" he takes half a paragraph telling us who they are. Bud, if you gotta explain the joke, it ain't worth it. When I got to the part where a lowlife new york landlord was characterized simply by his penchant for squeezing the word "yo" into every single line of dialogue, I finally said "enough with this", tossed the book in the round file and went and found something by Donald Westlake (try "Smoke" if you want to read a book that's really funny). There isn't a character that rings true, there isn't a moment that doesn't feel false and there isn't a single good joke that rises from the situation.

Rating:
Summary: Can't wait for his next book
Review: This book is an outstanding first novel. If Mr. Fitzhugh can write more books like this one, he will get to the top very quickly. I know I am already looking forward to his next book. The characters in this book are very interesting and the dialogue is hilarious, not to mention all the information on insect species used in the book is a nice touch and also very interesting. I found myself wrapped up in the outrageous plot, not able to put the book down, snickering well into the night. I liked the main character, Bob Dillon a.k.a. "The Exterminator," for his go get 'em attitude. This man is in a world of trouble and he isn't even aware of it. When he is made aware, his attitude still remains the same. He is a character with a lot of heart in a book that will make you laugh.