The Alligator's Farewell

Rating:
Summary: A Stylish Series: Doesn't Break Rules, But Reinvents Them
Review: "The Alligator's Farewell" (Dell Pub Co; ISBN: 0440226600) by Hialeah Jackson is the debut paperback in an exciting new South Florida series. The author's gift for painting a portrait of that region, ranging from the eerie glow of a nuclear pool to the hyper-hued buildings of bayfront Miami's corporate district, features an ever changing kaleidoscope of backdrops to compliment the elegantly eclectic protagonists who speed this tale through the mind's eye.

At once suspenseful and poetic, who better to guide us through the aspects of high-tech murder in as-yet-conquered landscapes, than two lead characters who evolve an ever-deepening reliance upon each other in order to transcend their respective limitations in life. The mystique of Annabelle and her mercurial sidekick Dave is as much fun to read and contemplate as is the murder mystery itself. The first chapter delivers the most suspenseful beginning to any book I've ever read; and Jackson's snappy dialogue keeps the story at a perfect pace throughout.

A writer who can create unconventional characters and place them in the often bizarre circumstance of South Florida's skyscrapers-to-sawgrass settings, without allowing the palette to be tainted by cartoonish contrivance along the way, deserves much credit and respect. (And, let's face it, it's easier to spell Hialeah Jackson than Carl Hiaasen!)

Hialeah Jackson has new things to say to us, and she's doing that very thing in memorable ways. Her foray into the freshly coined "swamp noire" subgenre is lush in its landscapes, rich in its characterizations, and clever by design. I found myself breathless at much of the action -- and sometimes the inaction -- within the pages of this book.

This reader is staying tuned for many more adventures to come from the charmingly offbeat "pen" of Hialeah Jackson.

Rating:
Summary: sometimes funny,sometimes weird
Review: I was dissappointed in this story.Dave the monkey man seemed to be part Archie McNally and some of Carl Hiassen's characters.The heroine,Anabelle Hardy-Maratos,could have been much more interesting. She is a little stiff and apparently confused.Is she a business executive or a femme fatale. She wears a backless dress to a business meeting?Dave wears womens shoes, which everyone knows are more uncomfortable then mens shoes.The opening line was great,But the story became confusing and boring.The person who kills the scientist is not much of a mystery, and the psychopath remains at large.I would hope that the characters become more realistic,fun, and caring as the series continues.A good beginning,average middle, and strange ending with many loose ends.

Rating:
Summary: Good scary bits but not one I couldn't put down
Review: Several good scary episodes but I found I was skipping and browsing. The point of view jumped around. Too many eccentrics - not someone I could identify with. If you're comparing to Carl Hiaasen (but why?} he brings in eccentrics but can build a plot around a believable everyday motivation like a child custody battle. Humor not up to Elmore Leonard or Evanovich standards. Dialog sometimes corny and stiff "Yes, Dr Beckwith, if you don't tell us the extent of this catastophe there's no way we can be effective..."