Wrecker

By: Carl Hiaasen

Narrated by: Ron Butler

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Wrecker needs to deal with smugglers, grave robbers, and pooping iguanas—just as soon as he finishes Zoom school. Welcome to another wild adventure in Carl Hiaasen's Florida!

Valdez Jones VIII calls himself Wrecker because his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather salvaged shipwrecks for a living.

So is it destiny, irony, or just bad luck when Wrecker comes across a speedboat that has run hard aground on a sand flat? The men in the boat don't want Wrecker to call for help—in fact, they'll pay him to forget he ever saw them.

Wrecker would be happy to forget, but he keeps seeing these men all over Key West—at the marina, in the cemetery, even right outside his own door. And now they want more than his silence—they want a lookout.

He'll have to dive deep into their shady dealings to figure out a way to escape this tangled net. . . .

Critic reviews

★ "Hiaasen packs his tale with rich character details, local history, and present-day concerns, all while carefully spinning a layered mystery that gets more serious with every turn. One heck of a ride."—Booklist, starred review

"A batten-down-the-hatches thriller anchored by critical real-life themes." —Kirkus Reviews

"Action-packed and endlessly funny." — Shelf Awareness

"A beautifully told mystery with plenty of action and heart." —The Horn Book

"Hiaasen blends ecological conservation, family drama, and Key West history. Multilayered, with all the hallmarks of a thrilling heist." —Publishers Weekly

Fun Hiaasen Read

Classic Hiaasen. Great South Florida settings and the usual quirky characters getting themselves in quandries and pickles. Have fun with it.

Carl Hiassen provides a great escape.

Carl Hiassen blends current events and interesting historical tidbits into another great story involving unique characters. A little less outrageous than some of his stories, but still blending important community issues with unique humor as only he can. Valdez VIII is a very likable compelling character.

As always, great characters!

Fun story, less outrageous than some, wonderful characters and more believable content. Really enjoyed it!

Not one of best

LOVE Carl's book...but this one was definitely for young adults! I was so excited to see a new book of his come out...and even though was very topical with a lot of pandemic references....it dell flat to me! it bleeping poor. Good for YA...not so much for adults that expect more from Carl and his crazy list of Floridian characters! Still looking forward to his next novel...but probably wouldn't have used a credit if Amazon had stated it was for YA....just sayin!

Accidental Lookout

I enjoyed reading Carl Hiaasen books but this one felt a little somber like it was toned down for junior novel reading. The story flowed well with a nice ending but needed more grit.