Sick Puppy was published by Knopf in 2000. Twilly Spree, a wealthy young environmental activist with impulse-control issues, witnesses lobbyist Palmer Stoat throw a fast-food bag from his Range Rover on the highway. Twilly returns the garbage — by filling Stoat’s car, house, and office with it. When Stoat doesn’t get the message, Twilly kidnaps his wife Desmond and his Labrador retriever (named Boodle, after the lobbyist’s fixation on money).
The broader plot involves Stoat’s current project: securing permits for the development of Toad Island, a pristine barrier island off Florida’s Gulf coast, into a luxury golf resort. The governor — a spineless puppet controlled by his casino-magnate campaign donors — has agreed to strip the island’s conservation protections. Skink returns to block the development through his usual combination of guerrilla tactics and calculated lunacy.
Hiaasen’s characteristic move: making the reader root for a man who is technically committing felonies (kidnapping, destruction of property, assault) because his targets are demonstrably worse — and because the legal system has been captured by the people destroying Florida.
Collecting Sick Puppy
First edition (Knopf, New York, 2000): Boards with dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition, fine in jacket: $15–$30
- Signed first: $40–$80