Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Alfred A. Knopf Publishing, and author Carl Hiaasen for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

Since 2016, I have been wondering if I am living in an episode of The Twilight Zone. I still have trouble believing so many Americans, including people I once considered family, have fallen into the MAGA cult. Most of the time, I try to distract myself from reality. Someone once said to me that you can’t win arguing with them since they don’t live in the real world, and that the only way to “win” is to laugh at them. Enter Carl Hiaasen and his most recent novel, Fever Beach. I have to say that I think this is my favorite book that I have read this year.

If you’ve never read a Hiaasen book before, you’re in for a treat. Hiaasen creates quirky characters who are sometimes unbelievable, but always funny. If you laugh at the “Florida Man” jokes, that’s the type of ironic humor found in his books. When dealing with the MAGA cult, there’s no shortage of material to pick from to mock.

Dale Figgo was there on January 6th for the “Stop the Steal” insurrection attempt. He was caught smearing feces on what he thought was a statue of General Grant that turned out to be someone else. He was kicked out of the Proud Boys and denied membership in The Oath Keepers. Figgo has decided to create his own right-wing white nationalist group called Strokers for Liberty. He’s being bankrolled by a smarmy Congressman from the Florida panhandle, Clure Boyette, who wants the Strokers for Liberty to make sure he wins the mid-term elections. Boyette has his own host of problems that he’s worried about affecting the election, including an underage prostitute who has pictures of him that would shock most people, and a soon-to-be-ex-wife who is taking him to the cleaners.

Boyette isn’t the money-man, though. That is Claude and Electra Mink, two white supremacist, wealthy, Republican donors. They’ve made their fortune in developing Florida land. Their most recent project is stalled after the Commissioner they paid off thinks the Feds are investigating him and runs for the hills.

Viva Morales works for the Minks. She’s not supposed to ask questions, but she’s starting to. Dale Figgo is also her landlord. She frequently shares information with his mother, who is disgusted by her son’s beliefs and behavior. Twilley Spree hooks up with Viva, and the two watch as things fall apart around them for the people they know. Twilley is a trust-fund baby who is trying to do good in the world.

The absurd events of Fever Beach gave me a much-needed laugh at this point in time. The really sad part is that, although Hiaasen exaggerates a bit, the people we are seeing as part of the MAGA movement are just as pitiful as the characters here. Hiaasen has managed to mock them without having to really go overboard. I know these people are voting against their own best interests, and they won’t realize it until it affects them. Even then, there’s a good chance they’ll just blame someone else rather than say they made a mistake. Fever Beach embodies every bit of that mindset.

If you love Hiaasen’s humor and you don’t wear a red hat, I think you’ll really enjoy Fever Beach. He’s created a book that mocks the absurdity of the time we live in, where scapegoating minorities counts as a solution to our problems. It’s a nice bit of humor that’s desperately needed for so many of us who are having a hard time believing this is the same country we’ve lived in up until now.