''Bad Monkey'' is a 2013 novel by

Carl Hiaasen Carl Hiaasen (; born March 12, 1953) is an American journalist and novelist. He began his career as a newspaper reporter and by the late 1970s had begun writing novels in his spare time, both for adults and for young-adult readers. Two of his no ...

Plot summary

In mid-July, a sportfisherman tourist off the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...

reels in a severed human arm.

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

Sonny Summers, who is hyper-sensitive to any threat to the Keys' tourist trade, asks former detective Andrew Yancy to transport the arm to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

and ensure that any investigation is handled by the Dade County authorities. In Miami, Yancy meets Dr. Rosa Campesino, the Assistant Dade County

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

, who tells him there is not enough evidence to connect the severed arm with any unsolved crimes in Dade County. Yancy's colleague Rogelio Burton advises him to drop the arm on the roadside on his way home, but he rebelliously decides to keep it preserved in his freezer. Yancy is currently on suspension, having

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

ed the husband of his lover Bonnie Witt, and is forced to work as a

Health Inspector Environmental Health Officers (also known as Public Health Inspectors or Environmental Health Practitioners) are responsible for carrying out measures for protecting public health, including administering and enforcing legislation related to enviro ...

for the Department of Hotels and Restaurants. During their last night together before she moves to

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

with her husband, Bonnie confesses that she is really Plover Chase, a former

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

high school teacher indicted for extorting sex from one of her

underage In law, a minor is someone under a certain age, usually the age of majority, which demarcates an underage individual from legal adulthood. The age of majority depends upon jurisdiction and application, but it is commonly 18. ''Minor'' may also ...

students in exchange for giving him good grades. "Bonnie"

jumped bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countries ...

and moved to Florida under her assumed name, eventually meeting her husband. A woman named Eve Stripling returns from a European vacation and reports her husband, Nicholas "Nick" Stripling, missing. A DNA test quickly matches the severed arm with Nick, who Eve says likely died in a boating accident. A funeral is held for Nick in which his arm is buried. However, Yancy becomes suspicious at Eve's lack of grief, which mounts when Caitlin, Nick's daughter and Eve's stepdaughter, angrily insists that Eve killed her father for his money. Yancy witnesses Charles Phinney, the mate from the fishing boat that found the arm, being shot to death. Charles' distraught girlfriend Madeline admits to Yancy that a woman matching Eve's description gave him the arm and paid him to hook it on the tourist's fishing line. Investigating Nick's medical supply company, Yancy meets corrupt former

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

named Gomez O'Peele, who admits that Nick was defrauding Medicare out of millions of dollars. Inside the Striplings' vacation home, Yancy finds a hatchet and traces of blood, as well as bone splinters in the drain. He suspects that Eve killed her husband there, then arranged for the arm to be found so he could be declared

legally dead ''Legally Dead'' is a 1923 American drama film directed by William Parke and written by Harvey Gates. The film stars Milton Sills, Margaret Campbell, Claire Adams, Eddie Sturgis, Faye O'Neill, and Charles A. Stevenson. The film was released on J ...

. Sonny has no desire to pursue the case any further, and Caitlin abandons her suspicions as soon as Eve offers her half of Nick's

life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...

. Both tell Yancy to abandon his investigation, but he refuses. A short time later, Yancy is ambushed in his backyard, beaten and nearly drowned by a masked man fitting the description of the mate's killer. Additionally, Yancy notices that the man is wearing an expensive

Tourbillon In horology, a tourbillon (; "whirlwind") is an addition to the mechanics of a watch escapement to increase accuracy. It was developed around 1795 and patented by the Swiss-French watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet on June 26, 1801. In a tourbill ...

wristwatch that matches the one that left an imprint on the severed arm. Meanwhile, Rosa and Yancy eventually develop a relationship. She agrees to accompany him on an undercover trip to the island of

Andros Andros ( el, Άνδρος, ) is the northernmost island of the Greek Cyclades archipelago, about southeast of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . It is for the most part mountainous, with many fr ...

, where Eve and a mysterious male companion are developing a vacation resort. On Andros, Yancy finds an unexpected ally in Neville Stafford, a Bahamian fisherman whose property was sold against his wishes to the new development, after which his family's beachfront home was demolished. Neville was so desperate to stop the development that he asked a local witch, the "Dragon Queen," to put a

voodoo Voodoo may refer to: Religions * African or West African Vodun, practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...

curse on the developer, Christopher Grunion. Neville even parts with his only companion, a

capuchin monkey The capuchin monkeys () are New World monkeys of the subfamily Cebinae. They are readily identified as the " organ grinder" monkey, and have been used in many movies and television shows. The range of capuchin monkeys includes some tropical fores ...

named Driggs, who is traded to the Dragon Queen. Christopher is believed to be Eve's mysterious boyfriend, whom Yancy has tracked via his

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

registry as well as a record of the last phone call Gomez made before his death, provided by Rosa. Both provide the name Christopher Grunion. Rosa volunteers to visit the Grunions alone, posing as a wealthy American interested in buying a piece of the future resort. While waiting, Yancy converses with Neville, who mentions that he stole some personal items from Grunion's garbage to give to the Dragon Queen, including fishing shirt sleeves that had been neatly cut off. Suddenly understanding, Yancy rushes to the Grunions' but is held at gunpoint by Christopher actually Nick, alive and missing his left arm. Like many Medicare fraudsters facing

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a legal person, person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felony, felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concep ...

, Nick decided he had to fake his death to escape prosecution. Unlike others, he decided to "foolproof" the deception by leaving behind actual human remains, instead of simply disappearing. Nick had his arm

amputate Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indi ...

d by Gomez, then had Eve plant it in Florida before declaring him legally dead. Nick is about to shoot Yancy, but Eve insists that he be killed outside the house. Before Nick can fire he is ambushed by Neville, who stabs him with the broken shaft of a fishing rod Yancy brought with him. Fleeing the estate, Yancy and Neville run to the Dragon Queen's hut, where Nick's hired thug, Egg, has taken Rosa. They rescue her and Driggs, and Yancy threatens Nick's pilot into flying him and Rosa back to Miami. Nick, rendered almost

paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...

by his injuries, lays all the blame on Eve for stopping him from shooting Yancy. Eve retaliates by drugging him and dumping his body in shark-infested waters. Attempting to speed away from the scene, Eve herself is killed when her boat crashes on a nearby

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

. The only part of Nick recovered from the ocean is his right arm, which is buried with his left. Returning home, Yancy's life is complicated by the reappearance of Bonnie. Finding herself pining for Yancy again, and having heard that he found another girlfriend, she showed her devotion by burning down a spec home next to Yancy's that was hindering his view of the sunset. Florida authorities offer to

extradite Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...

her to Oklahoma to serve a minimum prison sentence for her earlier crimes, but she insists on staying in Florida to fight the

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

charges. Sonny reluctantly gives Yancy credit for solving the case but tells him that it will be at least another year or two before it will be safe to reinstate Yancy as a detective. Yancy is disappointed, but happy to be in a steady relationship with Rosa. Back on Andros, Neville reclaims his home after the Striplings' resort project collapses.

Characters

*Andrew Yancy: The

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

, a former

Miami-Dade Police The Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), formerly known as the Metro-Dade Police Department (1981–1997), Dade County Public Safety Department (1957–1981), and the Dade County Sheriff's Office (1836–1957), is a county police department ser ...

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

, currently on suspension from the Monroe County Sheriff's office working as an inspector for the Monroe County Division of Hotels and Restaurants ("Roach Patrol", as Yancy puts it). *Dr. Rosa Campesino: The Assistant Miami-Dade County

. Intelligent and determined, but burdened with a kinky streak that has worried some of her former lovers (one of whom broke up with her after she convinced him to have sex with her on an

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...

table in the

morgue A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cus ...

). *Plover Chase/Bonnie Witt: Yancy's "future former girlfriend," the wife of a prominent

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

dermatologist Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medical ...

. Formerly Plover Chase, an

high school teacher indicted for having a sexual affair with one of her students. *Eve Stripling: widow of the late Nicholas Stripling, who appears to claim her husband's severed arm. *Nicholas Stripling/Christopher Grunion: Eve's husband, and the owner of the severed arm; a

Medicare fraud In the United States, Medicare fraud is the claiming of Medicare health care reimbursement to which the claimant is not entitled. There are many different types of Medicare fraud, all of which have the same goal: to collect money from the Medicare ...

ster now living undercover under an assumed name to avoid prosecution. *Caitlin Stripling-Cox: Nicholas Stripling's estranged daughter, a former

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...

and recovering drug addict. Loathes her stepmother only slightly more than her father. *Simon Cox: Caitlin's husband, an ex-military serviceman now working in security. *Neville Stafford: A Bahamian fisherman, whose modest beachfront home is purchased and then demolished by the neighboring resort development named Curly Tail Lane. *"The Dragon Queen": A

witch on the island of Andros. *Evan Shook: A real-estate developer from

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

who has built a spec home next to Yancy's property, and is increasingly desperate to sell it. *Dr. Gomez O'Peele: a defrocked

orthopaedic Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

, one of Nicholas Stripling's "employees" in his

"business." *Charles Phinney: The tattooed youth from the boat that reeled in the severed arm; later shot to death outside a Key West bar. *Madeline: Phinney's girlfriend, whom Yancy guesses is 15 years older than Phinney. She is therefore in her 30s. *John Wesley Wiedermann: An agent of the

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) is an independent state law enforcement agency of the government of Oklahoma. The OSBI assists the county sheriff offices and city police departments of the state, and is the primary investigative ...

, sent to Florida to recapture Plover/Bonnie. *Cody Parish: Bonnie Witt's former student/lover. *Sonny Summers: The

; elected by default, he is indolent, easily overwhelmed, and morbidly afraid of driving away tourists or upsetting the Keys'

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

members. *Rogelio Burton: another detective for the Monroe County Sheriff's office, and a friend of Yancy. *Tommy Lombardo: Yancy's immediate superior as a health inspector. *Brennan: owner of Stoney's Crab Palace, the Keys' most popular restaurant, where Yancy often finds the worst health violations. *K.J. Claspers: The Striplings' personal pilot, a retired

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

smuggler. *Carter "Egg" Ecclestone: a hired thug working for the Striplings on Andros. *Driggs: Neville's sometime-companion, an incorrigible

, who reportedly worked as one of the monkeys on the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films.

Critical reception

Mark Lawson of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' praised the book as "a novel highlighted the book's portrayal of Florida, writing that "the greatest pleasure is the feeling that, through long residency and his journalistic beat, Hiaasen owns this location". He also praised it for keeping the author from "becoming a prisoner of style and subject matter", adding that "he has escaped from the bondage of publishing concept and reader expectation to produce a novel that is as enjoyable to read as it seems to have been for him to write".

Television adaptation

In August 2021,

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

announced the development of a television adaptation of the same name. It stars

Vince Vaughn Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor. Vaughn began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 comedy-drama film '' Swingers''. He has appeared in ...

Michelle Monaghan Michelle Lynn Monaghan ( ; born March 23, 1976) is an American actress, best known for her starring roles in ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'' (2005), ''Gone Baby Gone'' (2007), ''Made of Honor'' (2008), ''Eagle Eye'' (2008), ''Trucker'' (2008), ''Source ...

Jodie Turner-Smith Jodie Turner-Smith (born 7 September 1986) is a British actress and model. She made her feature film debut in ''The Neon Demon'' (2016) and has since acted in ''Queen & Slim'' (2019), '' After Yang'' (2022), and ''White Noise'' (2022). She's als ...

Meredith Hagner Meredith Kathleen Hagner (born May 31, 1987) is an American actress. She began her career portraying Liberty Ciccone on the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns'' (2008–2010), which earned her a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Yo ...

Ana Villafañe Ana Teresa Villafañe ( ; born June 5, 1989) is an American actress and singer from Miami, Florida, best known for her portrayal of pop icon Gloria Estefan in the Broadway musical ''On Your Feet!''. Life and career She was born on June 5, 1989, ...

Rob Delaney Rob Delaney (born January 19, 1977) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and activist. He was the co-star and co-writer of the TV show ''Catastrophe'', and has appeared in comedy films such as ''Deadpool 2'' (2018) and ''Tom & Jerry'' (2021). ...

, Ahmed Elhaj, and Arturo Luis Soria. The series is scheduled to be released by

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

References

{{Carl Hiaasen 2013 American novels Novels by Carl Hiaasen Novels set in Florida Alfred A. Knopf books