Speed Week

by S.V. Date

With his multi-million-dollar RaceWorld theme park threatened by his estranged wife Barbie's efforts to save the sea turtles, Nick Van Horne decides to eliminate the problem by having her killed and embarks on a murder-for-hire scheme that leads to a host of unusual surprises. Reprint.

Genres: Fiction

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Susan Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like the crazy characters of Carl Hiaasen and the Florida venue but don't like the dark side of his books, this one is for you. In Daytona Beach, the first family of the speedway is looking to expand to boat races. But there are some real flaws in that first family. There are environmentalists fighting the plan tooth and nail. But here are some real flaws in the environmentalists. There are hungry sharks, of both the fish and the pool variety. This book is fun but you would not want to eat lunch with any of the characters.

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is really a fun and good story. It's also well written. It's just that something is not quite right with Date's books and I'm not sure what it is. It's been a few years since I've read a Date book and thought I might figure it out this time. Nope. Still not sure what it is. Though, this seems to be the best of his books I've read.

One issue I have is that it seems there are just a handful of people existing in the world he creates and no one else. There is hardly any point where anyone other than the central/only characters are mentioned. Considering he skirts the whole car racing time in Daytona Beach, that would be nearly impossible. I also felt that in many of the Hiassen novels, too. Tim Dorsey, of the same wacky Florida genre seems to flesh out a more populous Florida.

Still it's a great story with lots of humor, action and accurate depicted Florida locations.

[Valerie · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you put words together they make sentences. Sometimes it means nothing.Overly descriptive boring blather.

I read a few chapters and skimmed through to see if it got interesting or if I would care about the characters. Nope. Not even going to finish it.