1. Native Tongue, by Carl Hiaasen
When the precious blue-tongued mango voles at the Amazing Kingdom of Thrills on North Key Largo are stolen by heartless, ruthless thugs, Joe Winder wants to uncover why, and find the voles. Joe is lately a PR man for the Amazing Kingdom theme park, but now that the voles are gone, Winder is dragged along in their wake through a series of weird and lethal events that begin with the sleazy real-estate agent/villain Francis X. Kingsbury and can end only one way.
This book was full of Hiaasen's signature humor and bizarre, only-in-Florida characters. An entertaining read.
2. Love Lessons at Midnight, by Shirl Henke
No one knows the true identity of the mysterious madam who runs London's most notorious brothel, The House of Dreams. This is the place where a man's wildest dreams can come true, but even in his most secret fantasies, Robert St. John has not imagined the pleasure he will find or the danger he will court while seducing its mistress.
This was the last novel Henke wrote before her publisher stopped publishing paperbacks and she and her husband started co-writing romance novels for the e-book market. Like most of her novels, it's very well-researched, but at times it shows a lack of a good editor (obvious typos). I needed to look up some of the Regency slang, but on the whole this was a good book.
3. Dave Barry's Only Travel Guide You'll Ever Need, by Dave Barry
Complete with maps, histories, quaint local facts (France's National Underwear Changing Day is March 12), song lyrics, helpful hints on how to get through Customs (all insects must be spayed), and tidbits from Dave Barry's own fond vacation nightmares, DAVE BARRY'S ONLY TRAVEL GUIDE YOU'LL EVER NEED is just that.
This satirical travel book makes fun of travel guides and the way they describe everything as dynamic. The "facts" aren't facts, although the description of traveling with children is on the nose: "Are we there yet?" "He's looking out my window!" "This is boring." "You suck!"
