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Zusatztext "Compulsively readable with a cleverly conceived resolution. . . . Fans of spy stories! action! environmental intrigue! and! well! Hiaasen! will cheer for this one." - The Bulletin Informationen zum Autor CARL HIAASEN was born and raised in Florida. He writes a column for the Miami Herald and is the author of many bestselling novels including Bad Monkey! Star Island! and Nautre Girl . His books for younger readers include the Newbery Honor winner Hoot! as well as Flush! Scat! and Chomp . Skink—No Surrender was Hiaasen's first book for teens and features one of his most iconic characters! the reclusive ex-governor of Florida now known as Skink. You can read more about Hiaasen's work at carlhiaasen.com. Klappentext Take a romp in the swamp with this New York Times bestselling mystery adventure set in the Florida Keys from Newbery Honoree Carl Hiaasen! Noah's dad is sure that the owner of the Coral Queen casino boat is flushing raw sewage into the harbor-which has made taking a dip at the local beach like swimming in a toilet. He can't prove it though! and so he decides that sinking the boat will make an effective statement. Right. The boat is pumped out and back in business within days and Noah's dad is in the local lock-up. Now Noah is determined to succeed where his dad failed. He will prove that the Coral Queen is dumping illegally . . . somehow. "The writing is pitch perfect." -The New York Times "A royal flush." -Chicago Sun-Times "Classic Hiaasen-laugh-out-loud satire in a Florida setting." -Life The Coral Queen had gone down stern first in twelve feet of water. Her hull had settled on the marly bottom at a slight angle with the bow aiming upward. She was a big one, too. Even at high tide, the top two decks were above the water line. It was like a big ugly apartment building had fallen out of the sky and landed in the basin. Abbey hopped off my handlebars and walked to the water’s edge. She planted her hands on her hips and stared at the crime scene. “Whoa,” she said. “He really did it this time.” “It’s bad,” I agreed. The Coral Queen was one of those gambling boats where passengers line up to play blackjack and electronic poker, and to stuff their faces at the all-you-can-eat buffet. It didn’t sound like a ton of fun to me, but the Coral Queen was packed to the rafters every night. There was one major difference between Dusty Muleman’s operation and the gambling cruises up in Miami: The Coral Queen didn’t actually go anywhere. That’s one reason it was so popular By Florida law, gambling boats are supposed to travel at least three miles offshore–beyond the state boundaries–before anyone is allowed to start betting. Rough weather is real bad for business, because lots of customers get seasick. As soon as they start throwing up, they quit spending money. According to my father, Dusty Muleman’s dream was to open a gambling boat that never left the calm and safety of its harbor. That way, the passengers would never get too queasy to party. Only Indian tribes are allowed to run casino operations in Florida, so Dusty somehow persuaded a couple of rich Miccosukees from Miami to buy the marina and make it part of their reservation. Dad said the government raised a stink but later backed off, because the Indians had better lawyers. Anyway, Dusty got his gambling boat–and he got rich. My dad had waited until three in the morning, when the last of the crew was gone, to sneak aboard. He’d untied the ropes and started one of the engines and idled out to the mouth of the basin, where he’d opened the seacocks and cut the hoses and disconnected the bilge pumps and then dived overboard. The Coral Queen had gone down c...
