Since the early 80s, Florida author Carl Hiaasen has been writing about the off-beat detectives, crack-lipped beach bums, boat owners, con artists and corrupt politicians that make his home state one of the greatest in the union. And here’s his latest, Razor Girl.

Help me out here – what colour is this? Light teal, maybe? With a magenta razor and tonality in the title text that looks slashed onto the cover in lipstick. And let’s not forget a kitsch palm tree keyring fob to locate us in the sunshine state. Like a lurid South Florida sunset it’s a book that smacks you around the eyes and all the quotes on the front and back laud Hiaasen’s skills with black humour – which we do not doubt, by the way.

The first chapter tells you it’ll be a funny read. Lane Coolman has stepped off a plane at Miami International and things are heading south for him – literally. He’s driving down to the Keys when his Buick is dinged by another vehicle. When he gets out to check if the driver is alright he finds a woman with her panties at her ankles, razor in hand. Apparently she was preparing her privates for a date… while driving!

The blurb tells us this is Merry’s signature bait manoeuvre – she’s a con artist. Coolman, meanwhile, is agent to reality TV star Buck Nance, who later in the book incites a riot in a Key West bar and then disappears into thin air. Throw into the pot some shady lawyers, a gold-digging wife, a gay mayor, a mafia hotel owner and… oh yeah, we already mentioned a personal grooming con artist… and you’ve got a mix as hot, funny and fishy as Louisiana’s finest gumbo.

This will hit the shelves on 6 September in the UK at £9.99 for Kindle and £18.99 as a hardback. You can pre-order yours below.

Check out our review of the author’s last novel, Bad Monkey, here. It was also a doozy.