The best genre books with quirky, unique characters

According to the story, a certain “double whammy” fishing lure is guaranteed to produce outlandish success in pro bass fishing tournaments. The characters in this water-logged action/murder mystery were wonderful and outlandish, and there were many of them, part of Hiaasen’s appeal as an author.

This is an ensemble of crazy “Florida” people before “Florida man” became a thing. I loved the delivery, the slick prose, the humor, and the plot, and it made me read other novels by Hiaasen. It introduced me to one of the most memorable fictional characters I have ever read: Skink, no last name, a half-blind hermit, a roadkill delicacy aficionado, and an eco-terrorist. He perseveres through a lot on the way to becoming a great character in seven novels in the series.

I was overwhelmed by this crazy, lovable, frightening novel. It fit right in with my paranormal/horror bend when I read it many years ago, and it provoked my interest in writing a few titles in the genre.

It fits the unique, quirky character theme perfectly with a first person narrative by a young, charismatic fry cook-writer-memoirist named Odd (real name) Thomas with a sixth sense, able to see demons when they arrive just before tragedy occurs. Yowza. His accomplice is his girlfriend and love interest, aptly named Stormy, who is not similarly gifted and seems to have more common sense than Odd.

The bestest novel I have ever read! The first-person narrative and humor just blew me away and helped me develop my own writer's voice. I was drawn in by the first few lines, and my interest never let up. First page: “Okay, here’s the deal. This is a book about a baseball player. Do you care? If you don’t care, read it anyway. There’s some other stuff in it, too.”

The narrator identifies himself as an “old weird guy poet” and remains nameless. How can you not like that, and him? There are excellent major twists. This is an obscure little novel. So obscure that it has only two reviews on Amazon, and one of them is mine. I do wish more people had discovered it. It is not available as an ebook; get the hardcover. It's cheap.

This book is so freakin’ clever. Its realistic near-future aspects are outstanding, and it fits with my concerns about climate contamination and what the Earth might experience in just a few generations because of it. “In a world (read this in your deepest male announcer movie trailer voice) where sea level has risen enough to obsolete the first five or so floors of all the world’s skyscrapers—and there is no internet, so all business is done in cash—and no one trusts anyone…”

I liked the post-apocalyptic feel of it, the action, and the unique protagonist: a courier whose attaché case is grafted to the bones of his wrist via a titanium handcuff; an incredible visual. Also, a love story. But whose side is the courier’s love interest on?

This plot slayed me. One aspect of the plot, its lynchpin, was pure genius: What happens if a brain-damaged killer who’s been programmed to follow orders loses his handler/programmer to a freak accident in the middle of a terrorist plot in DC before a ransom can be delivered?

This thriller is what happens. Great use of a ticking clock and a machine-like, unstoppable antagonist. The protagonist is an everyman type but with a way-cool, oddball handwriting/document analysis background. Shades of Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon (on one of his better days) and Nicolas Cage’s character Benjamin Franklin Gates from National Treasure, the movie.