Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
FLORIDA PULP
Florida mystery writers love to tickle the swampy underbelly of the Sunshine State. This
list focuses on early novels of famous series. Grab one and hit the beach for another mur-
derous day in paradise.
Rum Punch(Elmore Leonard, 1992) Leonard is the undisputed master of intricate plots,
crackling dialogue and terrific bad guys. Set in Miami, Rum Punchinspired Tarantino's
movie Jackie Brown.
Double Whammy(Carl Hiaasen, 1987) Hiaasen perfected his absurdist, black-comic rage
in his second novel; you'll laugh till you cry. Skinny Dipand Hootare also Hiaasen gems.
The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper(John D MacDonald, 1968) The godfather of Florida
crime fiction introduces us to Travis McGee, who saves a girl from suicide and gets
trouble as thanks.
Sanibel Flats(Randy Wayne White, 1990) With crisp prose and tight plotting, White intro-
duces his much-beloved 'retired' NSA agent/marine biologist Doc Ford.
Miami Blues(Charles Willeford, 1984) Willeford first made it big with this addictive novel
about a denture-wearing detective's chase after a quirky criminal.
Cold Case Squad(Edna Buchanan, 2004) Miami police sergeant Craig Burch leads the
cold-case squad after killers whose 'trails vanished long ago like footprints on a sea-
washed beach.'
Torpedo Juice(Tim Dorsey, 2005) Zany Serge A Storms only kills people who really de-
serve it - people who disrespect Florida - as he searches for love in the Keys.
Tropical Depression(Laurence Shames, 1996) Shames is off-the-wall silly. Here, an inept
Jersey bra magnate seeks to find himself in Key West. Yeah, right.
The Florida Division of Cultural Affairs (
www.florida-arts.org
) is a great resource for
statewide arts organizations and agencies. Its Florida Artists Hall of Fame memorializes
the Sunshine State's creative legacy.
Cinema & Television
Get this: Jacksonville almost became Hollywood. In the 1910s, Jacksonville had 30 pro-
duction companies - far more than Hollywood - who were using its palm-tree-lined
beaches as 'exotic' backdrops for 120 silent films. Yet, even as Laurel and Hardy were be-
coming famous in one-reeler slapstick comedies, religiously conservative Jacksonville de-
cided to run those wild movie types out of town. Then Florida's 1926 real-estate bust (and
the talkies) killed what Florida moviemaking remained.
