With his multi-million-dollar RaceWorld theme park threatened by his estranged wife Barbie's efforts to save the sea turtles, Nick Van Horne decides to eliminate the problem by having her killed and embarks on a murder-for-hire scheme that leads to a host of unusual surprises. 17,500 first printing. Nick Van Horne's father made his millions in stock-car racing and, near the end of his life, married Joanna, a much-younger woman, to whom he left everything. Now, in order to have any access to the family fortune, Nick must do Joanna's bidding. Her dream is Speed World, a NASCAR theme park to be located in Daytona Beach. She's ready to break ground when a group calling itself Save the Turtles launches a campaign against the park. And guess who directs the turtle-huggers? Nick's estranged wife, Barbie. Nick and Joanna decide to eliminate Barbie, but Nick, composed of equal parts cowardice and idiocy and motivated by greed and testosterone, can't get it right, even with the help of a trained killer shark. In the tradition of Carl Hiaasen and Lawrence Shames, this is a cautionary tale of greed, steamy sex, and irresponsible development populated by characters who have spent too much time in the sun. Fun reading for those who like a little absurdity with their crime. Wes Lukowsky Beach bums, bimbos, and assorted other sordid schemers caper madly during a ludicrously festive week of jet-ski, powerboat, and stock-car racing in Daytona Beach. In his second outing, Palm Beach Post reporter Date (the paperback Final Orbit) essentially clones the darkly comic, over-the-top satires of Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen. Here, the fat, stupid, cravenly corrupt rich villain is J.R. ``Nick'' Van Horne, wealthy heir to three stock-car speedways, including Daytona's. Nick can't seem to get out from under the thumb of his shrewish, surgically enhanced stepmother, Joanna, who is not only younger than Nick but has her heart set on turning a few miles of pristine beachfront into a $120-million, racing-oriented theme park, financed by $80 million in illicitly diverted government funds. With the local newspaper and politicians in their pocket, the Van Horne family's only obstacle is Nick's estranged wife, Barbie, a preposterously sexy New Age airhead who sells slinky sports clothes from a boardwalk boutique. Convinced she was a sea turtle in a past life, Barbie leads a hapless crusade to have the beachfront permanently protected from off-road vehicles and any other kind of development. Because the Van Hornes don't believe in divorce, Nick goes shopping for a contract killer and finds an assortment of oddballs willing to help him get rid of Barbie. Among them: Nick's girlfriend, Amee, a bikini-clad poolroom hustler; Jamie, a hilariously inept beach bum who wants to be a race-car driver; Crawdad, a depraved biker who hopes to sell Barbie into slavery; and the enigmatic Romer, a demented, former state attorney whose best friend is a very hungry man-eating shark named Bruce. The one vaguely nice guy is Nick's lawyer, Nolin, who ditches his client to become Barbie's unlikely champion after a sudsy romp in her hot tub. A funny, fast-moving farce that revels in the sex, sleaze, and greed of wacky nincompoops driven mad by the Florida sun. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. "An engaging, funny, sex-drenched romp among the attractive airheads of Daytona Beach's resort strip." -- Tallahassee Democrat, May 9, 1999 "Date makes each attempted hit a humorous study in criminal incompetence.... Speed Week is one book you'll be tempted to race through on a rainy spring afternoon." -- Chicago Tribune, May 16, 1999 "S.V. Date is the latest graduate of the Carl Hiaasen School of Florida Novel Writing, and Speed Week suggests he's among the star pupils.... His plot charges like one of those Daytona racers, and he has the warped sense of humor required to bring Daytona to tacky life. Speed Week is one swift little ride." -- St. Petersburg Times, Aug. 15, 1999 "Speed Week is good, twisted fun, cheerfully subversive. The Chamber of Commerce should hate it, which is the highest possible compliment for any Florida novel."(Carl Hiaasen (from back cover)) -- Carl Hiaasen Learn more about my novels and me at my web site. Please visit. S. V. Date covers the Florida statehouse for The Palm Beach Post.