Book Review: Smokeout

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Smokeout     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
S. V. Date
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Humorous   Legal Setting
Putnam, Nov 2000, $23.95, 226 pp.

A key vote coming up soon for the Florida legislature will determine whether individuals can sue big tobacco companies. The Sunshine State power brokers from lobbyists to concerned citizens to CEOs merge in Tallahassee to twist the arms of the politicians.

Especially concerned about the state bill is Bartholomew Simons, CEO of tobacco giant Roper-Joyner Holdings (RJH). He wants the bill killed and tosses money around to ensure it happens. Bartholomew also is panicking because an infamous memo with his signature that makes RJH and the industry look like serial killers is loose and if the opposition gain possession of it his career is dead. With sexy lobbyists offering their wares for support, Tallahassee looks like a den of iniquity where morals mean nothing instead of a college town capital. On top of this mess, the media seeks scandals even if they have to serve as catalysts causing a headline or two.

SMOKEOUT is a wild, almost out of control satire on the incestuous triangular relationship between big business, the media, and holier than thou politicians. The story line is amusing and never drops under a hundred miles an hour on the accelerator even with the interstate gridlocked as much as the legislature. No one, including the nearly extinct honest citizen, escapes S.V. Date’s ironic look at Florida politics.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner