Lunatics (Dave Barry & Alan Zweibel)

I have loved Dave Barry's other books, both his essay collections and his novels, but this one I didn't like. Perhaps it was the influence of his co-author. Perhaps it is a change in my own perspective. In any case, the humor here seemed forced and mean-spirited, compared with the self-deprecating joy in the zaniness of life of his other works. This book brings together two unlikely allies: a foul-mouthed, bigoted nut job and a Prius-driving, politically-correct pet store owner. They become embroiled in an increasingly far-fetched series of adventures, starting with a kidnapped lemur and stolen insulin pump and escalating from there to police officers shot in helicopters, thugs mauled by bears, naked nuns falling overboard, and on and on. It didn't work for me.