Pest Control

Would have been a good book at about half the length. I wanted a light read about humor and mystery. This was an encyclopedia about different kinds of bugs. I tried another of his books (Radio Active) and learned all about records and albums. It appears that his producers must tell him add more pages to his books. I skipped over his long descriptions of bugs and records and finished the books quickly. It's ok for a cheap book.

Being an English major, I have been introduced to many works of fiction throughout my tenure, none of which being as unique or enthralling as Pest Control. You can genuinely tell Fitzhugh did extreme research on the species mentioned in the novel. Another great area of the book is the character creation and development. It is not for everyone though. It is a bit slow at times, though only to set up genuinely funny situations. More than once i was explaining the situations to my friends, only to realize i was reving like a lunatic. I did find my self reading the entire novel in a two day period because i wanted to know what happened next. i would definitely recommend this book to someone who is looking fo something a little different.

If Robert Ludlum and Douglas Adams had wild homosexual monkey love (not that there's anything wrong with that) with each other before their individual demises, their bastard love child would have been Bill Fitzhugh. More succinctly, Fitzhugh's novel Pest Control takes the best thriller elements of Ludlum's memory-addled spies and Adam's irreverent humo(u)r and sensibilities and hybrids them (to verb a noun) like so many assassin bugs in the Bugarariums of protagonist Bob Dillon. In a world where the top 5 assassins know their individual ranks, and where there are still "exterminations" that need doing, hapless Dillon answers a classified ad in a drunken stupor. An ad to kill a man. When that man dies, Bob's to blame, and everyone from a transvestite dwarf to the CIA gunning for him. It's a fast page-turner, with at least one chuckle, smile or groaner on every page. Fortunately, the groaners are outnumbered by the smiles and chuckles at least 3-to-1. Characters are all unique, in some cases (ok, all cases) bizarrely so, as in the case of Bob's daughter's best friend's mother, who has a circus fetish involving dwarfs, bags of peanuts, and... well, really, isn't that enough? You have to come into this book with a sense of humor. Perhaps even an advanced sense of humor. Curmudgeons will flee this book faster than an cockroach from a flashlight.

Fitzhugh's debut novel Pest Control introduced the reading public to a new great author who proved through subsequent novels such as The Organ Grinders, Cross Dressing and Radio Activity to name but three, that he was neither a one hit wonder and that he can keep coming up with masterpiece quality surreal and unique ideas that will entertain until the final page. The next book to be published by Fitzhugh (assuming you are reading this review still when the latest published novel was Highway 61 Resurfaced) is apparently the sequel to Pest Control. Can't wait to get a copy of that! In Pest Control Bob Dillon's aim is to become the ultimate exterminator, and fed up with the way his current employer is polluting the environment and only providing a short term band aid solution to cockroaches, silverfish and other pests he quits determined to start his own business. Only problem is Bob is in severe financial debt, behind on the rent and about to have his electricity cut off so his wife understandably is a bit annoyed with his hasty decision. Bob is undeterred though, knowing he is about to have a breakthrough with his environmentally sustainable cross bred Assassin Bugs that will be the next big thing, make him rich and more importantly allow him to afford a new truck with a really big fibreglass bug on top, maybe even two. Meanwhile the world's top ranked assassin has turned down a hit on a target that really needs to be killed straight away so with other top ranked assassins not available in this short time frame underworld organiser of this sort of thing Marcel, reluctantly places an add in a New York newspaper. Professional Exterminator Needed ASAP $50K in a weekend. Drunk at the time Bob doesn't read between the lines, applies for the job then forgets all about until Marcel turns up on his doorstep. Marcel never figures out Bob is an insect exterminator and gives the terrified Bob the contract. When the target turns up dead, Bob's career as a highly paid hitman is underway. Unbeknownst to Bob, through coincidental deaths he is fast climbing the ranking of the best hitman for hire. It is not long before the CIA want to employ him, and one of his 'victim's' brothers puts a record price on Bob's head that brings the world's top assassins out of the wood work and after him. This is one of the best books I have read in a long while. Also check out Fitzhugh's other work. If you like this sort of thing and want to read similar authors also check out Dave Barry's fiction novels or Carl Hiaasen as well.

Pest Control by Bill Fitzhugh is a truly wonderful novel. Fitzhugh takes a classic mystery story set in New York and adds a bunch of weird charachters and plot twists. The book is about an exterminator and his family. The exterminator is appalled by the use of pesticides to kill bugs and is creating his own all natural method using his genetically engineered assasin bugs. He quits his job and sees an ad in the paper offering 50,000 bucks for an extermination job. He sends in a resume and is given the job, unaware that his victim is to be a swiss millionaire. The guy dies anyway, and asassins around the world flock to NY to eliminate their new competitor. Klaus, a soft-hearted crack asassin, befriends him, and the rest of the story is a hilarious chase through the big apple. The book is often found under mystery in bookstores, but it is really a comedy. This book is definetly a read for anyone with a sense of humor!

This book is an outstanding first novel. If Mr. Fitzhugh can write more books like this one, he will get to the top very quickly. I know I am already looking forward to his next book. The characters in this book are very interesting and the dialogue is hilarious, not to mention all the information on insect species used in the book is a nice touch and also very interesting. I found myself wrapped up in the outrageous plot, not able to put the book down, snickering well into the night. I liked the main character, Bob Dillon a.k.a. "The Exterminator," for his go get 'em attitude. This man is in a world of trouble and he isn't even aware of it. When he is made aware, his attitude still remains the same. He is a character with a lot of heart in a book that will make you laugh.