CRAWFISH MOUNTAIN

Hold on to your seat—Dick Hill's going to take you on a pirogue ride that will rock you with humor and intrigue. He doesn't miss a beat as he switches from Cajun patois to Southern accents, reels out the names of foods with piquant accents, and steers you through political chicanery and big-oil threats as dangerous as cypress stumps clogging a bayou swamp. Ken Wells's fourth farce touches lightly on ecosystems and big government, but we care mostly about the places and people he vividly describes. Meet Justin and Grace Pitre, steamy lovers who are innocently working at getting pregnant and besting each other with record fishing catches. Little do they know they'll soon face down Tom Huff, an oil tyrant as small in stature as he is large in greed. S.W. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/ MAY 08]