to snag Tommy's shirt and as Tommy grabs hold of his shirt, he falls into the water, where he is killed by an alligator. Before Jim arrives with a rescue boat, Skink says his goodbyes and slips away. Jim receives a call from the Walton County Sheriff that Tommy's body has been recovered. "Tommy" turns out to be another stolen identity, and the kidnapper's real name, identified through fingerprints, is Terwin Crossley. Back home, Malley and her parents agree to work at resolving their issues. Richard does not hear from Skink again, but Jim sends him a news article about an anonymous benefactor who has endowed a scholarship at the local college in Chock's name. Richard now looks for straws poking out the sand when looking for turtles. References to Hiaasen's other works Skink, a.k.a. Clinton Tyree, is a recurring character in Hiaasen's novels, who first appeared in Double Whammy, and subsequently in Native Tongue, Stormy Weather, Sick Puppy, Skinny Dip, and Star Island. There are two references to the characters and events of Sick Puppy: After Skink retaliates against a litterbug, he mentions a similar prank played by a friend (Twilly Spree) who emptied an entire garbage truck into a litterbug's BMW convertible; Skink mentions that his glass eye originally came from a stuffed bear, and Skink acquired it during a "non-social visit" to the house of a "fool who fancied himself a big game hunter" (Palmer Stoat). References to actual history, science, and current events While passing time at a campsite, Skink gives Richard a copy of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, while Skink reads Doug Peacock's Grizzly Years, claiming to have met Peacock while both were serving in the Vietnam War. Richard remembers watching a news story about the 2012 mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado, which prompted him to ask his father if evil really exists. When Richard and Malley are running for their lives from a feral boar, he reflects that much of the blame for their predicament can be put on Hernando de Soto, the Spanish conquistador who introduced pigs to North America in the 16th century. 2014 American novels American young adult novels Novels set in Florida Novels by Carl Hiaasen Alfred A. Knopf books First-person narrative novels