Tricky Business

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Tricky Business

Written by:	Dave Barry
Central Theme:
Synopsis:	"The Extravaganza of the Seas is a gambling ship headed into a tropical storm, with more immediate trouble in the form of gamblers, crime bosses, gangsters and other shady characters fighting over money and drugs. Wally, a clueless rock guitarist, and Fay, a clever CGIS agent posing as a cocktail waitress, serve as the romantic leads." (Wikipedia)
Genre(s):	Humor
First published:	2002

Tricky Business is a novel by Dave Barry. Like his previous foray into fiction, Big Trouble, Tricky Business is set in Miami and concerns the interlocking stories of several quirky characters. It's another spoof of the crime drama, this time set on a cruise liner and involving a man dressed like a giant conch shell, air bag deployers that spray garbage on you instead of air bags, and the world's most valuable lifeboat.

Not to be confused with the Australian television drama or the British children's television comedy series of the same name.

Tropes used in Tricky Business include:

• A Good Name for a Rock Band - Johnny and the Contusions
• Cluster F-Bomb - so much so, Barry had to put a warning at the front of the book saying THIS BOOK CONTAINS BAD WORDS. Apparently he'd received some complaints after Big Trouble since normally his columns are family friendly. He just didn't think it'd be realistic to have his gangsters saying Gosh Dang It to Heck
• Continuity Nod - to Big Trouble in the form of the song, "I Want Your Sex Pootie"
• Corrupt Corporate Executive - Bobby Kemp, who made his fortune restoring air bags that had been deployed (it was cheaper to just throw whatever was handy in the compartments and hope no one got in an accident), conch fritters without any conch in them, and bargain eye surgery
• Dead Line News - a running gag. A report about the electrocution of a boy in a flooded area with downed power lines leads to the deaths of nine reporters as they do all of the unsafe things they tell the audience not to do. Turns out that the little kid was fine.
• Gasshole - Tina.
• Intercourse with You - "I Want Your Sex Pootie"
• Loads and Loads of Characters
• The Mafia - the villains in the piece
• The Mole - Bobby Kemp in the conch suit
• Only in Florida
• The Parody - of crime fiction
• Police Are Useless
• The Pornomancer - One of the bandmembers.
• Red Shirt Reporter - the local Miami news station sends a reporter out to cover a tropical storm. She stands in water near downed power lines. It Gets Worse when the station starts sending vehicles out, finally culminating in a helicopter crash. Ultimately, nine of the station's reporters are dead, representing 100% of the people killed by the storm.
• Reverse Mole - Fay
• Shoot the Shaggy Dog - manages to be pulled off humorously with the reporter subplot.
• Smug Snake - Tark.
• Spiritual Successor - to Big Trouble
• Too Dumb to Live - the news team.
• Vomit Chain Reaction - notably called "the barf brigade"
• Where Are They Now? Epilogue
• Xanatos Gambit - This is one the main villains main mode of operating. Unfortunately for him his plan has the pleasure of being interrupted by several Spanner in the Works. This forces him to try out Xanatos Speed Chess... He isn't very successful
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Tark's way of dealing with his associates.