Swamp Story

A Novel

By: Dave Barry

Narrated by: Dave Barry

Pulitzer Prize–winning and New York Times bestselling author—and actual Florida Man—Dave Barry returns with a “hilariously funny” (Steve Martin) caper full of oddballs and more twists and turns than a snake slithering away from a gator.

Jesse Braddock is trapped in a tiny cabin deep in the Everglades with her infant daughter and her ex-boyfriend, a wannabe reality TV star who turned out to be a lot prettier on the outside than on the inside. Broke and desperate for a way out, Jesse stumbles across a long-lost treasure, which could solve all her problems—if she can figure out how to keep it. The problem is some very bad men are also looking for the treasure, and they know Jesse has it.

Meanwhile, Ken Bortle of Bortle Brothers Bait and Beer has hatched a scheme to lure tourists to his failing store by making viral videos of the “Everglades Melon Monster.” The Monster is, in fact, an unemployed alcoholic newspaperman named Phil wearing a Dora the Explorer costume head. Incredibly, this plan actually works, inspiring a horde of TikTokers to swarm into the swamp in search of the Monster at the same time villains are on the hunt for Jesse’s treasure. Amid this mayhem, a presidential hopeful arrives in the Everglades to start his campaign. Needless to say, it does not go as planned. In fact, nothing in this story goes as planned. This is, after all, Florida.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Dave Barry. All rights reserved. (P)2023 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Great Listen

Love Dave Barry books! This was funny and all the loose ends tied up nicely.

Fun Dave Barry romp

A classic piece of Florida wacky fiction. Dave highlights his usual premise: it’s so crazy it just might be true against the backdrop of social media silliness and the fall of “old-school” journalist. But mainly, it’s a fun read.

Hilarious, fun, truly Florida

I was looking for a lighter, fun and funny read for summer, and this truly hit the right notes with me. Dave Barry has a unique eye for Florida culture and does an excellent job of turning out a terrific tale with lots of twists. Loved it.

What a story!

Great fun with off, but we’ll developed characters. Fun read with lots of wit. Read it!

Enjoyed it

It seems to be written as a movie script.
I am sure it will be a movie soon

Get the Printed Version

Good story that could have been great. This audio made me realize professional voice actors have a purpose - use them! I love Dave Barry, but I hope he never narrates anything again. He missed the mark on emphasis, delivery and character identity. I will buy whatever the next book is, but if he’s narrating then I’ll buy it in print.

Fun listen

Fun book. Classic craziness of Florida. Funny, humorous, well written. Thumbs up. I gave it 5 stars

Hilarious and great story

This book was hilarious. Light and well written as always. Loved that Dave read the book too!

Entertaining

A very strange journey but also a captivating and enjoyable story that brought to mind some south Floridians I know personally :-o

Characters

It’s hysterical. Laugh out loud funny. With moments of serious commentary on the impact of social media and celebrity on society