Poontown

 

Warning, this book is not a murder mystery. It’s just a very good story.

Poontown is the second novel I’ve read by L. M. Weeks. Four years ago, I raved about his first novel Bottled Lightning. I wrote, “In short, this story is a fast ride of international intrigue, one that will keep you spellbound.” 

Poontown is not what I expected based on the title, but then I’m not a fly fisherman. Poon is the nickname for tarpon, a game fish that is typically found in warm coastal waters, so they are often found in Florida. Fishing for tarpon is about the fight to land them. They can weigh over 200 pounds and are known to repeatedly leap and fight against capture. Tarpon are not good to eat, so typically this is a catch-and-release effort. It’s a sport that becomes addicting to the fisherman who hunt them.

While there are famous real tarpon fishing contests, this story is about the fictional Sabalo Cup. It’s an invitational tournament that takes place in Southern Florida, and only for the best five teams of tarpon fishermen or fisherwomen, although women are not usually invited to compete. The contest consists of teams of two people, an angler and a guide, and the tournament lasts five days. There are strict rules that must be adhered to, and the bigger and better the fish, the more points that are scored. There is a $3,000 entry fee.

The fisher-people in this story all know each other since they’ve been competing against one another in a variety of tournaments, but the Sabalo (the Spanish work for tarpon) Cup is the most important one, the World Series of tarpon fishing. A woman has a key role in this tournament, Olivia, and her guide is Nathan. I won’t list the names of the other competitors here, but if you read this book, you’ll learn about them, along with other people that are associated with tarpon fishing. Weeks has written about a fascinating cast of characters. Weeks also weaves into the story a man who is trying to sell three rare and valuable orange pygmy alligators, and the reaction of the contestants when they learn about that.

I think it’s because I’m not a fisherman that I got a bit tired of the details of the contests and all the catches and losses. However, if you’re a fisherman, I think you’ll get caught up in the battles to land and release these magnificent creatures. The personalities of the contestants and their histories of competing are really fantastic.