Ken Wells lets the good times roll in funny "Crawfish Mountain'

The comic crime novel -- whether it involves an elaborate scam, corporate shenanigans, or political wheeling and dealing -- is a genre that requires expert plotting, smart dialogue and just the right tone. Its current masters include Donald Westlake, Lawrence Block and Carl Hiaasen. Yet just because such writers are funny, often very funny, doesn't preclude them from addressing serious issues. That's certainly the case for Ken Wells in his entertaining new novel set in Louisiana's Cajun country.

"Crawfish Mountain" possesses an easy-going, aw-shucks charm, but the possible consequences of its twisty Rube Goldberg plot are serious indeed: the destruction of yet more of the Louisiana wetlands. The bad guys are, no surprise, a ruthless (if farcical) oil-company executive, his goons and a corrupt businessman. They are opposed, for the most part, by ordinary folk: a diesel mechanic and his gorgeous wife, an obstetrician, a cocktail waitress and a couple of shrewd secretaries, their cause supported by two public-spirited lawyers. Between these forces of dark and light stands Gov. Joseph Theophile Evangeline.

The basic plot is classic: Tom Huff, of Standard of Texas Oil, wants to dredge a pipeline through wetlands owned by Justin Pitre. But Justin promised his grandfather never to sell the family's old fishing camp. He refuses the Texan's offer, so Huff naturally ups the pressure, indicating that dire consequences might ensue for those dear to the stubborn Cajun. From here matters grow darker and increasingly convoluted. Before Wells brings his novel to an end, he treats us to industrial sabotage, corporate theft, undercover police work, seduction, kidnapping and a whole lot of Cajun culture. It's the last that makes this book special. Where else would you find characters named Ti-Ray Lajaune, Juke Charpentier and Sheriff "Go-Boy" Geaux? So if you enjoy crawfish and Dixie beer, not to mention good fishing, good ol' boys and good-looking women, you're in the right novel.

Wells dedicates "Crawfish Mountain" to "my home state, Louisiana./ We can't let them wash her away." He obviously knows and loves this culture. Yet he knows the business side of his story, too. To these, he adds a style that ranges from deliciously mean to just plain delicious.

Despite moments of anxiety, there's no question that "Crawfish Mountain" will end happily. The tongue-in-cheek chapter titles make that clear: "Tom's Steely Resolve," "A Stranger Comes to Town," "An Unfortunate Turn of Events." I think they may have been a misjudgment -- authorial winks that undercut the narrative spell -- though they do confirm the plot's somewhat formulaic unfolding: Much that happens follows the ever-reliable template of a blustery, all-powerful Goliath opposed by a ragtag shepherd boy armed with nothing but a slingshot. And though Wells' dialogue sparkles and his pace is sprightly, the book still seems just a bit too long.

But these are cavils. Open the pages of "Crawfish Mountain" and let the good times roll.