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Book Reviews of Florida Straits (Key West, Bk 1)

Florida Straits (Key West, Bk 1)
Florida Straits - Key West, Bk 1
Author: Laurence Shames
ISBN-13: 9780671749330
ISBN-10: 0671749331
Publication Date: 6/1992
Pages: 271
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 2

4 stars, based on 2 ratings
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

7 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed Florida Straits (Key West, Bk 1) on + 52 more book reviews
An entertaining book about a low-rung mafia player trying to start over in Key West.
reviewed Florida Straits (Key West, Bk 1) on + 67 more book reviews
A New York wiseguy decides he's in the wrong business and moves to Fl. to reinvent himself. His N.Y. family keep him in trouble.
This book is humorous though the language may be too harsh for some.
reviewed Florida Straits (Key West, Bk 1) on + 38 more book reviews
A good Florida Mystery with a Chihuahua! Funny and interesting plot, certainly worth a bit of time in a comfortable chair with a nice cup of tea.
reviewed Florida Straits (Key West, Bk 1) on + 222 more book reviews
"Mr. Shames turns out characters flashier than a Key West sunset and dialogue tastier than a conch stew." __THE NEW YORK TIMES
reviewed Florida Straits (Key West, Bk 1) on + 12 more book reviews
Funny book
reviewed Florida Straits (Key West, Bk 1) on + 16 more book reviews
Top notch mystery/action thriller. In the same vein as Carl Hiasson, and set in Key West (Hiasson's are set in Florida)this is both romantic and funny. Shames has the rare ability to offer a protagonist who is ostensibly a loser, and make you love him, and root for him to become a winner. Good stuff.
Kraduate avatar reviewed Florida Straits (Key West, Bk 1) on + 35 more book reviews
I decided to read Laurence Shames after discovering that he is the ghost writer of the LOST tie-in novel Bad Twin, and boy am I glad I did! I enjoyed this book so much I immediately wanted to re-read it, unusual for me as I literally have hundreds of unread books to plow through.

Laurence Shames writes such vivid characters, so believable even if unlikeable, so real I can hear their voices as if they were in the next room. As for the dialog, it's spot on.

Joey Goldman,the illegitimate son of a New York mafioso, decides to escape the shadow of his older brother Gino and moves to Key West with his girlfriend Sandra. His attempts at entering the Key West crime market are hilarious.
It's only after the laid back Key West lifestyle enters his soul that he really figures out who he is and what he wants out of life.

He befriends an ex-mafioso in retirement called Bert the Shirt who is one of my favorite characters of all time. Bert and his shaking Chihuahua Don Giovanni; phenomenally fleshed out characters..