Customer Reviews

Mangrove Squeeze

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had really liked Florida Straights, so I decided to give this one a try. And I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard! I kept waking my girlfriend up I was laughing so hard in bed! This book has the kind of wry sense of humor that is so hard to find. It also has sweet, likeable characters. And Shames has left out a lot of the violent nastiness a lot of other writers in this genre go so heavy on! I can't wait for my next trip literary trip to Key West!

'Mangrove Squeeze' is my third Laurence Shames novel (after 'Florida Straits' and 'Sunburn') and is easily the worst of the bunch. Yes, it has the same south Florida setting and similarly quirky characters. But the plot fails to ignite, and the laughs are comparatively few.

In 'Mangrove Squeeze' we have big crime by the Russian mafia in small town Key West. A nosey do-gooder from the local weekly newspaper gets herself in trouble with these guys, gets her boyfriend caught in the middle of it, and ... so the story goes. As a previous reviewer has noted, 'Mangrove Squeeze' does pass the time rather nicely. But otherwise it is forgettable in every way.

Bottom line: useful beach-reading material. But you won't want to keep it on your bookshelf.

This is possibly the funniest book I have read in a while and I really appreciate when an author makes me laugh. The characters are priceless. Fred & Pineapple who live in a fiberglass hot dog on the outskirts of Key West, the Russian mafia with their mispronunciations that had me in stitches, the old geezers Sam & Bert with his "moribund chihuahua." The book was published over a decade ago, but it still captures the essence of Key West and the crazies who live there. The plot is good even though it is a bit far-fetched. The story takes a more sinister turn at the end, which jarred a bit with the overall tone but, hey, 5 stars for witty dialogue and hilarious images of the afore-mentioned characters.

...and still my favorite. It isn't as funny, comical and absurd as some of his other stuff, but it is more touching. Where the others go out to produce some fairly hectic action, this one here is more quiet and almost deliberate. Characters other than the central ones get more screen-time, and this is all for the good.

Shames's language and descriptions mirror the tone of the novel. Instead of going for comedic, he tends toward affectionate for the protagonists and grim to pathetic for the bad guys.

I liked this book. It has a lot of heart and a lot of soul. An interesting change of pace from his other ones.

Till Noever, owlglass.com

Not one of Shame's best, but the shenanigans of the Ruski Mafiosos in Key West intermingled with a nice little love story with a few whackoes in the guise of Fred and Pineapple, the introduction of Sam Katz and the return of the elderly Bert the shirt with his constipated chihuahua makes a breezy read, which is the way it should be.

Laurence Shames ranks with the best of the Florida Mystery Genre writers. And like them he has a voice of his own, writing excellent descriptions and dialogue. It's a form, it's an art.

It is a difficult genre to do well, and Mangrove Breeze is well written. Often people poo-poo such writers, but in truth The Florida Mystery Genre can scale the heights of good writing, often bettering so-called modern literature.

I suggest the reviewer "A shopper, February 7, 1999", who gave Shames 1 out of 5 stars for Mangrove Squeeze, go and do some homework, despite telling us that "I teach writing for a living --literature, we call it. ..." I don't believe "A shopper" knows what literature is.

A note here to the publishers and cover designers: The paperback cover of Mangrove Squeeze is fabulous. It gives you a laugh and makes you want to buy the book. The same cannot be said of the hardcover however, which is often the case.

This is the best of the Laurence Shames books. It is set in Key West as all of his books have been.The twists and turns of this book are cleverly penned and leaves the reader breathless. Shames is also a master at simile throughout his books and this is no different. The beauty of his language just gets better, "gnarly knots of mangrove roots."

If you haven't noticed, I really liked this book.

Shames once again puts together a passable-but hardly noteworthy-South Florida thriller in the vein of Carl Hiassen, Elmore Leonard, et al. This time he trots in the tired specter of Russian mafia types running tawdry tourist t-shirt shops as a money laundering operation for the big bucks they make as brokers for ex-Soviet art and weaponry. Against these cardboard villains are arrayed an ex-Wall Street type who left it all to forget about his divorce, take care of his father, and renovate an old hotel; a Jersey transplant called Suki who's stuck in a dead-end job, two creaky old men, and two nice semi-homeless guys. Through it all there's a kind of stumbling, bumbling good naturedness-which serves to heighten the nastiness of the Russians. The outcome is hardly surprising, but it passes the time and is slightly more successful than two other of his books I've read, The Naked Detective and Scavenger Reef,

Another fine book by my now-favorite author, Lawrence Shames! If you love his previous books as much as I did, you'll love how in this book he brings in a character from past stories. Lawrence Shames has a special gift of making his characters friends to his readers and I, for one can't wait to see them appear again and again, cleverly intertwined with new characters. I strongly recommend this book--and yes, even in the hardcover!

as with virgin heat, shame's once again deliver's a bunch of offbeat key west characters and a story that you don't want to end. suki sperakis is a keeper. it was great to read another chapter in what is quickly becoming the 'bert the shirt' series. shame's is as adroit at 'floridian mysteries' as are carl hiassen and james w. hall. his book's are always fun and perfect for a day on smathers beach. laurence brings margaritaville and all it's kooky inhabitants to vibrant life!! can't wait for his next one!!!

LAURENCE SHAMES JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER. GREAT NEW CHARACTERS. PINEAPPLE AND HIS BUDDY AND THERE "HOME" ARE JUST HILARIOUS. DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND READ IT THIS SUMMER.