Moist: A Novel [Paperback]

Mark Haskell Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

A comic rampage through the polyglot gutters of modern Los Angeles...

When a severed arm decorated with an erotic tattoo appears at an L.A. pathology lab, it's love at first sight. Bob's minimum wage job minding the slabs has never given him agita before, but now he won't rest until he finds the owner of the arm so he can get to the girl who posed for that unforgettable tattoo. But Bob isn't the only one with a stake in finding the arm's owner-the moment he sets off to find his true love, a colorful band of mobsters from Mexico and some of the L.A.P.D.'s finest cross his path in their desperate search for this peculiar piece of evidence.

From Amado, a one-armed murdered addicted to Mexican soap opera, to Martin, a Wharon graduate and cannabis aficionado, to Maura, a masturbation coach with unnatural urges, Bob finds himself entangled in a hilarious stew of murder, sex and mobster-style politics.

A first novel that is as sharp and biting as a salt-rimmed margarita,Faster, with a head-swiveling plot you'll love to untangle, Moist is whip-smart, stylish reading.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Smith proves he knows how to get the adrenaline pumping. Fans of hiply skewed jackhammer action will appreciate this debut."
- Publishers Weekly

"Smith's energetic thriller is an ode to the hard-boiled Los Angeles of Raymond Chandler and James Ellroy spun out in brighter-than-life Starburst colors."
- The Los Angeles Times

About the Author

Mark Haskell Smith is a screenwriter who lives in Los Angeles. This is his first novel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312316208
• ISBN-13: 978-0312316204
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,607,091 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark Haskell Smith is a writer who lives in Los Angeles. He's spent the last two years in transit, trying to find the meaning of the word "dank".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, September 30, 2008

By 

M. Hill "Ice-BlueStars" (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moist: A Novel (Paperback)

This novel is a non-stop, never-put-down, read-it-in-one-sitting kind of book. It reads like a film, except you can dive into the characters' heads and come out the other side. There are graphic depictions of death and sex, and there is 'vulgar' language, but to omit such aspects of the world of this novel, that of the Mexican Mafia, would to do an injustice to the world of the novel. Well written and well done.

5.0 out of 5 stars Moisten Your Lips, Your About to Read and Discover a Real Challenger to Hiaasen and Fitzhugh, September 11, 2010

By 

James N Simpson (Gold Coast, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Moist: A Novel (Paperback)

Days ago I came across Haskell Smith's second novel Delicious and discovered a new contender to rival Carl Hiaasen or Bill Fitzhugh for the status of best surreal eccentric character filled humorous fiction author. His debut novel Moist, is even better than that one!

Moist takes the reader into streets of LA following the exploits of violent Mexican mafia members, starting off with one who severed his arm with an automatic garage door as he was trying to make his victim's body look like a suicide. It's mistakes like this that can bring an organisation down and this one full of eccentric characters, each hungry to run the organisation themselves. They need to prevent the arm's owner's identity becoming known to the police. A young pathology lab courier is fascinated by the tats on the arm, particularly one of a woman pleasuring a man. Bob's own girlfriend has just told him she can't stand the sight of his own Mr Happy, so he fantasises that the woman on the arm is real. When he is knocked out and thrown into the boot (trunk) of his courier car, Bob is set to become another body in the desert. However power struggles within the Mexican mafia will give him a chance at not only survival but to meet the woman who inspired the tattoo and transform from his slacker life as Bob into Roberto! Throw in a self pleasuring coach (Bob's girlfriend) and a detective who prefers the upmarket social things such as good wine to beer and doughnuts and you've got the funniest mafia adventure ever written.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 2nd best book of the year, March 31, 2010

By 

Jason Thurmond "Book Smack" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moist: A Novel (Paperback)

Besides J. Matthew Nespoli's Broken, this was the best book of the year. Had me laughing from cover to cover. I read it in one sitting, which is rare. Well done, Mark!