Laurence Shames has attracted enthusiastic fans with his Key West novels, which include Florida Straits, Mangrove Squeeze, Scavenger Reef, and Sunburn. Each of these books is a hilarious mixture of zany crimes and offbeat characters. Welcome to Paradise is his best yet.When Al Marracotta, Mafia boss, takes a week's vacation in Key West, he looks forward to days of sun, sex, and seafood. Alan Tuschman, New Jersey furniture salesman, is a reluctant tourist. He has won a week in Key W...

Laurence Shames writes thrillers that his fans endearingly classify as great "Florida noir" In the tradition of Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen, he gives character to the inhabitants of Florida's steamy underbelly.Artist Augie Silver's friends are ostensibly grief-stricken when he drowns in a shipwreck off Scavenger Reef, but most of them are nervous because his body wasn't found. They have too much to gain by his death. Since his demise, the price of his art is skyrocketing. If Au...

"People go to Key West for lots of different reasons. Joey Goldman went there to become a gangster …"So begins this classic Key West caper, the hilarious and touching book that launched a much-loved series and introduced the world to Bert the Shirt and his chihuahua Don Giovanni, two of the most unforgettable characters in contemporary fiction.Joey, the illegitimate son of a major NY mafioso, decides to break away from a decidedly unpromising future in the old neighborhood ...

“Nutty … [with] plenty of sly, sunny sass.”—New York Daily NewsKey West seduces people—then asks them to leave in the morning. Take Aaron Katz. He chucked his NY nine-to-five to restore the Mangrove Arms, a rotting wreck of a guest house. Suki Sperakis, aspiring journalist, sees opportunity in Florida, too, though in the meantime she's peddling ad space for a third-rate freebie paper. Then she stumbles upon a nefarious plot revolving around a handsome Russian and his strin...

"More than a thriller—it’s an escape from reality and the perfect tonic at the end of a hard day.”—Orlando SentinelIt's not easy being the Godfather. All those secrets and all that guilt add up to a terrible burden—a weight that's killing Vincente Delgatto. When the old man travels to Key West for a visit with his illegitimate son—Joey Goldman, the unlikely hero of FLORIDA STRAITS—Joey floats the idea of a conscience-easing memoir, to be written in collaboration w...

“A light-hearted, sardonic homage to the detective novel … The charm of this literary exercise comes with the self-conscious indulging of a fantasy … that we can have the thrill of adventure and risk and danger in our lives and that we would acquit ourselves well in conflict with gamblers, goons and crooked cops.”—New York Times Book ReviewMeet Pete Amsterdam, the world's most reluctant sleuth.Naked in his hot tub, Pete is idly reviewing his morning tennis game whe...

Take three speedboats, a disgruntled ghostwriter, and a hit TV show starring a gorgeous but impossible diva and created by a driven genius who may be losing his marbles. Add a fearless and gleefully profane stuntwoman, an ancient Mafioso with a chihuahua, and a revenge-crazed blonde in gladiator sandals. Stir in a thug with a heart of gold and an inveterate slacker who yearns for glory. Whisk a loopy but tender romance into the mix, turn the whole crew loose in the liberating and seductive...

A poignant, funny, and, above all, honest look at obesity from the inside out. Is it the goal of life to be thin? Or to be happy? In this inspiring story, those two elusive goals become one, as a fat man learns acceptance, loses the guilt, and gains the wisdom to manage his weight.You can hardly pick up a magazine or turn on the TV today without encountering a torrent of talk on weight. But all too rarely do we hear from overweight people themselves—especially men—about how life fe...

An innovative, trauma-informed approach to resolving chronic shame and guiltShame and guilt are core emotions that can significantly limit our lives: They diminish our capacity for intimacy, trust, and connection. They fuel anxiety. They contribute to relationship struggles and amplify issues at work. And yet, we may not even be aware of the self-shaming habits that cause our distress!In this book, therapists Laurence Heller, PhD, and Stephan K. Niederwiese...

An innovative, trauma-informed approach to resolving chronic shame and guiltShame and guilt are core emotions that can significantly limit our lives: They diminish our capacity for intimacy, trust, and connection. They fuel anxiety. They contribute to relationship struggles and amplify issues at work. And yet, we may not even be aware of the self-shaming habits that cause our distress!In this book, therapists Laurence Heller, PhD, and Stephan K. Niederwiese...