Tropical Swap (Key West Capers Book 10)

Shames delves into relationships in this book, whether mob influenced, Manhattan based or concocted in a cheap Key West motel. Flying coconuts with death messages, hypoallergenic Burmese cats and schemes to make you wonder what will happen next. I need some sun!

Good book but not as good tome as previous ones in the series. A bit too unrealistic by nevertheless entertaining. Would recommend for a lite read.

I especially loved Peter because of his funny logic.Having Bert the shirt back adds familiarity.Recommend this to anyone who enjoys fun writing.

The rankings here reflect the rejoicing of Shames fans at the emergence of yet another Key West novel.WIth the usual Shamesian twist whereby innocent visitors to the remotest key get swept into gunsights and insights and romantic shake-ups. And the notice that their simple home-swapping vacation will get rocky comes in the perfect fashion... a coconut through the window. Fans of the series will recall Joey's first tropical wakeup call in the form of a coconut through his cadillac windshield.From there things get complicated. Even before Bert the Shirt shows up.The usual mobster intrusion is there, the usual chill air from NYC. It's kind of "lite" in this one, without the dripping menace past goombah villains have exuded. But, see, it's not that kind of a story. These are laidback Key West mobsters. And of course their presence flushes out the false and brings out the brave and resourceful; the deals that are cut also reminiscent of the first novel in the series and many others along the way.The Shames tradition of plot trials bringing women to flower is also here. And as usual, the real star is Key West itself, to include the tacky realities and odors beneath the party-hearty surface.This is a really simple situation. If you're a Shames fan, snap it up. If not, grab it and the first book, "Florida Straits" for comparison. You won't regret it.

I don’t know how Lawrence dreams up these tales, but I really enjoyed this one. The cast of characters are from all over the map, but get blended together in great fashion. And the ending is unique as usual.

Laurence Shames is one of the best humorous crime/caper writers out there. His stuff is always terrific and I'm glad to see he is still writing, even if he is now self-publishing it. Good for him as it likely gives him more control and gets his books out there faster. Tropical Swap was just one more of his outstanding Key West mysteries, each of them so much better than most writers putting similar stuff out there. My only criticism - and I add this only if Mr. Shames actually ever reads these reviews to see this - but the typesetting is terrible. It looks like a book report. The margins are jagged, not fully justified. There are full blank lines between every paragraph, and the font (Ariel? Helvetica?) and small size do not look like any commercially published book I've ever seen, so it was a shock to open the book and see the way it looked. Easy to get past once into the book, but I'd hate to see new readers to Shames get put off by what comes across as amateurish in presentation when he is such a terrific writer.

I love Laurence Shames books. They are so much fun to read and love some of the recurring characters. This book was no exception. I am, however, very disappointed with Amazon that for some reason the author's books are no longer available for my Kindle. (are they not available here in other mediums as well??) I had a few of Shames books on my wish list so I could read them for entertainment in between other genres, but guess I'm out of luck. When I contact Amazon about these issues, I never receive a reply, so maybe one of you other subscribers will have better luck and help out. Anyway, if you are ever able to read this book or any of his others, you are in for a lot of fun escapades.

This book was pretty much in keeping with other Laurence Shames Key West mysteries. An unlikely couple is drawn into mob dealings through no fault of their own but they end up helping to solve the problems before the book is done. Along the way there are innocent people who are intimidated by mobsters, a mob daughter finally stands up to her father, a made man tries to get out of the mob and all sorts of issues pop up. The author chooses not to go to the horrific, violent side of things and keeps the story fairly light and moves it along at a good pace. Minor violence, non-graphic sex scenes, some cool characters and a good story make this a book I would recommend.

book was delivered quickly. Good people. I just hated the book. Did not live up to his others

What fun! Exactly, what could possibly go wrong with a house swap!! I loved it and should have read it ages ago but wanted some quality time to enjoy it knowing it was going to be a great read and have only just done so! It is a great story, humorous, cunning, unexpected twists and turns and a great story. It gives such insight to each character they end up feeling like people you know, or possibly already know such as ex-mobster Bert the Shirt from previous Shames novel encounters. Then there are the adorable pets including the allergenic cat - or not so after all - that has a character of its own and Bert's inseparable canine companion! Definitely one to put in the bag for some quality holiday reading!!!

good book

I've read all of Laurence Shames's Key West books - I'm delighted he's publishing new ones - and this one was good-natured fun, as ever, with the insights into human nature that make all of his books a cut above. And Bert the Shirt is in it!I recommend it.

Binge-read every one in the series. Guess what - I loved every one of them.