Scavenger Reef

Laurence Shames is the greatest ... I wish he would start writing again. This novel goes well beyond the "tropical mystery" genre; it's really an intelligent and engaging thriller -- and the characters live!

Sawrence Shames books are always funny. He has a suble wit that amuses me no end.

Scavenger Reef is the story of an artist whose death could increase his net worth into the millions!! An art dealer schemes to make big money when the artist is reported dead, money that will set her up for life, at a time when her options are quickly running out. As the grand scheme proceeds, several people who own paintings realize that they too can make enough money to dig themselves out of the holes they have dug. The only problem is, what if the artist is in fact alive? Who would be willing or desperate enough to keep the money making plans moving forward, even if that would involve lies, betrayal and ultimately murder. I found the characters to be entertaining and borderline zany!! What they lack in moral spine , they make up for with an earnest enthusiasm for doing the wrong thing in pursuit of the almighty dollar. This is a tale that romps through-out Key West in the "classic- Florida" manner of taking the story way over the top!!!

With Scavenger Reef, Laurence Shames leaves his entertaining crowd of displaced mafia thugs and paints a stunning portrait of a creative life in a real-world (if Kew-West-surreal) context. As a growing fan of the Florida mysteries by Leonard, Hiaasen, Hall, Shames, and others I like to identify what I consider the Key Book by each author, the one you most eagerly recommend. With Leonard it's La Brava. Tourist Season is the Key Book from Carl Hiaasen as is Under Cover of Daylight for James W. Hall. For Laurence Shames I definitely recommend Scavenger Reef. The usual literary portrayal of artists is as hacks, or as painters of alegorical canvases that serve the needs of the novel but which never sound like a painting you'd want to look at. The qualities of Augie Silver's canvases are abstract and radiant, they inform the descriptions of every setting in the book. Within this well-told story of friends and enemies is a startling sense of light and space.

I stumbled upon this author after exhausting myself on James W. Hall and Carl Hiassen. It was arguably the best mystery book I've ever read in which no murder is ever committed! (Don't worry, I didn't give anything away.) Shames' lead character, Augie, is a refreshing change from the genre's typical hard-boiled, prone-to-violence protagonist. And Reuben, the gay servant, is a true hero. A pleasure to read! I'll be looking into more Shames titles.