The Mango Opera

I will keep this short, but if you are heading for a winter trip to the islands, this is a great read. Just take this mystery to Key West for a long weekend and enjoy. This is how I expect to enjoy my second read of this KW local novel. -- Have Fun --

The Mango Opera is a must for anyone who has aspirations to or has traveled to Key West, Florida. This book comes to life with mental pictures if you have visited the very establishments and streets mentioned in the adventures of Alex Rutledge. The essence of the culture of promiscuity, alcohol, and divergent thinking of Key West is painted well in this book. It is a soft, murder-mystery and an easy read. I especially recommend this as a vacation book or an airplane ride book.

Looking for a book for the plane ride home, I found Mango Opera on the last day of a recent stay in Key West. It hooks you early, moves fast, and it's difficult to put down. Tom Corcoran does a great job of capturing the offbeat flavor of Key West and the people who live there. If you don't know Key West it's a great read, if you do then Corcoran's descriptions will make you feel as if you're back there again. It's a great book with some unique twists and turns where the characters act like real people. I'm looking forward to his next book.

If you're a Jimmy Buffett fan and like whodunnits, you're about to become a Tom Corcoran fan. This debut novel by the long time Key Wester and Buffett pal instantly transports the reader "down island", leading them through the streets and alleyways of Old Town. Like the unlikely heroes of Carl Hiaasen, freelance photographer Alex Rutledge finds himself embroiled in murder and mystery as several former girlfriends are found dead in gruesome circumstances. Corcoran skillfully leads the reader through a plot that twists and turns as often as the Florida weather changes. As the hero becomes the suspect, he also becomes detective as he tries to cope with the deaths of his former lovers and how to warn those who are still alive that someone may be after them.An engrossing tale complete with good and bad cops, Cuban expatriates, various thugs and a few good friends, 'The Mango Opera' delivers an excellent whodunnit experience.

As native Floridians, we have grown accustom to fact and fiction. Tom Corcoran has created fiction and laced it with the reality of life in Florida, particularly Key West. His main character, Alex Rutledge, personifies the life of many of us who "Live and Die in 3/4 Time." As Alex bikes through "Old Town", Corcoran rekindles the sights, sounds and smells imbedded in our minds through aimless meandering down the back streets and alleyways of Key West. A tip of the visor to Tom Corcoran from those Floridians who are too busy solving our own mysteries to get a suntan.