"In this business, nothing is as good as dead..." The business in question is the high-end art world, and everyone in this darkly comedic mystery wants a piece of it. When painter Augie Silver is lost at sea in a sailing accident, his many friends among Key West's artists, writers, and hangers-on mourn--until, that is, they realize that Augie's death has sent the prices for his pictures skyrocketing. What at first seemed a tragedy turns out to be a windfall--until, that is, Augie, rescued at sea, limps back to town alive. ...
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"In this business, nothing is as good as dead..." The business in question is the high-end art world, and everyone in this darkly comedic mystery wants a piece of it. When painter Augie Silver is lost at sea in a sailing accident, his many friends among Key West's artists, writers, and hangers-on mourn--until, that is, they realize that Augie's death has sent the prices for his pictures skyrocketing. What at first seemed a tragedy turns out to be a windfall--until, that is, Augie, rescued at sea, limps back to town alive. Not everyone is thrilled by the artist's resurrection. Someone, in fact, is upset enough to start trying to bump off Augie for real. Full of steamy Key West atmosphere and sometimes brutal insights into the wacky world of creative types, SCAVENGER REEF is both a taut whodunit and a wise meditation on loyalty real or faked, friendships sincere or toxic.
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Add this copy of Scavenger Reef to cart. $9.98, like new condition, Sold by Cozy Book Cellar rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Bellingham, MA, UNITED STATES, published 2015 by CreateSpace.
Add this copy of Scavenger Reef to cart. $12.25, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2015 by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform.
Add this copy of Scavenger Reef (Key West Capers) to cart. $34.00, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hialeah, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2015 by CreateSpace Independent Publis.
Add this copy of Scavenger Reef (Key West Capers) to cart. $63.88, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hialeah, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2015 by CreateSpace Independent Publis.
Laurence Shames is really growing on me. At first blush his novels are funny, fast and easily digestible. Along with the happy hour prose, however, there's some keen insights, funny observations and great character tics. Consider this passage from Scavenger Reef: 'To be sure, the Key West Artsy set had gravitated to him: the writers who didn't write, the sculptors who didn't sculpt, the trust-funders kept just shy of suicidial self-loathing by the mercifully untested belief that they were in some sense creative... ' Having lived in a self-proclaimed artist town, I had to laugh aloud.
As with other Shames novels, the plot is a litle thin, but there's plenty of great writing and lots of laughs. If you looking for a fun, quick read over vacation, you can't go wrong.
