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Product Description
Product Description
"One of the new century's most entertaining mysteries" (The Cleveland Plain Dealer), The Naked Detective introduces us to Pete Amsterdam-a detective so reluctant, he's never accepted a case . until the inevitable blond shows up. But this is Key West, where nothing is quite what is seems. Is the blonde really a woman? Are the death threats to be believed? Who's more dangerous-the gangsters or the yoga teacher? And does Amsterdam-who learned detective work from reading books, just like Don Quixote learned chivalry-have a snowball's chance in hell of solving this thing before it kills him?
From the Author
Raymond Chandler meets Woody Allen meets the Coen brothers
The first thing I'd like to say about The Naked Detective is that I had a great time writing it. After twenty years of avoiding first-person, and seven previous Key West novels in which I'd steered clear of a sleuth, I found myself tickled silly to be writing a first-person sleuth book. Not that Pete is much of a detective. Like myself, he's basically chicken. When it comes to solving murders, he'd rather be playing tennis or sipping wine. And yet the story sucks him in. In a manner that some folks might call postmodern, the demands and conventions of the mystery tale get all tangled up with life itself, until Pete has no choice but to muddle through to the only kind of heroism that matters a damn to me--the heroism of an ordinary person reaching deeper than he thought he could. Oh, and there's also a sweet love story with a gorgeous yoga teacher. And, by the way, I think parts of it are pretty funny. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
The first thing I'd like to say about The Naked Detective is that I had a great time writing it. After twenty years of avoiding first-person, and seven previous Key West novels in which I'd steered clear of a sleuth, I found myself tickled silly to be writing a first-person sleuth book. Not that Pete is much of a detective. Like myself, he's basically chicken. When it comes to solving murders, he'd rather be playing tennis or sipping wine. And yet the story sucks him in. In a manner that some folks might call postmodern, the demands and conventions of the mystery tale get all tangled up with life itself, until Pete has no choice but to muddle through to the only kind of heroism that matters a damn to me--the heroism of an ordinary person reaching deeper than he thought he could. Oh, and there's also a sweet love story with a gorgeous yoga teacher. And, by the way, I think parts of it are pretty funny. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
THE RELUCTANT hero gets a whole twist in this lightweight Key West romp, in which retired 47-year old Pete Amsterdam is dragged from the comforts of his hot tub, wine cellar, and regular tennis game by a bartender hiding out from a local Mafia type. Pete is technically a detective, but only on the advice of his accountant, who was looking for a way to write off the wine cellar as a business expense. In this homage to (or spoof of?) classic detective tales, Pete is soon embroiled in a number of PI tropes, a sexy femme fatale, a mysterious missing package everyone's looking for, and a dame he's not sure he can trust. For the first half it's a pretty fun little romp, moving quickly along. Somewhere around the middle though, things started to bog down a little and drag, but it's still decent beach reading. As with other Florida writers like Carl Hiassen, there's some clear criticism of South Florida development as well. Not awful, but not special.
Format:Paperback
After running out of Carl Hiaasen books to read, i decided to turn my attentions to Laurence Shames. I read "Welcome to Paradise", which was a little disappointing but then i read "The Naked Detective" and found it excellent. The way the main character,Pete Amsterdam carries the story with his narrative and amatuer detective style kept me turning those pages to see what happened next.There was a genuine "whodunnit" feeling to this book all the way to the end although i did find the ending was a little cluttered. I will definately be reading more of Laurence Shames' work.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
22 reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
a major disappointment
24 July 2000
Format:Hardcover
when i heard laurence shames had a new book out- i made haste to get it. I had read all of his previous books and loved them for their quick diologue and original and diverse characters. i assumed Naked Detective would have more of the same- and discovered it had none of that- the entire book has about 4 characters- and with the exception of a cap driver/tennis bum- all are totally bland and forgetable. It seems like mr shames rushed this one off the fullfill a publishing contract- it is a very very slow moving book- with main characters who are wooden and artificial- it is hard to believe that the same man who created "bert the shirt" could paint in such tiresome colors. I sincerely pray this will be the only shames book with pete amsterdam- but like another Lawrence- Sanders- i fear once an auther has sucess- and an easy tiresome formula- IE- the McNally books- they never are able to recapture their past glory- To me this book is a cop-out- a quickie which tricks mr shames loyal readers into thinking they are in store for more of the wonderful same- yet to get though this book is a real trial..it is that boring and humdrum
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Plot good. Writing superlative.
13 July 2000
Format:Hardcover
At about the time of its publication I perused a copy of Florida Straits, Laurence Shames first novel, and was struck by the author's vivid description of garbage accumulating on a New York City street corner. I read the book and became a fan. Mine is the perspective of one who has read each of Laurence Shames' novels in the order by which they were written. All of them are very good, but some are better than others. The Naked Detective is some of Shames best writing yet.
The formula for the author's eighth novel is familiar Shames: colorful Key West denizens reluctantly or unwittingly drawn into a zany plot involving farcical criminal capers, with overtures of lust and ever present danger. This book -- as the others -- are simply fun to read. This plot is slightly less farcical than we have come to expect, but the prose, as always, is wonderfully refreshing.
The Naked Detective is somewhat novel for its style, it is the first book Shames has written in the first person, but it showcases his splendid writing skills wonderfully. Shames' descriptive techniques are superlative; spirited dialogues come alive with vibrant descriptions of body gestures, posture and (his specialty) hand movements. And of course there is the ever present artfully drawn tapestry of Key West.
A slight disappointment is that there are no cameo appearances by now familiar characters, such as Joey Goldman or Burt the Shirt, nor are any ailing pets woven into the story line (I hope the chihuahua is still alive), but several new characters are introduced and fans can only hope that one day they will all meet at a Key West sunset cocktail party in a forthcoming Shames story.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
"Shames's Best Yet"? Hardly.
2 Dec 2000
Format:Hardcover
Although I read voraciously (154 books this year so far) and check out Amazon's editorial and customer reviews on an almost daily basis, this is the first time I've been motivated to write a review. This is the most disappointing book I've read in years, most likely because I was excited about a new book by Shames. His early works are among my favorites, with offbeat characters and laugh-out-loud moments. I hate to kick an author when he's down but, sad to say, this one's as dead as the rodents Pete Amsterdam finds in his hot tub. Skip this, and read his other books.
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