What do you think?
Rate this book
Key West #6
Mangrove Squeeze
Key West seduces people--then asks them to leave in the morning. Take Aaron Katz. He shucked his nine-to-five to restore Mangrove Arms, a rotting wreck of a guest house. Suki Sperakis sees opportunity in Florida too. In the meantime she's peddling ad space for a third-rate freebie paper. Then she stumbles upon a nefarious plot revolving around a handsome Russian and his string of T-shirt shops. Can't a guy manufacture plutonium in peace?
Now, with the Russian mafia on her trail, freewheeling Suki is running for her life--and right into the safety of Aaron's Mangrove Arms. As dead bodies sully the Key West scenery, a secret society of killers puts the squeeze on Suki and Aaron--and conspires to turn an island paradise into a tropical death-trap. . . .
Now, with the Russian mafia on her trail, freewheeling Suki is running for her life--and right into the safety of Aaron's Mangrove Arms. As dead bodies sully the Key West scenery, a secret society of killers puts the squeeze on Suki and Aaron--and conspires to turn an island paradise into a tropical death-trap. . . .
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
239 people are currently reading
327 people want to read
About the author
Laurence Shames
40 books239 followersLaurence Shames has been a New York City taxi driver, lounge singer, furniture mover, lifeguard, dishwasher, gym teacher, and shoe salesman. Having failed to distinguish himself in any of those professions, he turned to writing full-time in 1976 and has not done an honest day’s work since.
His basic laziness notwithstanding, Shames has published more than twenty books and hundreds of magazine articles and essays. Best known for his critically acclaimed series of Key West Capers--14 titles and counting!--he has also authored non-fiction and enjoyed considerable though largely secret success as a collaborator and ghostwriter. Shames has penned four New York Times bestsellers. These have appeared on four different lists, under four different names, none of them his own. This might be a record.
Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1951, to chain-smoking parents of modest means but flamboyant emotions, Shames did not know Philip Roth, Paul Simon, Queen Latifa, Shaquille O’Neal, or any of the other really cool people who have come from his hometown. He graduated summa cum laude from NYU in 1972 and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. As a side note, both his alma mater and honorary society have been extraordinarily adept at tracking his many address changes through the decades, in spite of the fact that he’s never sent them one red cent, and never will.
It was on an Italian beach in the summer of 1970 that Shames first heard the sacred call of the writer’s vocation. Lonely and poor, hungry and thirsty, he’d wandered into a seaside trattoria, where he noticed a couple tucking into a big platter of fritto misto. The man was nothing much to look at but the woman was really beautiful. She was perfectly tan and had a very fine-gauge gold chain looped around her bare tummy. The couple was sharing a liter of white wine; condensation beaded the carafe. Eye contact was made; the couple turned out to be Americans. The man wiped olive oil from his rather sensual lips and introduced himself as a writer. Shames knew in that moment that he would be one too.
He began writing stories and longer things he thought of as novels. He couldn’t sell them.
By 1979 he’d somehow become a journalist and was soon publishing in top-shelf magazines like Playboy, Outside, Saturday Review, and Vanity Fair. (This transition entailed some lucky breaks, but is not as vivid a tale as the fritto misto bit, so we’ll just sort of gloss over it.) In 1982, Shames was named Ethics columnist of Esquire, and also made a contributing editor to that magazine.
By 1986 he was writing non-fiction books. The critical, if not the commercial, success of these first established Shames’ credentials as a collaborator/ghostwriter. His 1991 national bestseller, Boss of Bosses, written with two FBI agents, got him thinking about the Mafia. It also bought him a ticket out of New York and a sweet little house in Key West, where he finally got back to Plan A: writing novels. Given his then-current preoccupations, the novels naturally featured palm trees, high humidity, dogs in sunglasses, and New York mobsters blundering through a town where people were too laid back to be afraid of them. But this part of the story is best told with reference to the books themselves, so please spend some time and explore them.
His basic laziness notwithstanding, Shames has published more than twenty books and hundreds of magazine articles and essays. Best known for his critically acclaimed series of Key West Capers--14 titles and counting!--he has also authored non-fiction and enjoyed considerable though largely secret success as a collaborator and ghostwriter. Shames has penned four New York Times bestsellers. These have appeared on four different lists, under four different names, none of them his own. This might be a record.
Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1951, to chain-smoking parents of modest means but flamboyant emotions, Shames did not know Philip Roth, Paul Simon, Queen Latifa, Shaquille O’Neal, or any of the other really cool people who have come from his hometown. He graduated summa cum laude from NYU in 1972 and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. As a side note, both his alma mater and honorary society have been extraordinarily adept at tracking his many address changes through the decades, in spite of the fact that he’s never sent them one red cent, and never will.
It was on an Italian beach in the summer of 1970 that Shames first heard the sacred call of the writer’s vocation. Lonely and poor, hungry and thirsty, he’d wandered into a seaside trattoria, where he noticed a couple tucking into a big platter of fritto misto. The man was nothing much to look at but the woman was really beautiful. She was perfectly tan and had a very fine-gauge gold chain looped around her bare tummy. The couple was sharing a liter of white wine; condensation beaded the carafe. Eye contact was made; the couple turned out to be Americans. The man wiped olive oil from his rather sensual lips and introduced himself as a writer. Shames knew in that moment that he would be one too.
He began writing stories and longer things he thought of as novels. He couldn’t sell them.
By 1979 he’d somehow become a journalist and was soon publishing in top-shelf magazines like Playboy, Outside, Saturday Review, and Vanity Fair. (This transition entailed some lucky breaks, but is not as vivid a tale as the fritto misto bit, so we’ll just sort of gloss over it.) In 1982, Shames was named Ethics columnist of Esquire, and also made a contributing editor to that magazine.
By 1986 he was writing non-fiction books. The critical, if not the commercial, success of these first established Shames’ credentials as a collaborator/ghostwriter. His 1991 national bestseller, Boss of Bosses, written with two FBI agents, got him thinking about the Mafia. It also bought him a ticket out of New York and a sweet little house in Key West, where he finally got back to Plan A: writing novels. Given his then-current preoccupations, the novels naturally featured palm trees, high humidity, dogs in sunglasses, and New York mobsters blundering through a town where people were too laid back to be afraid of them. But this part of the story is best told with reference to the books themselves, so please spend some time and explore them.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
March 31, 2021
Shames continues his series of Key West mysteries. Shames' strengths are his characters and the laid-back, toes-in-the-sand, warm-breeze and cold-beer world of Key West. People go there to escape, to vacation, to retire, and sometimes because crime is easier where no behavior is odd enough to produce a reaction. Shames is a great observer of humanity and a brilliant simile artist. The story is worthy, but Shames books can be read simply for the escapist pleasure of the words.
April 5, 2012
For years I've been cursing the heavens and randomly shoving small children to the floor in the local grocery store's cereal aisle, not because I'm a bad man, but because not a single one of Laurence Shames's loosely related Key West books were available on Kindle. To those of us here at FPF, that's like Carl Hiaasen releasing a new book but only printing one copy and hiding it somewhere in the Everglades.
Well, in case you're the last to know, all six of Mr. Shames's "mafiosos' in paradise" stories are available on the e-reader of your choice for the pittance of $2.99 each. If you don't think this is a great deal, I want you to smack yourself in the head right now. In fact, make it six times. One for each book. Now go out and buy 'em all before they wise up and raise the price.
On to the FPF review of Mangrove Squeeze.
We've got a sizable cast of characters running around town for this tropical adventure. There's Suki Sperakis, a wannabe journalist selling ad space in Key West's local fish wrap. Her love interest, Aaron Katz, and his senile dad, Sam, recently relocated from somewhere up north and are hellbent on restoring a rundown guest house. And we mustn't forget Pineapple and Fred, the "homeless" gents who actually do have a home of sorts, even if it is an abandoned weinermobile tossed into the mangrove swamps east of the airport. Then there's Bert the Shirt, a retired mobster down from New Yawk, and his arthritic chihuahua, Don Giovana.
Into this mess strides a handful of Russian mafia goons who own a bunch of t-shirt shops on Duval Street, retail establishments that are actually a front for other criminal enterprises: money laundering, stolen art, and plutonium smuggling. Wait, you're wondering what's so criminal about selling t-shirts on Duval Street? Obviously, you've never shopped there.
Though lesser known to the bestseller lists, Laurence Shames's tropical fiction should be held in the same high esteem reserved for other Florida writers with names like Hiaasen, Dorsey, and McDonald. To be more accurate, Shames is like Hiaasen without the potty mouth and over-the-top eccentricity, or maybe Elmore Leonard with a softer edge. What he does is write great ensemble books with a sense of humor set amidst the palms and gently lapping waves, and there ain't nothing wrong with that.
The plot? Standard stuff. Suki starts nosing around the Russian mob's illegitimate enterprise, only to be marked for death when they find out. While the bad guys scramble to cover their rear ends from the local authorities, Aaron, Sam, Bert, Fred, and Pineapple scramble to save the day.
Read very far into Mangrove Squeeze and you'll encounter the Shames penchant for writing dialogue in gangsterese. "Ya' got dat?" Trust me, in his capable hands this actually works quite well. If you haven't tried a Laurence Shames novel yet, what are you waiting for? An engraved invitation? Trust me, there aren't many writers around this good at sticking you smack dab into the essence of the Florida Keys and holding you there 'til you scream for mercy.
Well, in case you're the last to know, all six of Mr. Shames's "mafiosos' in paradise" stories are available on the e-reader of your choice for the pittance of $2.99 each. If you don't think this is a great deal, I want you to smack yourself in the head right now. In fact, make it six times. One for each book. Now go out and buy 'em all before they wise up and raise the price.
On to the FPF review of Mangrove Squeeze.
We've got a sizable cast of characters running around town for this tropical adventure. There's Suki Sperakis, a wannabe journalist selling ad space in Key West's local fish wrap. Her love interest, Aaron Katz, and his senile dad, Sam, recently relocated from somewhere up north and are hellbent on restoring a rundown guest house. And we mustn't forget Pineapple and Fred, the "homeless" gents who actually do have a home of sorts, even if it is an abandoned weinermobile tossed into the mangrove swamps east of the airport. Then there's Bert the Shirt, a retired mobster down from New Yawk, and his arthritic chihuahua, Don Giovana.
Into this mess strides a handful of Russian mafia goons who own a bunch of t-shirt shops on Duval Street, retail establishments that are actually a front for other criminal enterprises: money laundering, stolen art, and plutonium smuggling. Wait, you're wondering what's so criminal about selling t-shirts on Duval Street? Obviously, you've never shopped there.
Though lesser known to the bestseller lists, Laurence Shames's tropical fiction should be held in the same high esteem reserved for other Florida writers with names like Hiaasen, Dorsey, and McDonald. To be more accurate, Shames is like Hiaasen without the potty mouth and over-the-top eccentricity, or maybe Elmore Leonard with a softer edge. What he does is write great ensemble books with a sense of humor set amidst the palms and gently lapping waves, and there ain't nothing wrong with that.
The plot? Standard stuff. Suki starts nosing around the Russian mob's illegitimate enterprise, only to be marked for death when they find out. While the bad guys scramble to cover their rear ends from the local authorities, Aaron, Sam, Bert, Fred, and Pineapple scramble to save the day.
Read very far into Mangrove Squeeze and you'll encounter the Shames penchant for writing dialogue in gangsterese. "Ya' got dat?" Trust me, in his capable hands this actually works quite well. If you haven't tried a Laurence Shames novel yet, what are you waiting for? An engraved invitation? Trust me, there aren't many writers around this good at sticking you smack dab into the essence of the Florida Keys and holding you there 'til you scream for mercy.
April 22, 2018
Are the Russians who are paying exorbitant rent on Duval Street to run a t-shirt shop making money? Yes, since they are dealing in stolen art...and plutonium.
It's another funny ride through Key West with Laurence Shames' wonderfully descriptive writing and quirky characters. Bert the Shirt, an old mobster retired only because the Mafia thinks he's dead, returns with his constipated, moribund Chiahuahua, Don Giovanni to help three new characters escape the Russian Mafia (with a little help from vagabonds Fred and Pineapple who live inside a giant hot dog). It's great fun and I highly recommend the whole series!
It's another funny ride through Key West with Laurence Shames' wonderfully descriptive writing and quirky characters. Bert the Shirt, an old mobster retired only because the Mafia thinks he's dead, returns with his constipated, moribund Chiahuahua, Don Giovanni to help three new characters escape the Russian Mafia (with a little help from vagabonds Fred and Pineapple who live inside a giant hot dog). It's great fun and I highly recommend the whole series!
September 17, 2015
Lawrence Shames never writes as if he is concerned with the deep themes that define literary merit...but somehow he touches them in ways that many more pretentious writers never manage. He is a great story-teller whose characters ring real, for all that they occupy the roles normally reserved for cliches. I will read anything he writes unless and until he proves me wrong.
September 10, 2020
What a fun read, even if it's not the kind of writing I find moving or anything like that. I had never even heard of this series until a GR friend recommended a couple of these. This series doesn't follow the same characters so you can read it in any order, but it all centres in the same area.
We have a bevvy of characters, from a pair of men who can't truly be called homeless because they live in an abandoned hot dog very close to the end of an airport runway (used to be a portable hot dog stand), a former Wall Street exec and his memory-challenged dad who are trying to make a go of renovating a place for tourists, Suki and wanna-be investigative journalist who sells ads for a local free rat, a retired American mafia man and a few members of the Russian mafia. Yes, there is murder at some point of at least one person, and while we aren't kept in the dark about whodunnit, there is plenty of comedy-suspense, etc. It was a bit disconcerting at first to read about doing an internet search back in the late 1990s when it wasn't nearly as easy as it is now to figure out good search terms.
We have a bevvy of characters, from a pair of men who can't truly be called homeless because they live in an abandoned hot dog very close to the end of an airport runway (used to be a portable hot dog stand), a former Wall Street exec and his memory-challenged dad who are trying to make a go of renovating a place for tourists, Suki and wanna-be investigative journalist who sells ads for a local free rat, a retired American mafia man and a few members of the Russian mafia. Yes, there is murder at some point of at least one person, and while we aren't kept in the dark about whodunnit, there is plenty of comedy-suspense, etc. It was a bit disconcerting at first to read about doing an internet search back in the late 1990s when it wasn't nearly as easy as it is now to figure out good search terms.
Read
July 28, 2011I continue to enjoy author Shames' characters and his zaniness. This book - despite likeable characters named Katz took me 10 times the time to read it deserved, a sure sign it didn't 'have me'. The far too predictable plot had me coaching to the author to get to the finish line. A 30 minute sitcom disguised as a novel.
November 29, 2015
Beach book. Simple plot, executed well, a nice addition to the South Florida Wacko genre. As it takes place in Key West, it can also be a great February in Michigan book.
December 21, 2021
I really wish I'd never read any book by Laurence Shames because then I would have all of his books and be able to delightfully discover each and every one of them. Two of his characters - Bert the Shirt and Don Giovanni (Bert's chihuahua) are probably my favorite characters in literature. Mangrove Squeeze finds Aaron Katz who's trying to carve out a new life in Key West keeping a bed and breakfast alive. His training on Wall Street isn't serving him too well. Suki Sperakis is selling advertising for a weekly shopper and trying to get her life started. The Russian mafia has made Key West their new home. Everything collides in a wonderful story. Shames tells wonderful stories with wonderful characters and Mangrove Squeeze is one of his best.
March 28, 2020
I’m glad I discovered another writer of Florida crime novels. Apparently, this is the sixth book in the series. I hope to find and read them all.
The Russian mob is in the Conch Republic driving up rental prices in retail rental spaces with trashy T-shirt stores. When a curious advertising sales woman from the local newspaper gets suspicious about what is really happening, the bullets start to fly. Tom Clancy meet Carl Hiaasen in this fast-paced yet endearing read that captures the smell and humid feel of Key West while introducing us to some of the colorful characters attracted to this classics Key.
The Russian mob is in the Conch Republic driving up rental prices in retail rental spaces with trashy T-shirt stores. When a curious advertising sales woman from the local newspaper gets suspicious about what is really happening, the bullets start to fly. Tom Clancy meet Carl Hiaasen in this fast-paced yet endearing read that captures the smell and humid feel of Key West while introducing us to some of the colorful characters attracted to this classics Key.
August 13, 2018
If you have come across Shames' mysteries before, you know that characters from New Jersey will encounter the general Key West craziness. Bert the Shirt, retired Mafia, continues carrying around his elderly chihuahua and meets a new gin rummy partner. Quirky characters include Pineapple and Fred, who live in a hotdog, a former food stand made of fiberglass. The misfit band of good-hearted folks face off the Russian mafia and love unites the major characters. A great read.
December 30, 2019
Found on the Clip Jean gave me (last year?) and re-discovered 12/28. Had to start over and seemed to be some missing so checked it out of library. The edition was RBDigital/OneClick not listed on GR, with Richard Ferrone narrating. I'd listened to the first half but had to start over and finish from the library (same edition). Will look for more titles in the series. Read Shot on Location, also on Jean's Clip.
June 11, 2023
payback!
Now this book was fun! At first, coming off the last book in the series which was a chore, my hopes were low that Shames would redeem himself. But, lo and behold! Sukiyaki Sperakis, the Katzs’, Pineapple and Fred and the Russians. Good, escapist story, serious and not-so-serious parts, and an interesting change up to the story structure, “Fred, have you ever thought about…..”. Nice save, Shames! Nice save.
Now this book was fun! At first, coming off the last book in the series which was a chore, my hopes were low that Shames would redeem himself. But, lo and behold! Sukiyaki Sperakis, the Katzs’, Pineapple and Fred and the Russians. Good, escapist story, serious and not-so-serious parts, and an interesting change up to the story structure, “Fred, have you ever thought about…..”. Nice save, Shames! Nice save.
February 22, 2025
I really enjoyed this book in the series. Bert the shirt has a prominent role. He is a fave character. But I also really liked the other new characters in this story. I liked the romance in addition to the quirkiness and I could see some of the characters encoring in future novels. It is a cast of very likeable characters, which isn't always the case in Shames' stories. This book for me is probably the closest one so far to the first book, which I loved so much.
January 15, 2018
Wacky humor mystery set in Key West. For people who read Dave Barry, Carl Hiaasen and Tim Dorsey.
February 13, 2020
This book was just o.k. Enjoyable if you want to read something in the Key West genre but not a particularly inventive storyline although some of the characters were charming. I am not sure I would recommend this book but I might try another book by Laurence Shames as I do love Key West themed novels.
February 27, 2018
A reading palate cleansing light read. The Key West caper series are great vacation books. A four star enjoyable read but not a literary classic by any stretch. 3.75 overall star rating. Likable characters and plot.
December 23, 2018
Having fun with this series!
I love this author! His series is a fun easy read with an engaging crew of new and old characters. Already have the next two in the series. Have fun!
I love this author! His series is a fun easy read with an engaging crew of new and old characters. Already have the next two in the series. Have fun!
January 23, 2021
A hot dog, key west and intrigue
Set in key west its a fun read, ex mobsters, foreign mobsters, murder and more. Life in a hot dog couldn’t be better. Definity worth the time to read.
Set in key west its a fun read, ex mobsters, foreign mobsters, murder and more. Life in a hot dog couldn’t be better. Definity worth the time to read.
December 26, 2023
Piney and Fred: the real heroes
I liked the book’s length, about 300 pages. The satirical tongue-in-cheek tone brings contrasts with the true horror and depravity that happens. Piney and Fred become our grounding points that turn them into heroes.
I liked the book’s length, about 300 pages. The satirical tongue-in-cheek tone brings contrasts with the true horror and depravity that happens. Piney and Fred become our grounding points that turn them into heroes.
January 15, 2024
Interesting story
Coldwater meets Key West
Another post retirement complication for Bert the Shirt and Don Giovanni. My absolute two favorites. Have a glass of tea, nibble a sugar cube and ready Book 6.
Coldwater meets Key West
Another post retirement complication for Bert the Shirt and Don Giovanni. My absolute two favorites. Have a glass of tea, nibble a sugar cube and ready Book 6.
June 11, 2017
Fun read based in Key West. Quirky characters like I've come to expect in Florida.
February 23, 2018
Good just-for-fun read. Funny, engaging cast of characters and good story line. I also appreciate the author's restraint--he had several opportunities to get graphic, but kept it subtle.
June 13, 2019
Love his books!
June 29, 2019
4* Delightful. Easy to listen to. A "feel-good book," funny and entertaining. One of those books I will come back to when I need some chuckles and a lift.
Good one!
Good one!
July 26, 2019
Enjoyed the Key West setting.
July 26, 2020
Fun read
February 21, 2021
Another enjoyable Key West caper. Recurring character Bert the Shirt is always fun and the plot kept me engaged. Listened to the audio version which was narrated by Richard Ferrone.
April 13, 2021
Fantastic!. This is a love story first and foremost. I love the setting and the zany characters. The plot was a tiny bit weak but the rest of it makes up for it. I love these books!!
August 15, 2022
Why I like this series?
It's because nothing truly bad happens to the characters. I like happy ending and almost no death. It's just mostly fun.
It's because nothing truly bad happens to the characters. I like happy ending and almost no death. It's just mostly fun.
August 24, 2022
Loved it! A slow builder with great character structure. Captures the hot clamminess of Key West perfectly. Funny in parts and yet very believable. Couldn't put it down.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews