One Big Joke
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Nacho Unleashed
- Key West Capers, Book 14
- By: Laurence Shames
- Narrated by: Jem Matzan
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 13
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 13
Key West has a new hero. He weighs four pounds and stands eight inches off the ground. His name is Nacho and he’s the bravest, shrewdest, funniest Chihuahua you will ever meet. He’ll do anything to help his master, the retired mafioso Bert the Shirt, and his friends - especially the beautiful Rita, with whom Nacho is smitten from the very first time she reaches down to scratch his ears.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Laugh Out Loud Fun
- By Holly Roberts on 04-22-20
By: Laurence Shames
-
One Strange Date
- Key West Capers, Book 12
- By: Laurence Shames
- Narrated by: Jem Matzan
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 23
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 21
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 21
Meet Key West native Renita Daughtry - 22, wide-eyed, gorgeous, and very much in love with love. In other words, an irresistible target for professional impostor and pathological liar Richie Pestucci, who plans to charm her into utter helplessness. But there's just one problem. Renita's seeming naiveté masks a lot of savvy and a will of velvet-coated steel, and it isn't long before Richie, now smitten with his intended victim, starts to wonder just who is gaming who.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
A fun story with great narration!
- By Jennifer on 04-26-17
By: Laurence Shames
-
Key West Luck
- Key West, Volume 11
- By: Laurence Shames
- Narrated by: Jem Matzan
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 34
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 31
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 31
Phoebe has a dream - a very modest dream. She wants to own a Sno-Cone truck at the beach in Key West. Nicky, her would-be boyfriend, also dreams small. All he wants is a decent gig as a guitar player in a bar. Doesn't seem like too much to ask of life, does it? So why do things keep going so dreadfully wrong for Phoebe and Nicky? Is it just plain bad luck? Or is it the decidedly bad intentions of a sleazy local cheat, a Miami gangster desperate to stay in business, and a murderous Cuban smuggler looking for a fall guy?
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5 out of 5 stars
-
entertaining and fun
- By C. Unger on 09-29-17
By: Laurence Shames
-
Tropical Swap
- Key West Capers, Book 10
- By: Laurence Shames
- Narrated by: Jem Matzan
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 30
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 25
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 25
Wanted: NY apartment in exchange for a great Key West house with swimming pool. In February. Who wouldn't take a swap like that? Then again, if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is, as Meg and Peter Kaplan soon discover. Heading south for a supposed dream vacation, what they find instead is a panic attack waiting to happen. Coconuts crash through windows, bearing cryptic death threats.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic combination of Story and Narrator
- By Stephen Campbell on 09-14-16
By: Laurence Shames
-
The Paradise Gig
- Key West Capers, Book 15
- By: Laurence Shames
- Narrated by: Paul Burt
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 11
Fact: In September 1964, the Beatles, their private flight diverted by Hurricane Dora, made an unplanned visit to Key West. Fiction: Poolside at their motel, the Fab Four fell into conversation with a snappy-dressing local named Bert the Shirt, who listened as the band worked out a harmony to the most beautiful song he’d ever heard...and wouldn’t hear again for over half a century.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
So cute... can you say cute about a mystery?
- By Shanna Tidwell on 06-08-20
By: Laurence Shames
-
Virgin Heat
- Key West Capers, Book 5
- By: Laurence Shames
- Narrated by: Jem Matzan
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 18
Which is more powerful: romance or revenge? Mafia princess Angelina Amaro has only ever loved one man - and even that lone affair was never consummated. Why not? Because her would-be lover, Sal Martucci, fled into the Witness Protection Program after ratting out Big Paul, Angelina's father. But when Sal is discovered, a decade later, working as a bartender in Key West, the wildly dysfunctional Amaro clan heads south - one member with love on her mind, the others with murder in their hearts.
By: Laurence Shames
-
Nacho Unleashed
- Key West Capers, Book 14
- By: Laurence Shames
- Narrated by: Jem Matzan
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 13
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 13
Key West has a new hero. He weighs four pounds and stands eight inches off the ground. His name is Nacho and he’s the bravest, shrewdest, funniest Chihuahua you will ever meet. He’ll do anything to help his master, the retired mafioso Bert the Shirt, and his friends - especially the beautiful Rita, with whom Nacho is smitten from the very first time she reaches down to scratch his ears.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Laugh Out Loud Fun
- By Holly Roberts on 04-22-20
By: Laurence Shames
-
One Strange Date
- Key West Capers, Book 12
- By: Laurence Shames
- Narrated by: Jem Matzan
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 23
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 21
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 21
Meet Key West native Renita Daughtry - 22, wide-eyed, gorgeous, and very much in love with love. In other words, an irresistible target for professional impostor and pathological liar Richie Pestucci, who plans to charm her into utter helplessness. But there's just one problem. Renita's seeming naiveté masks a lot of savvy and a will of velvet-coated steel, and it isn't long before Richie, now smitten with his intended victim, starts to wonder just who is gaming who.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A fun story with great narration!
- By Jennifer on 04-26-17
By: Laurence Shames
-
Key West Luck
- Key West, Volume 11
- By: Laurence Shames
- Narrated by: Jem Matzan
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 34
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 31
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 31
Phoebe has a dream - a very modest dream. She wants to own a Sno-Cone truck at the beach in Key West. Nicky, her would-be boyfriend, also dreams small. All he wants is a decent gig as a guitar player in a bar. Doesn't seem like too much to ask of life, does it? So why do things keep going so dreadfully wrong for Phoebe and Nicky? Is it just plain bad luck? Or is it the decidedly bad intentions of a sleazy local cheat, a Miami gangster desperate to stay in business, and a murderous Cuban smuggler looking for a fall guy?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
entertaining and fun
- By C. Unger on 09-29-17
By: Laurence Shames
-
Tropical Swap
- Key West Capers, Book 10
- By: Laurence Shames
- Narrated by: Jem Matzan
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 30
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 25
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 25
Wanted: NY apartment in exchange for a great Key West house with swimming pool. In February. Who wouldn't take a swap like that? Then again, if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is, as Meg and Peter Kaplan soon discover. Heading south for a supposed dream vacation, what they find instead is a panic attack waiting to happen. Coconuts crash through windows, bearing cryptic death threats.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic combination of Story and Narrator
- By Stephen Campbell on 09-14-16
By: Laurence Shames
-
The Paradise Gig
- Key West Capers, Book 15
- By: Laurence Shames
- Narrated by: Paul Burt
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 11
Fact: In September 1964, the Beatles, their private flight diverted by Hurricane Dora, made an unplanned visit to Key West. Fiction: Poolside at their motel, the Fab Four fell into conversation with a snappy-dressing local named Bert the Shirt, who listened as the band worked out a harmony to the most beautiful song he’d ever heard...and wouldn’t hear again for over half a century.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
So cute... can you say cute about a mystery?
- By Shanna Tidwell on 06-08-20
By: Laurence Shames
-
Virgin Heat
- Key West Capers, Book 5
- By: Laurence Shames
- Narrated by: Jem Matzan
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 18
Which is more powerful: romance or revenge? Mafia princess Angelina Amaro has only ever loved one man - and even that lone affair was never consummated. Why not? Because her would-be lover, Sal Martucci, fled into the Witness Protection Program after ratting out Big Paul, Angelina's father. But when Sal is discovered, a decade later, working as a bartender in Key West, the wildly dysfunctional Amaro clan heads south - one member with love on her mind, the others with murder in their hearts.
By: Laurence Shames
-
Tropical Depression
- Key West Capers, Book 4
- By: Laurence Shames
- Narrated by: Jem Matzan
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 36
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
When Murray Zemelman, a.k.a. The Bra King, pops another Prozac and heads to the Keys, he has nothing much in mind beyond a quixotic hope of winning back his first wife, Franny, whom he dumped years before. But when he forms an unlikely friendship with Tommy Tarpon, the last remaining member of an obscure Indian tribe, another plan also starts shaping up in his fevered brain. Why not open up Key West's first casino?
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5 out of 5 stars
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tropical depression
- By Linda D. on 06-25-19
By: Laurence Shames
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The Naked Detective
- By: Laurence Shames
- Narrated by: Ron McLarty
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 31
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 31
Popular crime novelist Laurence Shames consistently draws favorable comparisons to Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen. In his Key West tales, Shames paints vivid, hilarious portraits of the sun-splashed “paradise” he calls home. The retired Pete Amsterdam isn’t really a private investigator. But he has a license, a gun, and a listing in the phone book—all so he can write-off his wine cellar as an “office.”
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3 out of 5 stars
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Unusual for Shames: kinda boring.
- By Richard Delman on 06-27-12
By: Laurence Shames
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Welcome to Paradise
- A Novel
- By: Laurence Shames
- Narrated by: Ron McLarty
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 47
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 42
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Story4 out of 5 stars 41
When Al Marracotta, Mafia boss, takes a week’s vacation in Key West, he looks forward to days of sun, sex, and seafood. Alan Tuschman, New Jersey furniture salesman, is a reluctant tourist. He has won a week in Key West for his sales record. But they have something in common: vanity license plates that read BIG AL. So when two goons are sent to ruin Big Al’s vacation, it’s not long before they target the wrong guy. Between the frustrated henchmen and the baffled Als, each chapter grows loonier than the last. And with the addition of a romantic wild card, the tough guys’ schemes are tempered....
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4 out of 5 stars
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Not his absolute best, but great anyway.
- By Richard Delman on 06-12-12
By: Laurence Shames
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Mangrove Squeeze
- By: Laurence Shames
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 84
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
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Story4 out of 5 stars 75
Laurence Shames’ funny, elegantly written, and hip thrillers have topped best-seller lists across the country, and earned him a leading role as a writer of “Florida noir” with Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen. When Island Frigate advertising rep Suki Sperakis decides to write an exposé on the Key West black market, she is strangled and left for dead in the trunk of a car sinking slowly into the Gulf of Mexico.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wise, endearing and incredibly funny.
- By Richard Delman on 06-07-12
By: Laurence Shames
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Sunburn
- By: Laurence Shames
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 82
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
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Story4 out of 5 stars 71
Listeners across the country have fallen in love with Laurence Shames’ rollicking national best-sellers set in South Florida. Energetic, forceful and unpredictable as a hurricane, Sunburn is filled with off-beat characters, top-notch suspense, and colorful dialogue. When aging Mafia godfather Vincente Delgatto flies to Key West to get a little sun, he decides to write his memoirs.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Still waiting for a laugh
- By C. Byrd on 08-16-13
By: Laurence Shames
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Scavenger Reef
- By: Laurence Shames
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 69
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 59
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Story4 out of 5 stars 60
On best-seller lists all over the country with his witty cynicism and delightfully dark humor, Laurence Shames writes thrillers that his fans endearingly classify as great “Florida noir.” In the tradition of Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen, he gives character to the inhabitants of Florida’s steamy underbelly. Artist Augie Silver’s friends are ostensibly grief-stricken when he drowns in a shipwreck off Scavenger Reef, but most of them are nervous because his body wasn’t found.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Shames's best work: articulate, warm, witty.
- By Richard Delman on 06-16-12
By: Laurence Shames
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Rising Warrior (A Jesse McDermitt Novel)
- Caribbean Adventure Series, Book 18
- By: Wayne Stinnett
- Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 44
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 42
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Story5 out of 5 stars 42
After returning home to the Florida Keys, Jesse moves on to Fort Myers, his hometown on the Southwest Florida coast. There is much work to be done, and Jesse is no stranger to hard work. On a kayak outing with friends, Jesse's daughter finds and rescues a manatee suffering from respiratory problems. The red tide has returned and fish are dying by the thousands, along with dolphins, manatees, and sea birds. The algal bloom is a naturally occurring phenomenon, but this time it's much worse.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Love this series!
- By shelley on 09-01-20
By: Wayne Stinnett
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Florida Straits
- A Key West Mystery, Book 1
- By: Laurence Shames
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 130
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 114
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Story4 out of 5 stars 114
In the grand tradition of Elmore Leonard, Laurence Shames creates an outrageous heavyweight thriller that’s heavy on atmosphere and action. Joey Goldman is a low-level New York hustler. He’s taking a working vacation in South Florida and looking to score big with a time-share scam. His half brother Gino Delgatto is a man in need of a fall guy. When they meet in Key West, the term dysfunctional family takes on a new meaning. Will one of them succeed? Or will the Miami mob find an eye-popping way to dispose of them both?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Florida Funny
- By stephen on 08-20-16
By: Laurence Shames
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Squeeze Me
- A Novel
- By: Carl Hiaasen
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,010
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 915
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 916
It's the height of the Palm Beach charity ball season: For every disease or cause, there's a reason for the local luminaries to eat (minimally), drink (maximally), and be seen. But when a prominent high-society dowager suddenly vanishes during a swank gala, and is later found dead in a concrete grave, panic and chaos erupt. Kiki Pew was notable not just for her wealth and her jewels - she was an ardent fan of the Winter White House resident just down the road, and a founding member of the POTUSSIES, a group of women dedicated to supporting their President.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Political Bile Instead of Wit
- By Marian on 08-25-20
By: Carl Hiaasen
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Naked Came the Florida Man
- A Novel
- By: Tim Dorsey
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 281
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 250
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 248
Though another devastating hurricane is raking Florida, its awesome power can’t stop the Sunshine State’s most loyal son, Serge A. Storms, from his latest scenic road trip: a cemetery tour. With his best bro Colman riding shotgun, Serge hits the highway in his ’69 gold Plymouth Satellite, putting pedal to the metal on a grand tour of the past.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Horrible beyond words
- By Patrick Weldon on 01-30-20
By: Tim Dorsey
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Bombshell
- A Teddy Fay Novel, Book 4
- By: Stuart Woods, Parnell Hall
- Narrated by: Tony Roberts
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 238
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 209
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 207
Teddy Fay is back in Hollywood and caught in two tricky situations. First, a rising star at Centurion becomes the target of malicious gossip, and Teddy must find and neutralize the source before the situation gets out of hand - or becomes violent. At the same time, Teddy finds himself targeted by a criminal thug bearing a grudge. It's a lot of knives to juggle, even for a former-CIA-operative-turned-movie-producer accustomed to hazardous working conditions.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Much ado about nothing
- By David S Stanley Jr. on 06-02-20
By: Stuart Woods, and others
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No Sunscreen for the Dead
- A Novel
- By: Tim Dorsey
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 407
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 366
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 364
Serge and Coleman are back on the road, ready to hit the next stop on their list of obscure and wacky points of interest in the Sunshine State. This time, Serge’s interest is drawn to one of the largest retirement villages in the world - also known as the site of an infamous sex scandal between a retiree and her younger beau. What starts out as an innocent quest to observe elders in their natural habitats, sample the local cuisine, and scope out a condo to live out the rest of their golden years soon becomes a Robin Hood-like crusade to recover the funds of swindled residents.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Another of the Most Fortuitous Combinations of Story and Narrator
- By G. Jefford on 07-08-19
By: Tim Dorsey
Publisher's Summary
“What is with you lately?” Lenny’s wife would like to know. “You’ve been acting like everything is one big joke.”
And it’s true - unemployed TV writer Lenny Sullivan has been having trouble seeing his life and times as anything more than fodder for edgy wisecracks. But when he bolts to Key West to refresh his lighter side, things suddenly turn serious. Well, sort of serious. A bullying businessman in league with a pair of bumbling mobsters is plotting to burn down his best friend’s struggling comedy club. The pill-popping star of his last best chance at a hit show is under a death threat from a very sore loser in a love triangle. And Lenny’s staunchest ally in the fight to keep the club, the star, and the laughs alive happens to be a 90-something named Bert the Shirt. Fortunately, Bert has a soft spot for comedians and is the savviest if not the most grammatical guy in town....
Deftly balancing suspense and humor, mayhem and romance, Key West color and showbiz glitz, One Big Joke uproariously entertains while making a sly but impassioned argument for the saving grace of comedy in tough times.
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What listeners say about One Big Joke
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Pale Fire Press
- 02-19-18
Shames Just Gets Better!
Any additional comments?
A profoundly hilarious audiobook brimming with all the things Laurence Shames fans have come to expect—a deftly crafted story, achingly human characters, and boatloads of Key West charm.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- L. Satterfield
- 03-23-18
Love Laurence Shames (& Burt the Shirt of course!)
eat author. Something for everybody from mob bosses to Chihuahua lovers to strong women finding their strides. I hope Larry never stops telling these wonderful stories because I enjoy them so very much.
2 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 09-14-18
very shameful, Mr. Shames
I will never buy another one of Laurence Shames books. Too bad you had to bash our president. MAGA!