interesting, funny and entertaing. great plot but slightly tasteless. ( )

I tried to read this book, but it just wasn't my type of book. I abandoned it after 53 pages.

Want a comfort read? Bahamarama is a summery romp between Florida and the Bahamas. Zack Chasteen, an ex-NFL player who was framed by smugglers and has just finished doing time as the book begins, is nevertheless a likeable sleuth with a delightful sense of humor. The supporting cast, especially Boggy, Pederson, and Nixon, are the kinds of people you run into in the Bahamas and Florida and nowhere else. Chasteen, just trying to get reunited with his sweetie, Barbara, after those two lonely years in the pen, encounters murderers, kidnappers, tourists, too much rum, palm trees, and a hurricane. When it's all sorted out, Zack turns the tables on the villains, and it's the bad guys' turn go to jail.

Okay, there are cliches and plot holes along the way. Okay, I figured out whodunit before the halfway point. But Bob Morris's voice is compelling and could only have come from a guy who has spent many years in Florida and loves the place very much. You will smell the coconut and conch, folks. I'm a native of South Florida. Bahamarama made me homesick for the steamy, thunderstormy east coast of Florida in August. ( )

First Zack Chasteen mystery set in Florida and the Bahamas. What a great book to start the year! We meet Zack as he is being released from prison, having spent better than 18 months there for smuggling and counterfeiting, while Zack assures us he’s innocent. Still, trouble haunts him from the moment he steps outside the prison walls. Well-written, easy reading, just the right amount of humor. I lived in Florida for 2 years and hated it, but the author’s obvious love for the state shines through and almost makes me want to go back. Maybe just for a week’s vacation. Well done! ( )