Scavenger Reef

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. They have too much to gain by his death. Since his demise, the price of his art is skyrocketing. If Augie isn't dead, he soon will be, if his money-hungry "friends" get their way. Listeners will delight in Richard Ferrone's narrative expertise as he perfectly captures the tongue-in-cheek humor, compelling characters, and snappy dialogue that have become the author's trademark. The combination of humor and suspense is irresistible.