Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Naked Detective

By: Laurence Shames
Narrated by: Ron McLarty
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.19

Buy for $17.19

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

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.” While soaking in his hot tub and rethinking his earlier tennis match, the inevitable blonde in distress comes calling, and Pete is reluctantly pulled into his first case. Feeling trapped by the conventions of detective stories, Pete stumbles his way through the Key West crime scene, hardly realizing the danger he’s in. The Naked Detective is vintage Shames—full of the biting wit, absurd scenarios, and quirky characters that recall his earlier works, such as Scavenger Reef and Mangrove Squeeze. Ron McLarty’s narration captures the off-beat, colorful island and its inhabitants and brings them fully to life.

©2000 Laurence Shames (P)2000 Recorded Books, LLC
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The Naked Detective

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    18
  • 4 Stars
    20
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    20
  • 4 Stars
    17
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    15
  • 4 Stars
    16
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Unusual for Shames: kinda boring.

This is Shames's last book in the Key West series, and he shoulda quit while he was ahead. The protagonist, Pete Amsterdam, is a reluctant detective, a reluctant lover, and generally a reluctant human being. He plays tennis with the most obnoxious character Shames has ever created. There are a couple of deaths, of course, but the solving of these crimes is slow and lugubrious. Shames just seems to have run out of steam. There is absolutely no humor or wit in the entire book. Shames's fans will be sorely disappointed, as his prior ability to create truly funny people and amusing situations has vanished. In its place is a vacuum, not to be too harsh about it. Certainly there is some good writing. The love affair between Pete and Maggie is tender and halting. Way too halting. There is a truly unbelievable so-called nymphomaniac. There is highly improbable digging in the ground, which Shames has described many times as hard coral, which fills up with liquid whenever you dig in it. There is a nifty funeral in which the dead man is hauled up about five stories into a family crypt, because you really can't bury a dead body in solid coral. Still, we are used to so much more from this writer. Don't go for it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Started out very good.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I thought it might be funny the way it started out but it turned out to be tedious and predictable.

What could Laurence Shames have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Wouldn't dream of telling a successful author what I think, He doesn't need me and doesn't care.

Which scene was your favorite?

The beginning

Do you think The Naked Detective needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Just don't care, I'm not buying it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Shames delivers again!

The continuing series of Key West Capers is sure to delight longtime Laurence Shames fans. Great story coupled with a top notch narrator was a pleasure from beginning to end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Delightful!

I love the author and narrator of this book. It was just a great story. I hope audible will put all Mr. Shames books on. I’m totally hooked!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful