Rating: 
Summary: Raymond Chandler meets Woody Allen meets the Coen brothers
Review: The first thing I'd like to say about Naked Detective is that I had a great time writing it. After twenty years of avoiding first-person, and seven previous Key West novels in which I steered clear of a sleuth, I found myself tickled silly to be writing a first-person sleuth book. Not that Pete Amsterdam is much of a detective. In fact, he's a lot like me; he's basically chicken, and when it comes to solving murders, he'd rather be playing tennis or sipping wine. And yet the story overtakes him--as it overtook me, too. In a way that some folks might call postmodern, the demands and conventions of the mystery tale get tangled up with life itself, and Pete truly has no choice except to muddle through to the only kind of heroism that means anything to me--the heroism of an ordinary person reaching deeper than he thought he could. Oh, and by the way, there's a sweet love story with a gorgeous yoga teacher.And, oh yeah, I happen to think it's a pretty funny book.
Rating: 
Summary: Where Did Laurence Shames Go?
Review: The Naked Detective is a decent book to read if you have never read any previous books by Laurence Shames. If you are a follower of LS (as I am), this book is marginal at best. The characters just seemed to exist. I never fell in love with any other them, except for the tennis playing cab driver. The first chapter or two was written in his usual entertaining style, but then something went very wrong. Laurence Shames seemed to disappear. I hope that "The Naked Detective" is not a preview for his future works. I will patiently await LS's next book in the hope that he will once again write as brilliantly as he did in his other books.
Rating:
Summary: Where Did Laurence Shames Go?
Review: The Naked Detective is a decent book to read if you have never read any previous books by Laurence Shames. If you are a follower of LS (as I am), this book is marginal at best. The characters just seemed to exist. I never fell in love with any other them, except for the tennis playing cab driver. The first chapter or two was written in his usual entertaining style, but then something went very wrong. Laurence Shames seemed to disappear. I hope that "The Naked Detective" is not a preview for his future works. I will patiently await LS's next book in the hope that he will once again write as brilliantly as he did in his other books.
Rating: 
Summary: The Naked Detective is a well-dressed mystery!
Review: The name's Amsterdam. Pete Amsterdam. A tough no-nonsense Key West private eye solving cases with style and ease like a modern day Philip Marlow. Yeah, right. A wacky caper that could only have been dreamed up by Laurence Shames, The Naked Detective is the story of a reluctant gumshoe who would rather be drinking wine naked in his hot tub instead of trying to solve a puzzling murder mystery. Pete Amsterdam never wanted to be a private eye. He only opened Southernmost Detection on the advice from his accountant. A write-off. A legitimate tax dodge. Butt naked in his hot tub, Pete is approached by a woman (who turns out to be a man) looking to hire a detective. Amsterdam declines to take the case and the next day, the would-be client turns up dead on Sunset Key. Coincidence? Pete decides to investigate and find out for himself. The results are both amusing and intriguing. A fast moving mystery that will keep you guessing whodunit up until the very end. Laurence Shames has a knack for making the reader feel like he's in the middle of the action. It's not as good as some of his previous books, but an enjoyable read nonetheless. I am anxiously waiting for the day when he writes a Key West novel featuring all of his memorable characters (Charlie Pont, Bert the Shirt, Ziggy Maxx, Tommy Tarpon, Arty Magnus, Joey Goldman, Sukie Sperakis, etc.) Wouldn't that be a hoot?
Rating: 
Summary: Not Awful, Not Special, Just OK.
Review: The reluctant hero gets a whole twist in this lightweight Key West romp, in which retired 47-year old Pete Amsterdam is dragged from the comforts of his hot tub, wine cellar, and regular tennis game by a bartender hiding out from a local Mafia type. Pete is technically a detective, but only on the advice of his accountant, who was looking for a way to write off the wine cellar as a business expense. In this homage to (or spoof of?) classic detective tales, Pete is soon embroiled in a number of PI tropes, a sexy femme fatale, a mysterious missing package everyone's looking for, and a dame he's not sure he can trust. For the first half it's a pretty fun little romp, moving quickly along. Somewhere around the middle though, things started to bog down a little and drag, but it's still decent beach reading. As with other Florida writers like Carl Hiassen, there's some clear criticism of South Florida development as well. Not awful, but not special.
Rating: 
Summary: Lackluster
Review: This is a very weak book by a writer who knows better. I laughed out loud at Shames' first novel, and chuckled at the second and third. Now, by the time THE NAKED DETECTIVE has rolled around, he's out of jokes and ideas. It should be said that the first-person detective tale is not something every writer can pull off - and the first-person detective novel with humor is very dicey - especially when Rober Parker is out there for comparison. But Shames didn't even seem to try with this one. And despite the promo push the publisher is giving it, I'd recommend you stay away.
Rating:
Summary: Okay, but not great.
Review: This was a good read, but lacked the zaniness of earlier Shames books. Not up to his usual standards. It seemed tired and formulaic.
Rating:
Summary: a major disappointment
Review: when i heard laurence shames had a new book out- i made haste to get it. I had read all of his previous books and loved them for their quick diologue and original and diverse characters. i assumed Naked Detective would have more of the same- and discovered it had none of that- the entire book has about 4 characters- and with the exception of a cap driver/tennis bum- all are totally bland and forgetable. It seems like mr shames rushed this one off the fullfill a publishing contract- it is a very very slow moving book- with main characters who are wooden and artificial- it is hard to believe that the same man who created "bert the shirt" could paint in such tiresome colors. I sincerely pray this will be the only shames book with pete amsterdam- but like another Lawrence- Sanders- i fear once an auther has sucess- and an easy tiresome formula- IE- the McNally books- they never are able to recapture their past glory- To me this book is a cop-out- a quickie which tricks mr shames loyal readers into thinking they are in store for more of the wonderful same- yet to get though this book is a real trial..it is that boring and humdrum
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