Welcome to Paradise: A Novel

Laurence Shames, whom the Chicago Tribune calls "one of our best crime fiction writers," is back. This time he brings us a hilarious novel of mistaken identity and tropical crime that proves that while we all love the idea of a vacation, the truth is we often end up wishing we'd stayed home.

For Alan Tuschman--mild-mannered furniture salesman from New Jersey, a man without an enemy--a vacation in Key West turns out to be not paradise but a hell of bizarre assaults on him, his property, and his sanity. Why? It might have something to do with the nickname emblazoned on his license plate.

For Big Al Marracotta--Mafia capo and boss of New York's Fulton Fish Market--vacation is the time when a long career of crime and rancid sea-food finally threatens to catch up with him.

And for lissome Katy Sansone, who is seeking no more than some sunshine and a little self-respect, Key West serves up a bafflement of Als, and way more danger than she'd packed for.

Rich in the loopy insights and surprising tenderness that have become Shames's hallmarks, Welcome to Paradise is his best novel yet.