Every fan of the Florida genre knows the names MacDonald, Hiaasen, Dorsey, Leonard, and White. But what about the second tier of writers, those with just as much skill in spinning a yarn of madcap tropical adventure, but who have yet to find the massive sales figures of the aforementioned group? Don't they deserve some love too? Need more Florida writers? Here's what you can do once you've blasted through all the books from the giants.
1. Laurence Shames - Not sure what has happened to Mr. Shames lately, but his mid to late 1990's output of books like Mangrove Squeeze, Florida Straits, Scavenger Reef, etc, staked out a hilarious New York Mafioso/Key West connection. If you haven't turned over the right rock and found this Florida writer, do yourself a favor. Pronto.
2. James W. Hall - While it's true Mr. Hall sells plenty of books based around his character of Thorn living in Key Largo, his name doesn't drip as easily from the lips of readers as, say, Carl Hiaasen. We aim to remedy that situation. Hall's prose comes as close to literary as it gets in this genre. Not as lighthearted as Hiaasen and Dorsey, Thorn is a fictional character more reminiscent of Travis McGee or Doc Ford.
3. Paul Levine - For a couple of decades, a gent by the name of Paul Levine has been releasing books starring ex-pro football player turned lawyer, Jake Lassiter. Though some reviewers like to compare the central character to Travis McGee, don't go in thinking that because it is simply inaccurate. Still, there's a lot in here to like, and being compared to the big guy aboard the Busted Flush sure ain't a bad thing.
4. Don Bruns - With a couple different series of books cooking along, Don Bruns passes his time bopping around Florida and the Caribbean, playing music, and winning mystery awards. His original cast is led by rock reporter, Mick Sever. A second series begun in 2007 features Skip and James, amateur sleuths seeking to pay off student loan debt with a lunch wagon. Umm, okay. In any event, Bruns is a hot Florida writer headed nowhere but up.
There are more Florida writers lurking under palm trees out there but we're not going to do all the work for you. Okay, here's a bonus Florida writer you might have heard of. Jimmy Buffett. No, really. Famous for an entire genre of music, Mr. Buffet sits down every few years and pens a pretty decent novel. For a starting point, we suggest Where is Joe Merchant?