Bob Morris

Want a comfort read? Bahamarama is a summery romp between Florida and the Bahamas. Zack Chasteen, an ex-NFL player who was framed by smugglers and has just finished doing time as the book begins, is nevertheless a likeable sleuth with a delightful sense of humor. The supporting cast, especially Boggy, Pederson, and Nixon, are the kinds of people you run into in the Bahamas and Florida and nowhere else. Chasteen, just trying to get reunited with his sweetie, Barbara, after those two lonely show more years in the pen, encounters murderers, kidnappers, tourists, too much rum, palm trees, and a hurricane. When it's all sorted out, Zack turns the tables on the villains, and it's the bad guys' turn go to jail.

Okay, there are cliches and plot holes along the way. Okay, I figured out whodunit before the halfway point. But Bob Morris's voice is compelling and could only have come from a guy who has spent many years in Florida and loves the place very much. You will smell the coconut and conch, folks. I'm a native of South Florida. Bahamarama made me homesick for the steamy, thunderstormy east coast of Florida in August. show less

After a long and debilitating disease takes Ethel Morris' life, her husband Joe, at 80 years old, is eager to date again only a few months later. He enlists his son Bob, this book's author, to help him by calling personals for him and listening to his dating trials. Meanwhile, Bob is having dating woes of his own. (And don’t be followed by the book’s subtitle – the only thing that resembles a double date in this book comes in the last 20 pages.) This premise is only so-so and the show more writing style doesn't make up for it. In particular, the metaphoric language is often just ridiculous – for example, “The surf is so picturesque today – 2 percent-skim foam waves are frothing against wheat-toast sand.” Cringe. The author is whiny and self-absorbed, coming across as a petulant teenager despite being 40. He (and to some extent his father) remind me of the characters in the television series Seinfeld - not the best pick of the bunch themselves but seemingly incapable of accepting other people, instead favoring nitpicking to find things wrong with their potential girlfriends and boyfriends. The book is marketed as being funny, but mostly I found the author to be too superficial for me to care about his so-called witty opinions. However, the book did on some level raise some big questions about the nature of parent-child relationships so I appreciated that. Also, the book is a light read, quite easily finished in a few sittings. Overall, however, I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it. show less

First Zack Chasteen mystery set in Florida and the Bahamas. What a great book to start the year! We meet Zack as he is being released from prison, having spent better than 18 months there for smuggling and counterfeiting, while Zack assures us he’s innocent. Still, trouble haunts him from the moment he steps outside the prison walls. Well-written, easy reading, just the right amount of humor. I lived in Florida for 2 years and hated it, but the author’s obvious love for the state shines show more through and almost makes me want to go back. Maybe just for a week’s vacation. Well done! show less

helping 80 year old Dad find dates. Memoir by a pathetic, insecure, self absorbed whiner evolves into a touching story of love between Father and Son. Really glad I stayed with it beyond the offputting first one third.