Moist

Written by Mark Haskell Smith

Narrated by Peter Berkrot

What could cause Bob to give up his job at the Los Angeles pathology lab that demands so little of him, where he can play Tetris and Web surf whenever he wants? What could lead him to walk out on his beautiful girlfriend, who makes her living as a masturbation coach? What could make him risk everything and ultimately transform him into Roberto, a kingpin in the Los Angeles Mexican mafia? An erotic tattoo. But not just any naughty skin ink, the Mona Lisa of erotic tattoos, painted on a severed arm, which lands on Bob's desk one morning. Bob may have fallen for the woman in the tattoo, but he's not the only one who wants the arm. There's the telenovela-addicted mobster who lost it, the jefe who needs to keep it out of the clutches of the police, a backstabbing cannabis aficionado/Wharton MBA, and a wine snob LAPD detective who knows that the arm is the evidence he needs to bring down the entire Mexican mafia. "Dark and mordantly funny . . . a real machine-gun narrative-the man can tell a story, oh, yes, indeed." -T. C. Boyle "Smith's energetic thriller is an ode to the hard-boiled Los Angeles of Raymond Chandler and James Ellroy spun out in brighter-than-life Starburst colors."-The Los Angeles Times "Smith proves he knows how to get the adrenaline pumping. Fans of hiply skewed jackhammer action will appreciate this debut."-Publishers Weekly "The most bracing new voice since Carl Hiaasen!" -Max Allan Collins, author of Road to Perdition "Blending fresh characters, snappy patter, sex, a mind bender of a plot, and a little more sex, Smith has mixed up a killer cocktail of a first novel and given the LA crime scene a new paint job in the process. Buy this book, get your passport stamped, and spend a little time in Mr. Smith's world." -John Ridley

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 4, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490693934

Mark Haskell Smith

MARK HASKELL SMITH is the author of six novels with one-word titles including Moist, Salty, and Blown; as well as the non-fiction books Heart of Dankness: Underground Botanists, Outlaw Farmers, and the Race for the Cannabis Cup and Naked at Lunch: A Reluctant Nudist’s Adventures in the Clothing-Optional World. His work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Salon, Vulture, Alta, and Literary Hub. He is an associate professor in the MFA program for Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts at the University of California Riverside, Palm Desert Graduate Center.

Reviews for Moist

[ocgreg34 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

What do a severed, tattooed arm, a gang of drug smugglers, and a guy named Bob who works at a morgue have in common? Quite a bit, actually. In the novel "Moist", Bob comes across a lone severed arm in one of the body bags from the morning delivery. On its own, a severed arm isn't that big of a deal, but the woman appearing in a tattoo on said arm -- of a woman resembling Frida Kahlo -- piques his interest. The next day, while en route to deliver the severed arm to the police, Bob is whacked over the head and thrown into a trunk by members of a Los Angeles drug ring who want that severed arm. In the ensuing days, Bob changes from unwilling kidnap victim to the sidekick of leader of the drug ring.The story itself surprised me with just how funny it was. The characters each have a particular trait that the author plays up, and at first, I found it annoying. But as the story progresses, I liked that focus on one trait, like one of the meanest gang members making time to watch his "novelas", and seeing how it impacted the rest of the characters and the story itself. At times, I laughed out loud at this comedy of errors, shaking my head at the ridiculousness of the situations.Though I felt the ending was a bit too unrealistic, I still recommend "Moist" if you want a quick, fun read.

[trixieb_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was an entertaining read. The characters were hilarious and original, and the story moved along at a good pace. The only issue was the ending. Everything was building up to a huge confrontation, then it happened, then the story jumped into the future and told what happened to the characters, but seemed to skip over exactly how they got away from the confrontation. Overall I would recommend and I will look for other books from this author.

[theoclarke · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sharply comic thriller in which a slacker falls in love with a woman depicted in a tatoo on a severed arm that comes into his pathology lab. His absurd search for her leads him to the Mexican mafiosi of Los Angeles and ultimately to becoming one of the gang's leaders.