Willeford has long been considered the master of the Miami noir tale. He has a knack for creating some rather twisted characters with human foibles. The "Shark-Infested Custard" is a dip into the swinging singles scene of Miami in the early 1970's. The scene, at least to start, is a giant singles apartment complex - no families allowed. "They won't let two men share an apartment." But, the "rules are relaxed for women, and two women are allowed to share one apartment."

It's the perfect place for men on the prowl and there are so many stewardesses and nurses bunked up there that a guy can't help but score. This story is told from various points of view among four young men who have made their home in this complex- Larry Dolman the ex- cop, Hank Norton the pharmaceutical sales rep, Eddie Miller the pilot, and Don Luchessi, who sells silverware for an old British firm. They work as little as possible, spend hours at the pool, and on martinis. But, this is a Willeford novel, so there is a dark underside that pops up. It pops up when the men make a bet about whether Hank can pick up a broad at the toughest place in Miami- a drive-in theater since what woman would go there except on a date, and he comes out with a drug overdosing fourteen-year-old. And there are other hints that the dating scene might not be what the television shows make it out to be: when one of them finds a woman through a dating service and another walks out of a party with her, what could possibly happen except six frustrating weeks of dating and never getting very far and all of a sudden the irate husband shows up and starts shooting. Meanwhile, Don is locked into a marriage with a woman he can't stand and eventually he tries running off with his daughter and hiding out from the wife.

This isn't anything like the noir novels that made Willeford a cult favorite or the Hoke Mosley crime stories that made him famous towards the latter part of his career. But, there is something a little bit twisted and different about life in a Willeford novel and this isn't just a story about young men on the prowl or coming of age. The writing is smooth and professional and Willeford ropes the reader in pretty deeply before letting out hints that all might not be what it seems on the surface. Being young and single and successful might be something, but you also gotta know how to dispose of bodies, how to deal with sharpshooting irate husbands, and when to leave town.

So are the young men featured in the story the "sharks" swimming around in the custard? Or is their illusion of what life is the sweet sugary custard and the reality that they experience is a pool filled with sharks at every turn? It is easy to find them amoral hedonists, but they really don't go looking for trouble. It just sort of finds them. They are not really that much more predatory or cruel than most other people or are they? ( )

Four self-absorbed, womanizing, borderline sociopathic bachelors inhabit this novel. There's raunchy sexual content, burst of violence and sprinkles of racism. Set in the Miami of the 1970's which makes some details seem dated. Best enjoyed by middle-aged men and I get the sense that women will not find this novel cute, endearing or funny.

An oddly structured novel, with lots of descriptive filler as though the author just wanted to hit a word count; then again lots of authors seem to do that--which bugs me.

Didn't love it, didn't hate it. I really like the author but I think this is one of his weakest.
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Four guys who are drawn together because they live in a singles apartment complex in 1970's Miami, and the activities they share. These range from picking up broads, to covering up murder. A dark and twisted story told by and expert of the genre. ( )

This one fits right into Willeford's unique legacy. Published after his death, it was written some years earlier, apparently in the 70s, though a few of the references seem later. In any case, it is a depressing story of four men who, like the most memorable of the characters Willeford created, live in a universe they create for themselves, making up the rules as they go along. And it isn't a happy place. Perhaps because there are four characters whom we can find little sympathy for, rather than the usual solitary protagonist, this book is ultimately quite depressing. There is one scene with a father and his 10-year old daughter that is about the saddest thing I have ever read. As usual, Willeford declines to follow any sort of logical rules for how to write a story. Although the separate parts of the book all have rather compelling plot lines, Willeford throws in all sorts of opinions and the story sidetracks into all sorts of blind alleys. Nevertheless, this would be quite enjoyable if it weren't so depressing. The best I can say is that the four men in this book deserve each other. (And I do wish he had written the scene where the Weinsteins come home....) ( )

Okay, maybe this isn't a novel. It is a linked cycle of novellas . . . but it is better than the "novelized" version of the same stories (elsewhere in my library, but not near at hand, and I've forgotten its title). Amusing, urbane noir of the gutter-pulp variety. More fun than you think virtue would allow. ( )