"Three Books ..." is a series in which we invite writers to recommend three great reads on a single theme.

I know exactly when I caught South Beach fever: It was 1984, and Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas were starring in a new TV show called Miami Vice. I was hooked.

Flash forward to the present day: Writers love South Beach because the milieu is hip, edgy and filled with possibilities for compelling plots and outrageous characters. If Paris is a movable feast, then South Beach is an all-night party. Mix one part Art Deco, one part Cubanita culture, one part surreal fantasy — and you've got a book.

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