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Serge Storms #9
Hurricane Punch
Welcome to another typical summer in Florida, the season of the storms. Serge storms.
That lovable, under-undermedicated dispenser of truth, justice, and trivia is back with a vengeance. And not a weirdness-laced moment too soon.
His cherished home state is about to take a beating, and from far more than the way-too-routine conga line of hurricanes bearing down on the peninsula. Bodies have begun turning up at a disturbing rate, even for Florida, and it looks like a brutal serial killer is on the loose, which highly offends Serge's moral sensibilities and he vows to stop at nothing in his juggernaut to make All Things Right . . . except if he gets bored or distracted by a cool souvenir or . . . or a . . . whatever.
But his path won't be obstacle free.
Agent Mahoney has picked up the scent. The obsessive criminal profiler—just released from a mental hospital where he'd been sent for getting too deep inside Serge's head—is convinced there is no second killer. Serge's personality is simply splitting from decades of burning with incandescent zest for everything under the sun. Then there's Coleman, whose triathlete approach to the sport of polyabuse binging just might derail the mission more than the entire police community put together.
The pace picks up. Winds howl, TV reporters fly around the beach, the Party Parrot parties on, and questions Who's stalking Tampa Bay's most sensitive journalist? Did Tom Cruise go too easy on Matt Lauer? Do multiple orgasms improve storm tracking? Why is the feeding-tube guy so quiet? Will Molly ruin our antihero's dreams of playing the electric guitar better than Clapton? . . . All of which ultimately leads to the most pressing question on everyone's new-millennium
What would Serge do?
That lovable, under-undermedicated dispenser of truth, justice, and trivia is back with a vengeance. And not a weirdness-laced moment too soon.
His cherished home state is about to take a beating, and from far more than the way-too-routine conga line of hurricanes bearing down on the peninsula. Bodies have begun turning up at a disturbing rate, even for Florida, and it looks like a brutal serial killer is on the loose, which highly offends Serge's moral sensibilities and he vows to stop at nothing in his juggernaut to make All Things Right . . . except if he gets bored or distracted by a cool souvenir or . . . or a . . . whatever.
But his path won't be obstacle free.
Agent Mahoney has picked up the scent. The obsessive criminal profiler—just released from a mental hospital where he'd been sent for getting too deep inside Serge's head—is convinced there is no second killer. Serge's personality is simply splitting from decades of burning with incandescent zest for everything under the sun. Then there's Coleman, whose triathlete approach to the sport of polyabuse binging just might derail the mission more than the entire police community put together.
The pace picks up. Winds howl, TV reporters fly around the beach, the Party Parrot parties on, and questions Who's stalking Tampa Bay's most sensitive journalist? Did Tom Cruise go too easy on Matt Lauer? Do multiple orgasms improve storm tracking? Why is the feeding-tube guy so quiet? Will Molly ruin our antihero's dreams of playing the electric guitar better than Clapton? . . . All of which ultimately leads to the most pressing question on everyone's new-millennium
What would Serge do?
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 23, 2007
About the author
Tim Dorsey
38 books1,700 followersTim Dorsey was born in Indiana, moved to Florida at the age of 1, and grew up in a small town about an hour north of Miami called Riviera Beach. He graduated from Auburn University in 1983. While at Auburn, he was editor of the student newspaper, The Plainsman.
From 1983 to 1987, he was a police and courts reporter for The Alabama Journal, the now-defunct evening newspaper in Montgomery. He joined The Tampa Tribune in 1987 as a general assignment reporter. He also worked as a political reporter in the Tribune’s Tallahassee bureau and a copy desk editor. From 1994 to 1999, he was the Tribune’s night metro editor. He left the paper in August 1999 to write full time.
From 1983 to 1987, he was a police and courts reporter for The Alabama Journal, the now-defunct evening newspaper in Montgomery. He joined The Tampa Tribune in 1987 as a general assignment reporter. He also worked as a political reporter in the Tribune’s Tallahassee bureau and a copy desk editor. From 1994 to 1999, he was the Tribune’s night metro editor. He left the paper in August 1999 to write full time.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 265 reviews
April 15, 2008
I've read a few of this author's books and they never fail to amuse. I think of him as a Carl Hiaasen (one of my favorite authors) on crack. His characters are just plain zany and the events chaotic. Amusing, but not for delicate readers.
May 9, 2008
Had to drop everything I was reading a few days ago when I realized that Tim Dorsey had a new book out. He's kind of a guilty pleasure of mine - one on the few authors that we shelve in Mystery who I read consistently. Also, he's kind of sick and twisted - he writes Florida crime fiction - think Carl Hiassen or Elmore Leonard, but a bit more humor (like Dave Barry) and more twisted. His main recurring character, Serge Storms is a Florida history nut/serial killer with heart of gold. The main schtick (and what makes him a sympathetic character) is that he only kills people who deserve it, and only in really interesting ways that fit their transgressions. I know, sounds debauched, but it comes across really funny. Anyway, this one, Hurricane Punch, revolves around a copycat seriel killer and the crazy Florida news media. It's his most well-crafted to date, I think, and he's backed off of gruesome description somewhat. I really enjoyed it; read straight through in maybe 3 days. Not sure who to recommend it to, though...
April 28, 2016
Serge is quite a character, I am going to read book 1 just to see how all this madness started.
The audio version is great and funny.
The audio version is great and funny.
July 28, 2011
I love Tim Dorsey. I laughed and laughed and learned about Florida and laughed some more. The scene that really got me was hearing Serge's nickname for the nun, which is actually something I've done and have received about as much appreciation for it as he did.
I really wish the narrator [audiobook version] had been George Wilson like previous books rather than Oliver Wyman, because to me Wilson captured the age and mania of Serge better and actually gave some whimsical life to Coleman, whereas not only was Wyman a little flat with Coleman, he made Serge sound more like a panicked Richard Dreyfuss circa Jaws than a strong lead.
I really wish the narrator [audiobook version] had been George Wilson like previous books rather than Oliver Wyman, because to me Wilson captured the age and mania of Serge better and actually gave some whimsical life to Coleman, whereas not only was Wyman a little flat with Coleman, he made Serge sound more like a panicked Richard Dreyfuss circa Jaws than a strong lead.
January 28, 2015
I really enjoy this Tim Dorsey series. He provides excellent humor and a refreshing change from the more serious readings I regularly indulge in. The characters are a riot! 8 of 10 stars
December 11, 2014
My book club picked this book and assured us that even though it was number 9 in a series, you didn't have to read the other 8 to get it. I'm not sure if that's partially responsible for the huge disconnect I had with this book, but it's possible. What I felt like is that maybe everyone's grown to love these characters over other books and already had some kind of connection that I missed completely, because I couldn't get into these caricatures of humanity or believe in/enjoy anything they did. I wondered for a while if the unbelievability was intentional to increase the hilarity, but since that would have required the book to be funny, I didn't see that working either. Mostly I just saw overly constructed characters firing and missing at humor like a drunk redneck taking potshots at a road sign.
Serge Storms was obviously supposed to be the heart of the humor in this book, and his associate Coleman was his always-inebriated sidekick. Now, Serge felt obnoxious to me while he was forced to be read as charismatic to everyone in the book. Authority figures fold in his presence assuming he's supposed to be in places he's not allowed to be, allowing him to get away with nonsense and dumb pranks. Coincidences allow him to reap rewards, have run-ins with annoying people who cause minor inconvenience to Serge and pay with their lives in "hilarious" murders. Women are not important in the story except for when they practically wet themselves to be allowed to have sex with Serge--three different times various women throw themselves at Serge and frequently narrate (out loud) how many orgasms they're having as Serge ravishes them without seeming particularly interested in what he's doing. You see, he's so amazing that he's pumping these women and driving them to the best climaxes of their lives, but it takes very little of his attention and he can do stuff like drive a car hilariously, talk to his associates while banging, and even share his random thoughts on Florida history.
The Florida history thing. He was constantly dropping buckets of exposition about Floridian trivia, OUT LOUD, and lovable old Coleman pipes up to say "Serge, you're doing it again!" Why does he do his? Well, because he's craaaaazy! Ho ho! Real example from the book (YES, THIS IS DIALOGUE):
"A few miles above Venice, the Tamiami Trail takes a pair of jogs as it wings past Marina Jack's and the bridge to Bird Key, home of lifestyle pace-car and AC/DC front man Brian Johnson. The road continues north toward the international airport as part of something designated 'Florida Scenic Highway,' a route singularly characterized by a dense concentration of endangered mom-and-pop motels clinging from the fifties. Many had already been demolished, while others were converted to a variety of mixed-density operations selling live bait and sex toys. The most tenacious kept the neon buzzing: the Seabreeze, the Sundial, the Cadillac, the Galaxy, the Siesta, the Flamingo Colony. . . ."
"Serge," said Coleman, "you're doing it again."
". . . In the middle of this stretch is a small, easily missed concrete building set back from the road in a nest of palms and island vegetation. Above the front door, in Tahitian lettering: BAHI HUT. What do you say we take a peek inside?"
"Serge, we're already inside. You're talking to yourself at the bar."
". . . The lounge's interior was aggressively dark and Polynesian. Wicker, bamboo, tiki gods, wooden surfboards. The kind of place criminals might hatch schemes in early episodes of Hawaii Five-O. I advised Coleman to try the hut's signature drink. He ordered two. . . ."
This kind of thing happened a LOT in the book--while driving, while sitting around, while setting up plot points. People would narrate what they were doing, and other people would prompt them or explain what they're doing and ask dumb questions about why they're doing it so we'd know it was happening ("Why's that guy shaking?" instead of telling us someone is shaking), and the dialogue was often so absurd that it was all contrived to lead to some half-baked punch line. Every character's speech revolved around letting Serge say something offensive or clever, literally set up like a knock-knock joke. This enables him to offend the priest constantly (even though priests in confessionals don't announce how offended they are or express outrage as a way to keep people saying even more offensive things), or to stir up a crowd through absurd manipulation, or ask out-of-context questions to push the dialogue along so Serge can throw a snarky zinger. Which would have MAYBE been more tolerable if the climax wasn't some half-baked Dad Joke that's so overplayed I've been seeing its cousins on Internet forums since 1995.
And here's another weird thing about the way everything about the book felt staged. First, when a character is introduced, the narration will give you a photograph of them, basically--tell you what they look like, tell you what kind of person they are, frame them in the context of the story for you. And THEN . . . you get to see that actually revealed in the story as examples of it play out for you to establish character. And THEN . . . later in the story the character will EXPLAIN THEMSELVES TO OTHERS to establish character AGAIN. This happened with Coleman. With Serge. With McSwirley. With Mahoney. For example, McSwirley is introduced by the narration with expository whinging featuring him in a psychiatrist's office telling the doctor about how he's been on the cop beat for three years and can't stand talking to survivors and it's destroying him, but BECAUSE he feels so much pain over survivors' tragedies, he can often get exclusives and be welcomed by survivors, leading to his ability to sensitively render their stories in the paper and make his boss not want to take him off the cop beat. Then you actually get to see McSwirley arriving to a crime scene, crying and puking on things, being huddled around by survivors who basically want to comfort HIM, and playing out exactly what McSwirley described in the doctor's office. And later, he explains everything about his situation to Serge and cries a lot while doing it. Like . . . we get it, all right? How about just letting us see ONE of these things in action and have it be funny when it keeps recurring, without explaining it to us?
This book is basically an excuse to show Serge driving around in hurricanes, murdering people because they're terrible but doing similar things himself when it suits him, bantering with Coleman about his mid-life crisis, watching Coleman be incompetent because he's drunk or high and doing zaaaaanny things like spray-painting his legs with furniture polish to keep evil elves away, and following Mahoney doing his noir schtick that leaves everyone baffled and McSwirley being so hilariously mild-mannered that he can't even get angry at people who deliberately set out to ruin him and harass him. Everyone's a construction for the joke. Everyone's a comedy routine. Everyone does off-the-wall things so we can stage another joke, with alternating lines of dialogue being rendered in italics because it goes on so long devoid of real voice that it's otherwise hard to tell who's talking. Every woman is a random sex-bot who is so blown away by sex with Serge that they are humped into exhaustion and subsequent hibernation, which allows our heroes to abandon them without a problem or do something grisly they're left to find--they're all shallow and exist to be manipulated, and even though Serge is a madman, it's clear his "how to deal with women--let them think they've won and just don't argue" advice feels a little less deliberately sexist in a book where literally every woman behaves irrationally and cares only about petty things. Broads are so silly and vapid!
In general I was just frustrated by how empty of content the book was. Occasionally there'd be an absurdity that would make me laugh or a phrase/idea that made me think it was a bit clever, but everything around it would have bent like skinny trees in hurricane winds to accommodate this scene happening. Ho ho, the Party Parrot randomly shows up in the background of all the news stories. Ho ho, the news room is a sensationalistic tourist attraction that has tours coming through every fifteen minutes. Ho ho, Coleman is drunk again and fell off his stool after Serge gave us a page and a half of exposition about the signature drink. Ho ho, a clipboard makes people think you're the boss and they'll let you uproot and steal the ATM from the convenience store. Ho ho, noir detective insists on wearing his fedora and calling people by code names like "Mongoose." Ho ho, a truck driver arrives in a remote location during a hurricane and needs something from our heroes just in time to become their decoy.
Being a Floridian and living exactly where this book is set, it was kind of interesting to see places I know and see some of the hurricane stuff framed in the story, though I was surprised at how thoroughly he made the Tampa Bay area sound like a dump. That's not entirely untrue, though, I guess. Florida certainly is a special breed of weirdville populated by weirdos and full of absurdity. It makes me wonder why this felt so strained if there really is so much actual weirdness in this state to draw on. Based on this, I definitely would say Carl Hiaasen does a much better job capturing the Weird of Florida without spending the entire book creating excuses for his characters to recite stories about it.
Serge Storms was obviously supposed to be the heart of the humor in this book, and his associate Coleman was his always-inebriated sidekick. Now, Serge felt obnoxious to me while he was forced to be read as charismatic to everyone in the book. Authority figures fold in his presence assuming he's supposed to be in places he's not allowed to be, allowing him to get away with nonsense and dumb pranks. Coincidences allow him to reap rewards, have run-ins with annoying people who cause minor inconvenience to Serge and pay with their lives in "hilarious" murders. Women are not important in the story except for when they practically wet themselves to be allowed to have sex with Serge--three different times various women throw themselves at Serge and frequently narrate (out loud) how many orgasms they're having as Serge ravishes them without seeming particularly interested in what he's doing. You see, he's so amazing that he's pumping these women and driving them to the best climaxes of their lives, but it takes very little of his attention and he can do stuff like drive a car hilariously, talk to his associates while banging, and even share his random thoughts on Florida history.
The Florida history thing. He was constantly dropping buckets of exposition about Floridian trivia, OUT LOUD, and lovable old Coleman pipes up to say "Serge, you're doing it again!" Why does he do his? Well, because he's craaaaazy! Ho ho! Real example from the book (YES, THIS IS DIALOGUE):
"A few miles above Venice, the Tamiami Trail takes a pair of jogs as it wings past Marina Jack's and the bridge to Bird Key, home of lifestyle pace-car and AC/DC front man Brian Johnson. The road continues north toward the international airport as part of something designated 'Florida Scenic Highway,' a route singularly characterized by a dense concentration of endangered mom-and-pop motels clinging from the fifties. Many had already been demolished, while others were converted to a variety of mixed-density operations selling live bait and sex toys. The most tenacious kept the neon buzzing: the Seabreeze, the Sundial, the Cadillac, the Galaxy, the Siesta, the Flamingo Colony. . . ."
"Serge," said Coleman, "you're doing it again."
". . . In the middle of this stretch is a small, easily missed concrete building set back from the road in a nest of palms and island vegetation. Above the front door, in Tahitian lettering: BAHI HUT. What do you say we take a peek inside?"
"Serge, we're already inside. You're talking to yourself at the bar."
". . . The lounge's interior was aggressively dark and Polynesian. Wicker, bamboo, tiki gods, wooden surfboards. The kind of place criminals might hatch schemes in early episodes of Hawaii Five-O. I advised Coleman to try the hut's signature drink. He ordered two. . . ."
This kind of thing happened a LOT in the book--while driving, while sitting around, while setting up plot points. People would narrate what they were doing, and other people would prompt them or explain what they're doing and ask dumb questions about why they're doing it so we'd know it was happening ("Why's that guy shaking?" instead of telling us someone is shaking), and the dialogue was often so absurd that it was all contrived to lead to some half-baked punch line. Every character's speech revolved around letting Serge say something offensive or clever, literally set up like a knock-knock joke. This enables him to offend the priest constantly (even though priests in confessionals don't announce how offended they are or express outrage as a way to keep people saying even more offensive things), or to stir up a crowd through absurd manipulation, or ask out-of-context questions to push the dialogue along so Serge can throw a snarky zinger. Which would have MAYBE been more tolerable if the climax wasn't some half-baked Dad Joke that's so overplayed I've been seeing its cousins on Internet forums since 1995.
And here's another weird thing about the way everything about the book felt staged. First, when a character is introduced, the narration will give you a photograph of them, basically--tell you what they look like, tell you what kind of person they are, frame them in the context of the story for you. And THEN . . . you get to see that actually revealed in the story as examples of it play out for you to establish character. And THEN . . . later in the story the character will EXPLAIN THEMSELVES TO OTHERS to establish character AGAIN. This happened with Coleman. With Serge. With McSwirley. With Mahoney. For example, McSwirley is introduced by the narration with expository whinging featuring him in a psychiatrist's office telling the doctor about how he's been on the cop beat for three years and can't stand talking to survivors and it's destroying him, but BECAUSE he feels so much pain over survivors' tragedies, he can often get exclusives and be welcomed by survivors, leading to his ability to sensitively render their stories in the paper and make his boss not want to take him off the cop beat. Then you actually get to see McSwirley arriving to a crime scene, crying and puking on things, being huddled around by survivors who basically want to comfort HIM, and playing out exactly what McSwirley described in the doctor's office. And later, he explains everything about his situation to Serge and cries a lot while doing it. Like . . . we get it, all right? How about just letting us see ONE of these things in action and have it be funny when it keeps recurring, without explaining it to us?
This book is basically an excuse to show Serge driving around in hurricanes, murdering people because they're terrible but doing similar things himself when it suits him, bantering with Coleman about his mid-life crisis, watching Coleman be incompetent because he's drunk or high and doing zaaaaanny things like spray-painting his legs with furniture polish to keep evil elves away, and following Mahoney doing his noir schtick that leaves everyone baffled and McSwirley being so hilariously mild-mannered that he can't even get angry at people who deliberately set out to ruin him and harass him. Everyone's a construction for the joke. Everyone's a comedy routine. Everyone does off-the-wall things so we can stage another joke, with alternating lines of dialogue being rendered in italics because it goes on so long devoid of real voice that it's otherwise hard to tell who's talking. Every woman is a random sex-bot who is so blown away by sex with Serge that they are humped into exhaustion and subsequent hibernation, which allows our heroes to abandon them without a problem or do something grisly they're left to find--they're all shallow and exist to be manipulated, and even though Serge is a madman, it's clear his "how to deal with women--let them think they've won and just don't argue" advice feels a little less deliberately sexist in a book where literally every woman behaves irrationally and cares only about petty things. Broads are so silly and vapid!
In general I was just frustrated by how empty of content the book was. Occasionally there'd be an absurdity that would make me laugh or a phrase/idea that made me think it was a bit clever, but everything around it would have bent like skinny trees in hurricane winds to accommodate this scene happening. Ho ho, the Party Parrot randomly shows up in the background of all the news stories. Ho ho, the news room is a sensationalistic tourist attraction that has tours coming through every fifteen minutes. Ho ho, Coleman is drunk again and fell off his stool after Serge gave us a page and a half of exposition about the signature drink. Ho ho, a clipboard makes people think you're the boss and they'll let you uproot and steal the ATM from the convenience store. Ho ho, noir detective insists on wearing his fedora and calling people by code names like "Mongoose." Ho ho, a truck driver arrives in a remote location during a hurricane and needs something from our heroes just in time to become their decoy.
Being a Floridian and living exactly where this book is set, it was kind of interesting to see places I know and see some of the hurricane stuff framed in the story, though I was surprised at how thoroughly he made the Tampa Bay area sound like a dump. That's not entirely untrue, though, I guess. Florida certainly is a special breed of weirdville populated by weirdos and full of absurdity. It makes me wonder why this felt so strained if there really is so much actual weirdness in this state to draw on. Based on this, I definitely would say Carl Hiaasen does a much better job capturing the Weird of Florida without spending the entire book creating excuses for his characters to recite stories about it.
August 4, 2011
Coleman and Serge are back in Miami, and so is Mahoney, the cop who’s been trying to put Serge away with such little success he himself was just released from the loony bin. Mahoney is hot on Serge’s trail again, this time enlisting the help of empathetic reporter, Jeff McSwirley. McSwirley’s bosses want the ratings an exclusive with Serge will bring, and Mahoney just wants Serge, especially since he thinks Serge’s personality is beginning to split. Or are there two killers now? The usual hijinks and mishaps ensue as Serge visits his therapist in between driving a stolen Hummer through the number of hurricanes that hit the Florida coast and offing a few deserving bozos along the way.
There were several times this book made me laugh out loud, but I have to wonder if Dorsey isn’t losing his touch in much the same way Mahoney believed Serge was unraveling. This book doesn’t lack a cohesive theme so much as the theme is basically irrelevant. Whereas Dorsey’s books used to seem like a series of bizarre, seemingly unrelated events that all worked toward a central theme, the last couple have been a lot of Serge and Coleman wandering around with little purpose. This time their aimless wandering was the result of following hurricanes, but it still lacked any kind of reasoning, other than experiencing the rush. That may be how Coleman does things, but Serge has always had some kind of a plan until recently.
Anyone reading these books loves Serge and finds humor in Coleman’s creative substance abuse, but there really has to be more going on than that. A successful series needs not only good recurring characters, but a good story to follow every time out. Road trips in stolen cars are what Serge and Coleman do, but it’s more fun to accompany them if there’s a reason why they’re out there. Tim Dorsey is always worth reading, but I’m hoping his next book will give me a little more something to relish.
There were several times this book made me laugh out loud, but I have to wonder if Dorsey isn’t losing his touch in much the same way Mahoney believed Serge was unraveling. This book doesn’t lack a cohesive theme so much as the theme is basically irrelevant. Whereas Dorsey’s books used to seem like a series of bizarre, seemingly unrelated events that all worked toward a central theme, the last couple have been a lot of Serge and Coleman wandering around with little purpose. This time their aimless wandering was the result of following hurricanes, but it still lacked any kind of reasoning, other than experiencing the rush. That may be how Coleman does things, but Serge has always had some kind of a plan until recently.
Anyone reading these books loves Serge and finds humor in Coleman’s creative substance abuse, but there really has to be more going on than that. A successful series needs not only good recurring characters, but a good story to follow every time out. Road trips in stolen cars are what Serge and Coleman do, but it’s more fun to accompany them if there’s a reason why they’re out there. Tim Dorsey is always worth reading, but I’m hoping his next book will give me a little more something to relish.
June 23, 2008
I'm categorizing Hurricane Punch as humor under protest, but only because I don't think literature/fiction is fully appropriate either. This isn't a Dave Barry paperback, and although it did spring from the same Floridian culture, it's safe to say that Barry wouldn't be capable of reveling in the sleaze, magnified to hilarious effect by Dorsey.
As usual, all Florida residents are sheep to protagonist Serge A. Storm's shepherd, but most of them don't realize it or can't accept it. The loose theme this time around: hurricanes, and the individuals and organizations that sneak around the edges to profit off the survivors, or spin BS on live television.
Media plays a big role in this installment, but keep an eye out for the one segment of the population that seems to be impervious to it and all other portents.
As usual, all Florida residents are sheep to protagonist Serge A. Storm's shepherd, but most of them don't realize it or can't accept it. The loose theme this time around: hurricanes, and the individuals and organizations that sneak around the edges to profit off the survivors, or spin BS on live television.
Media plays a big role in this installment, but keep an eye out for the one segment of the population that seems to be impervious to it and all other portents.
August 17, 2008
Lovable serial killer Serge Storms is back with his substance-abusing buddy Coleman. In this one, they track a whirlwind hurricane season, 'riding' the storms by driving in the eye. People die along the way of course - but Serge is not the only serial killer on the loose. Someone else is killing people, and Agent Mahoney thinks it's Serge's personality splitting. The ending surprised me, actually. I didn't figure it out until just before it was revealed. It's hilarious, as expected from Tim Dorsey. Excellent.
July 28, 2016
Since this is the first book I read in the series, it took me a while to catch on to the humor.
October 2, 2022
Been awhile since I had read Tim Dorsey. This one has been in my book case forever, well at least 15 years anyway. Just needed to take a break from all the other stuff I have been reading, needing to laugh and forget about all the crap going on in the world. The Book worked. Now I’m ready to take on the world again. For awhile anyway. I’ve got the next two in the Serge adventures in case I have a relapse.
October 22, 2024
How is this not a movie? It's completely written. Just get a budget for some A-listers and watch the cash roll in on a summer block buster. WTF Hollywood?
May 21, 2024
Funny, a bit inappropriate, and well developed characters
February 17, 2016
"No Stems, no seeds, I'm a pig in slop" say the character Coleman in "Hurricane Punch" and the same can be said for the reader of this twisted tale. The best books in Tim Dorsey's Serge A. Storms series are those where the humor is in high gear and the plot contrivances simple and straightforward. This text is a prime example of that formula!
"Hurricane Punch" opens with a great letter to the editor that Serge writes. Within a few pages you know this text is better than some previous efforts in this series. Dorsey brings back noir detective Agent Mahoney and I enjoy the little details Dorsey includes to round out this character. We are also introduced to a new character, Jeff McSwirley, a sensitive wimpy crime beat reporter who cries incessantly about the events he reports. Dorsey uses both of these characters in a clever way in the text.
A thread in "Hurricane Punch" is that 44 year old Serge is undergoing a midlife crisis. The midlife crisis includes a religious search that is hysterical. Serge searches for a belief system that he can buy into, and his journey is a highlight of the novel. Plus, it actually makes some interesting points to boot. Serge's journey also includes an encounter with him returning to the Catholic Church, and Serge's confession (128-131 in the book) is brilliantly funny! Laugh out loud. Again, Dorsey seamlessly weaves this plot twist into the larger story outline in a satisfying manner.
An interesting observation about this series (this is the ninth book) is that as it progresses Serge is becoming a man who has a rather high moral code, almost an idealistic one. Yet he can be very unstable, and is a serial killer. It is weird to root for a killer to escape detection, but you find yourself doing just that. Dorsey has given Serge boundless energy and enthusiasm for life, and it is joyful to read. The novel even ends with Serge exclaiming, "Remember the key to life...always act like you deserve to be here."
"Hurricane Punch" will increase your laugher and joy, and thus it is a fun read and a great choice for the pool or beach. FYI: The 4 star rating is in comparison to books in a similar vein, not to literature as a whole.
"Hurricane Punch" opens with a great letter to the editor that Serge writes. Within a few pages you know this text is better than some previous efforts in this series. Dorsey brings back noir detective Agent Mahoney and I enjoy the little details Dorsey includes to round out this character. We are also introduced to a new character, Jeff McSwirley, a sensitive wimpy crime beat reporter who cries incessantly about the events he reports. Dorsey uses both of these characters in a clever way in the text.
A thread in "Hurricane Punch" is that 44 year old Serge is undergoing a midlife crisis. The midlife crisis includes a religious search that is hysterical. Serge searches for a belief system that he can buy into, and his journey is a highlight of the novel. Plus, it actually makes some interesting points to boot. Serge's journey also includes an encounter with him returning to the Catholic Church, and Serge's confession (128-131 in the book) is brilliantly funny! Laugh out loud. Again, Dorsey seamlessly weaves this plot twist into the larger story outline in a satisfying manner.
An interesting observation about this series (this is the ninth book) is that as it progresses Serge is becoming a man who has a rather high moral code, almost an idealistic one. Yet he can be very unstable, and is a serial killer. It is weird to root for a killer to escape detection, but you find yourself doing just that. Dorsey has given Serge boundless energy and enthusiasm for life, and it is joyful to read. The novel even ends with Serge exclaiming, "Remember the key to life...always act like you deserve to be here."
"Hurricane Punch" will increase your laugher and joy, and thus it is a fun read and a great choice for the pool or beach. FYI: The 4 star rating is in comparison to books in a similar vein, not to literature as a whole.
October 14, 2016
Another great audiobook listen, perfect for long-ish drives. Love Serge--he's a great guide to everything whacko Florida. As with any Tim Dorsey book, you wonder "how the heck is he going to tie all the strings together by the end of the book?" He pulls it off once again here. The comedy is brilliant (and savage), the scene setting fast but detailed enough, and you never lose track of where the story has been--a problem that I've encountered in other audiobooks (who's talking? when did that happen?, etc.) But if you haven't read these books, be warned: they can be pretty grisly.
March 14, 2007
I absolutely love Tim Dorsey's books, I've read them all (which makes me sad!). I'd compare him to Carl Hiaasen, except Time Dorsey is less preachy and more focused on one character, Serge A. Storms, one of the most imaginative characters I've read about. I highly recommend this series to anyone who appreciates lighthearted books with a historical element.
April 20, 2011
Like Tom Robbins, Tim Dorsey may become a little too formulaic and nauseating for me. I have enjoyed both authors before for their picaresque novels and bizarre, cheeky characters, but sometimes one gets the sense that what appears to be arrested development in the authors actually IS arrested development in the authors--usually at about the eighth-grade level.
September 26, 2015
Serge is at it again! So many laugh out loud moments--just as Serge's women have a hard time counting multiples, I have a hard time counting how many times I laughed out loud while reading this book. Quite a surprising ending, with lots of twists and turns in the closing chapters only added to my rating! 8 out of 10.
May 7, 2018
Hurricane Punch is just perverted enough to make me laugh out loud--a great palate cleanser while flying to Wichita. Now I'm looking for the Serge Storms novel about the drug company man who kicks up the price of a life-saving drug and how he gets an appropriate punishment.
June 19, 2018
I listened to this book. The reader's voice is very much like I expected Serge and Coleman to sound. This book was a great installment in the adventures of my favorite serial killer Serge Storms. There is a twist that I didn't expect that added to my enjoyment of the story!
March 17, 2019
This book had some clever dialogue and social insights. It is fairly light but lots of action. It's pretty glib and fun, when you're in the mood. Zany...
September 14, 2022
Oblíbený sériový vrah Serge Storm opět provádí své brutální výchovné lekce… a to uprostřed série hurikánů, které zmítají Floridou. A tedy, kromě toho je tu ještě jeden sériový vrah, který má na Sergeho pifku.
Je fakt, že v knize jsou pořád zábavné momenty a je stále psaná zběsilým (a chvílemi i míň přehledným) kulometný stylem, který vystihuje sled myšlenek šílence, který vysadil prášky. Zase na druhou stranu, je to pořád stejné (ono postavy nic moc jiného nedovolují). Opět to stojí hlavně na dialozích a Sergeho promluvách, popisujících krásy Floridy a jeho střetech názorů.
„Možná byste se měl přestat zajímat o náboženství.“
„Proč?“
„Zdá se, že posiluje vaše násilné tendence.“
„A není to jeho účel?“
Kriminální zápletka je tady dost jednoduchá a nemá tolik pohyblivých součástí. Překvapivě jsou často zábavnější scény, kde se Serge nevyskytuje a které ironicky popisují svět novin, které se stávají spíše cirkusem, než sdělovacím prostředkem. A opět tu je celkem normální člověk, který se stane terčem Sergeho dobrých úmyslů. Když máte coby hrdinu magora, potřebujete vedle něj někoho normálního, aby se to šílenství dobře prodalo. Což je fajn a funguje to, ale omrzí se to.
Musím ale uznat, že tady se udělalo pár úkroků stranou a je tu spoustu zábavných momentů… a pro všechny příznivce Deadpoola je tohle ideální kriminální série... ale asi si dám na chvíli pauzu.
Je fakt, že v knize jsou pořád zábavné momenty a je stále psaná zběsilým (a chvílemi i míň přehledným) kulometný stylem, který vystihuje sled myšlenek šílence, který vysadil prášky. Zase na druhou stranu, je to pořád stejné (ono postavy nic moc jiného nedovolují). Opět to stojí hlavně na dialozích a Sergeho promluvách, popisujících krásy Floridy a jeho střetech názorů.
„Možná byste se měl přestat zajímat o náboženství.“
„Proč?“
„Zdá se, že posiluje vaše násilné tendence.“
„A není to jeho účel?“
Kriminální zápletka je tady dost jednoduchá a nemá tolik pohyblivých součástí. Překvapivě jsou často zábavnější scény, kde se Serge nevyskytuje a které ironicky popisují svět novin, které se stávají spíše cirkusem, než sdělovacím prostředkem. A opět tu je celkem normální člověk, který se stane terčem Sergeho dobrých úmyslů. Když máte coby hrdinu magora, potřebujete vedle něj někoho normálního, aby se to šílenství dobře prodalo. Což je fajn a funguje to, ale omrzí se to.
Musím ale uznat, že tady se udělalo pár úkroků stranou a je tu spoustu zábavných momentů… a pro všechny příznivce Deadpoola je tohle ideální kriminální série... ale asi si dám na chvíli pauzu.
March 3, 2022
Set against the backdrop of Hurricane Alex, there’s a manhunt for Serge Storm and his sidekick Coleman. Serge is actively sought as a person of interest in the deaths of two men whose bodies were discovered in the wake of the hurricane.
Serge is going through a midlife crisis and has confided in his psychiatrist who’s suggested he gets a job.
A young reporter named Jeff McSwirley also has his fair share of problems: he’s tired of doing investigative reporting and wants to be transferred to the government beat.
But his boss won’t let him because he’s good at getting interviews.
Agent Mahoney is obsessed with catching Serge Storm and finally bringing him to justice, but can he?
I kinda got tired of Serge’s ramblings at some point 😌
Serge is going through a midlife crisis and has confided in his psychiatrist who’s suggested he gets a job.
A young reporter named Jeff McSwirley also has his fair share of problems: he’s tired of doing investigative reporting and wants to be transferred to the government beat.
But his boss won’t let him because he’s good at getting interviews.
Agent Mahoney is obsessed with catching Serge Storm and finally bringing him to justice, but can he?
I kinda got tired of Serge’s ramblings at some point 😌
August 21, 2021
Agent Mahoney, one of my favorite Dorsey characters, is back for this action-packed race through the eye of multiple hurricanes across the great state of Florida.
January 11, 2022
Square peg in a round hole. Felt like half a dozen short stories that didn’t really belong intertwined but Dorsey gave it the old college try. The narrative flowed like a pinball gone berserk.
July 13, 2020
Dorsey takes Serge’s craziness to a whole new level in this installment. Also loved the brief appearance of Molly in this book. Hope to see more of her, and possibly McSwirly too.
October 6, 2021
I find this whole series amusing, Coleman and Serge at it again! Been living in Florida for a while and love to read about the area.
April 8, 2025
Hurricane Punch. Tim Dorsey. William Morrow, 2007. 384 pages. #9 of 26 Serge Storms novels.
In the 9th Serge Storms novel about the ultimate Florida history savant with the unfortunate (?) habit of murdering bad people in fiendishly diabolical ways as he zooms around Florida on his hilariously madcap history-seeking adventures, Serge and his buddy Coleman are chasing not one but two massive hurricanes around the state. Not only might the two storms' paths collide (Who knows what would happen then?), but Serge and Coleman are also being chased themselves, by Agent Mahoney who has been on Serge's tail for years and by another possible serial killer. The result is the usual cornucopia of historical facts, unbelievable characters, and incredible events ---- made all the more unusual by the fact that author Tim Dorsey always bases much of his plots on real "Florida Man" truths.
And yet another quote that links me, perhaps disturbingly, to my fictional alter ego, Serge Storms: "I naturally absorb history at an advanced rate." Just ask anybody who has been to a museum with me.
In the 9th Serge Storms novel about the ultimate Florida history savant with the unfortunate (?) habit of murdering bad people in fiendishly diabolical ways as he zooms around Florida on his hilariously madcap history-seeking adventures, Serge and his buddy Coleman are chasing not one but two massive hurricanes around the state. Not only might the two storms' paths collide (Who knows what would happen then?), but Serge and Coleman are also being chased themselves, by Agent Mahoney who has been on Serge's tail for years and by another possible serial killer. The result is the usual cornucopia of historical facts, unbelievable characters, and incredible events ---- made all the more unusual by the fact that author Tim Dorsey always bases much of his plots on real "Florida Man" truths.
And yet another quote that links me, perhaps disturbingly, to my fictional alter ego, Serge Storms: "I naturally absorb history at an advanced rate." Just ask anybody who has been to a museum with me.
August 14, 2019
There is no end to Tim Dorsey's ability to craft stories around Florida's hurricane seasons. My first Dorsey novel, and it won't be my last!
April 18, 2014
Dorsey’s Serge Storms’ novels are always a zany rollercoaster ride of cartoonish violence and madcap behaviour underlain with a dose of suspect moral philosophy – yes, Serge does terrible, imaginative things to his victims but there’s a logic and natural justice to his actions; though the ultimate price is rarely what most might consider the ‘right’ punishment. In Hurricane Punch he interweaves five main plotlines – storm chasing during a particularly bad hurricane season, his duel with a copycat serial killer, a cop beat journalist’s slow breakdown as he covers murders, the rivalry between competing media outlets, and federal agent Maloney’s attempt to capture Serge. The result is a fast moving tale of madness, destruction, rivalries, and parody of the news industry, that is often amusing and sometimes poignant. As usual the story is peppered with Florida trivia and history. The characterisation is well done, the dialogue snappy, and the plot engaging. As with most comic crime capers realism takes a backseat for much of the time enabling Dorset to set up some great scenes and to twist the tale along. There are a couple of odd moments with the timeline, but overall this is good fun, with some nice observational asides.
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