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Serge Storms #20
Clownfish Blues
A (Serge A.) Storm is brewing for a cabal of bad guys gaming the Florida state lottery in this insanely funny novel from the maestro of mayhem, Tim Dorsey.
If you’re loud and proud Floridian Serge A. Storms, how do you follow up your very own remake of Easy Rider? You shoot your own "episodes" of your favorite classic television show, Route 66!
With Coleman riding shotgun, Serge is rolling down the highway of his dreams in a vintage silver convertible Corvette just like the snazzy car Martin Milner drove. It doesn’t matter that the actual Route 66 didn’t pass through Florida, for Serge discovers that a dozen episodes near the series’ end were filmed (really!) in his beloved home state. So for Serge and the always toked and stoked Coleman, the Sunshine State is all the road you need to get your kicks.
But their adventure traveling the byways of the Sunshine State’s underbelly is about to take a detour. Someone is trying to tilt the odds in the state lottery amidst a conga line of huge jackpots spinning off more chaos than any hurricane season. With this much at stake, of course every shady character wants in. Crooked bodega owners, drug cartels laundering money through the lottery, and venture capitalists are all trying to game the system—and lining up to get their cut. They’re also gambling with their lives, because when Serge and Coleman get hip to this timely (and very lucrative) trip, there’s no telling whose number is up next.
Throw in Brooke Campanella, Serge’s old flame, as well as the perpetually star-crossed Reevis, and it’s a sure bet that the ever lucky Serge will hit it big. Winning has never been this deadly—or this much fun!
If you’re loud and proud Floridian Serge A. Storms, how do you follow up your very own remake of Easy Rider? You shoot your own "episodes" of your favorite classic television show, Route 66!
With Coleman riding shotgun, Serge is rolling down the highway of his dreams in a vintage silver convertible Corvette just like the snazzy car Martin Milner drove. It doesn’t matter that the actual Route 66 didn’t pass through Florida, for Serge discovers that a dozen episodes near the series’ end were filmed (really!) in his beloved home state. So for Serge and the always toked and stoked Coleman, the Sunshine State is all the road you need to get your kicks.
But their adventure traveling the byways of the Sunshine State’s underbelly is about to take a detour. Someone is trying to tilt the odds in the state lottery amidst a conga line of huge jackpots spinning off more chaos than any hurricane season. With this much at stake, of course every shady character wants in. Crooked bodega owners, drug cartels laundering money through the lottery, and venture capitalists are all trying to game the system—and lining up to get their cut. They’re also gambling with their lives, because when Serge and Coleman get hip to this timely (and very lucrative) trip, there’s no telling whose number is up next.
Throw in Brooke Campanella, Serge’s old flame, as well as the perpetually star-crossed Reevis, and it’s a sure bet that the ever lucky Serge will hit it big. Winning has never been this deadly—or this much fun!
334 pages, Hardcover
First published January 24, 2017
738 people are currently reading
1837 people want to read
About the author
Tim Dorsey
36 books1,657 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 216 reviews
March 15, 2019
This version (20), is my favorite for quite some time. Lots of burst out laughs! 9 of 10 stars!
September 20, 2022
“Life goes by way too fast when it’s the same thing every day.” (3.5 stars)
The family beach trip has come and gone, so that means I read a few more books in Tim Dorsey’s Serge A. Storms series. CLOWNFISH BLUES was a reliable addition to Serge’s Florida adventures.
This text finds Serge living his own version of the old television series “Route 66”, and Dorsey incorporates a nice gimmick with the Florida state lottery. In fact, many of the book’s best moments deal with Serge’s views on the lottery. (He does not think much of it.) It is a fun story with numerous plot lines that converge nicely for a big ole climax. It’s made for the beach, where I discovered and read this series, and it is a perfect book for such moments.
Every once in a while Dorsey will throw in some profundity with the chaos. I love when lines like this pop up in a book about a gonzo, history loving, serial killer, “Everyone should be ecstatically happy every second! We’re alive on earth, after all! When did that get taken for granted?”
Some other fun lines/moments from this text:
* “I’m only tapping into the possibilities that everyone else just assumes are off-limits simply because they lack the imagination to think of it themselves.”
* “America was founded on the principle of never judging a hobby. In the idiom of the times, the Founding Fathers called it ‘the pursuit of happiness,’ but we all really know they were worried about Franklin’s big kite-flying drunk-fest coming up and wanted to give themselves some cover from the wives.”
* “…don’t buy lottery tickets. The store won’t tell you this because they’re in on it, but the whole thing is a fool’s bet. It’s a tax on people who are bad at arithmetic. Buy food instead, that’s a sure thing.”
* “So I’m guessing you’re a regular on the dickhead rodeo circuit?”
CLOWNFISH BLUES is a solid addition to the series. Serge’s adventures have become such a standard beach read for me. I see that continuing.
The family beach trip has come and gone, so that means I read a few more books in Tim Dorsey’s Serge A. Storms series. CLOWNFISH BLUES was a reliable addition to Serge’s Florida adventures.
This text finds Serge living his own version of the old television series “Route 66”, and Dorsey incorporates a nice gimmick with the Florida state lottery. In fact, many of the book’s best moments deal with Serge’s views on the lottery. (He does not think much of it.) It is a fun story with numerous plot lines that converge nicely for a big ole climax. It’s made for the beach, where I discovered and read this series, and it is a perfect book for such moments.
Every once in a while Dorsey will throw in some profundity with the chaos. I love when lines like this pop up in a book about a gonzo, history loving, serial killer, “Everyone should be ecstatically happy every second! We’re alive on earth, after all! When did that get taken for granted?”
Some other fun lines/moments from this text:
* “I’m only tapping into the possibilities that everyone else just assumes are off-limits simply because they lack the imagination to think of it themselves.”
* “America was founded on the principle of never judging a hobby. In the idiom of the times, the Founding Fathers called it ‘the pursuit of happiness,’ but we all really know they were worried about Franklin’s big kite-flying drunk-fest coming up and wanted to give themselves some cover from the wives.”
* “…don’t buy lottery tickets. The store won’t tell you this because they’re in on it, but the whole thing is a fool’s bet. It’s a tax on people who are bad at arithmetic. Buy food instead, that’s a sure thing.”
* “So I’m guessing you’re a regular on the dickhead rodeo circuit?”
CLOWNFISH BLUES is a solid addition to the series. Serge’s adventures have become such a standard beach read for me. I see that continuing.
May 4, 2022
"Wow," said the woman. "What a cool car! . . . Where'd you find such an old model in this condition?"
"Actually it's not mine." Serge pulled away from the curb. "The owner is just letting me use it temporarily."
"For how long?"
"Until he gets home from vacation and calls the police."
In this, yet another madcap adventure starring our favorite psycho and his perpetually baked sidekick, we find our (anti)hero, Serge, explaining that he is not actually a serial killer, but a sequential killer:
"Serial killers are sick, obsessive losers who will never stop until they die or get arrested. Sequential killers, on the other hand, just happen to be the only person around when action is required. You know how some people avoid getting involved at all costs? Not me!"
And, it's true - shysters, scumbags, and the just plain rude can only hope that Serge is nowhere near when they perpetrate their dastardly deeds, lest he dream up some far-fetched Rube Goldberg device that will result in a painful, yet wildly creative demise for the deserving victim . . . after Serge makes a trip to The Home Depot, of course.
In lighter news, Serge and Coleman give sign-spinning a whirl, and have sex with Madison Cawthorn at an illicit furry party. (Okay - I may have made up that last part, but you KNOW it could totally happen, right?)
The main plot is something to do with a scam to win the largest lottery payout in Florida history, but we all know the whole purpose of the book is to enjoy the madness that unspools whenever Serge is off his meds. And - there's plenty of that, so . . . good times, good times.
"Actually it's not mine." Serge pulled away from the curb. "The owner is just letting me use it temporarily."
"For how long?"
"Until he gets home from vacation and calls the police."
In this, yet another madcap adventure starring our favorite psycho and his perpetually baked sidekick, we find our (anti)hero, Serge, explaining that he is not actually a serial killer, but a sequential killer:
"Serial killers are sick, obsessive losers who will never stop until they die or get arrested. Sequential killers, on the other hand, just happen to be the only person around when action is required. You know how some people avoid getting involved at all costs? Not me!"
And, it's true - shysters, scumbags, and the just plain rude can only hope that Serge is nowhere near when they perpetrate their dastardly deeds, lest he dream up some far-fetched Rube Goldberg device that will result in a painful, yet wildly creative demise for the deserving victim . . . after Serge makes a trip to The Home Depot, of course.
In lighter news, Serge and Coleman give sign-spinning a whirl, and have sex with Madison Cawthorn at an illicit furry party. (Okay - I may have made up that last part, but you KNOW it could totally happen, right?)
The main plot is something to do with a scam to win the largest lottery payout in Florida history, but we all know the whole purpose of the book is to enjoy the madness that unspools whenever Serge is off his meds. And - there's plenty of that, so . . . good times, good times.
February 10, 2017
Tim Dorsey is a master at stringing together apparently unrelated oddities of life in Florida into something resembling a plot for the latest adventures of Florida-obsessed killer Serge A. Storms and his perpetually stoned traveling companion Coleman.
In this book, he manages to tie together worm grunting in Sopchoppy, the Psychic Capital of the World in Cassadaga, jiggly-cam reality-show antics that aren't real at all, attempts to manipulate the state lottery, the proliferation of professional sign spinners, furries, illegal immigration and -- last but not least -- the way the old "Route 66" TV show somehow contrived to visit Florida for a few episodes, despite Florida not being located anywhere near that famous road.
I won't even attempt to explain what happens, except to say it's all pretty funny, a lot of rude and mean people get what they deserve, and Coleman meets a woman who finds him attractive -- but only because he's wearing a panda costume.
In this book, he manages to tie together worm grunting in Sopchoppy, the Psychic Capital of the World in Cassadaga, jiggly-cam reality-show antics that aren't real at all, attempts to manipulate the state lottery, the proliferation of professional sign spinners, furries, illegal immigration and -- last but not least -- the way the old "Route 66" TV show somehow contrived to visit Florida for a few episodes, despite Florida not being located anywhere near that famous road.
I won't even attempt to explain what happens, except to say it's all pretty funny, a lot of rude and mean people get what they deserve, and Coleman meets a woman who finds him attractive -- but only because he's wearing a panda costume.
August 25, 2018
1.5 Stars
I received a copy of Clownfish Blues from a Goodreads giveaway. I had no idea that this was book number twenty of a series though. I’d never even heard of this series. If I had known this was a late in the series book, I would never have requested it. There was no way I was going to read the first nineteen books, but I felt bad not reading a book that I got from a giveaway. So I went ahead and read Clownfish Blues. Since I have no idea what happened in the first nineteen books, but I have to say that Clownfish Blues on its own was tedious and unsatisfactory. Take all of this with a grain of salt. Maybe if you’ve read all of the previous installments then there is some amount of nostalgia or something? I have to hope that a series this long started off stronger than this… But having finished this book, I have zero interest in reading any other Serge Storm stories – past or present.
Obviously I lacked the knowledge of all previous events. I don’t know how much that would have helped this story though. I can guess the formula though: Serge A. Storm shows up with his sidekick, causes a bunch of chaos, then a bunch of serendipitous deus ex machina happens that ties everything together. That’s exactly what happened in Clownfish Blues. (By the way, the title has nothing to do with the story; it seems to just be a continuation of the theme from the rest of the series titles.)
The main character is Serge, a psychopath so lame and nonsensical that he makes Saturday morning cartoon villains look competent. He is accompanied by Coleman, a guy who has fried so many brain cells with drugs and alcohol that he doesn’t care what Serge does. The rest of the characters in the book were flat and boring and I’ve already forgotten their names.
Serge and Coleman are taking a road trip through Florida. Serge likes to pretend they are on a TV show that requires them to move to a new town every week, so the story is split into “episodes” that loosely tie together. It was like Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency meets Practical Demonkeeping but without any real humor. Serge was the world’s most boring psycho who was really just an annoying, delusional man pretending to be in a tv show accompanied by his druggie sidekick. It was cheesy, ridiculous, and boring. It was not funny or entertaining. There was too much synchronicity used as a lazy plot device.
It jumped around too much, and I didn’t care about the characters or the plot. Also, there was yiffing. If I never read about yiffing again, I’ll be ecstatic beyond words.
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 3 Stars
Writing Style: 2 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 1 Star
Plot Structure and Development: 1 Star
Level of Captivation: 1 Star
Originality: 2 Stars
I received a copy of Clownfish Blues from a Goodreads giveaway. I had no idea that this was book number twenty of a series though. I’d never even heard of this series. If I had known this was a late in the series book, I would never have requested it. There was no way I was going to read the first nineteen books, but I felt bad not reading a book that I got from a giveaway. So I went ahead and read Clownfish Blues. Since I have no idea what happened in the first nineteen books, but I have to say that Clownfish Blues on its own was tedious and unsatisfactory. Take all of this with a grain of salt. Maybe if you’ve read all of the previous installments then there is some amount of nostalgia or something? I have to hope that a series this long started off stronger than this… But having finished this book, I have zero interest in reading any other Serge Storm stories – past or present.
Obviously I lacked the knowledge of all previous events. I don’t know how much that would have helped this story though. I can guess the formula though: Serge A. Storm shows up with his sidekick, causes a bunch of chaos, then a bunch of serendipitous deus ex machina happens that ties everything together. That’s exactly what happened in Clownfish Blues. (By the way, the title has nothing to do with the story; it seems to just be a continuation of the theme from the rest of the series titles.)
The main character is Serge, a psychopath so lame and nonsensical that he makes Saturday morning cartoon villains look competent. He is accompanied by Coleman, a guy who has fried so many brain cells with drugs and alcohol that he doesn’t care what Serge does. The rest of the characters in the book were flat and boring and I’ve already forgotten their names.
Serge and Coleman are taking a road trip through Florida. Serge likes to pretend they are on a TV show that requires them to move to a new town every week, so the story is split into “episodes” that loosely tie together. It was like Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency meets Practical Demonkeeping but without any real humor. Serge was the world’s most boring psycho who was really just an annoying, delusional man pretending to be in a tv show accompanied by his druggie sidekick. It was cheesy, ridiculous, and boring. It was not funny or entertaining. There was too much synchronicity used as a lazy plot device.
It jumped around too much, and I didn’t care about the characters or the plot. Also, there was yiffing. If I never read about yiffing again, I’ll be ecstatic beyond words.
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 3 Stars
Writing Style: 2 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 1 Star
Plot Structure and Development: 1 Star
Level of Captivation: 1 Star
Originality: 2 Stars
February 20, 2017
Some of the earlier books in this series were not only funny, but suspenseful. Now they are more like a motor coach tour than a theme park ride. Halfway into the series, Mr. Dorsey started writing on cruise control and the books assumed a predictable sameness.
This is not to say the books aren't worth reading. Dorsey writes well, characters are drawn shallowly but clearly, and the narrative is paced well. Even the occasional Serge philosophizing doesn't bog things down. Dorsey captures the zaniness of Florida well and weaves interesting facts about the state into the narrative. This book is predictable Serge and Coleman with another classic car to ride around in, a few creative deaths, and more than a few lol moments.
I will keep buying these books, but I wish he would release them in the Spring just before my annual trip to the beach. A good beach read.
This is not to say the books aren't worth reading. Dorsey writes well, characters are drawn shallowly but clearly, and the narrative is paced well. Even the occasional Serge philosophizing doesn't bog things down. Dorsey captures the zaniness of Florida well and weaves interesting facts about the state into the narrative. This book is predictable Serge and Coleman with another classic car to ride around in, a few creative deaths, and more than a few lol moments.
I will keep buying these books, but I wish he would release them in the Spring just before my annual trip to the beach. A good beach read.
July 25, 2018
Some people have a popular online streaming movie site they go to where they binge watch all their favorite tv episodes. Not me I'll take Tim Dorsey & an adventure with Serge A Storms and Coleman any day over that. In fact I feel I need to piecemeal these books out to make them last. Hilarious Florida action. One always can look forward to see what contest Serge might put someone in, you know the contest where if you win you live and if you lose you might be in the obituaries or morgue. Rice, cell phones, bodies, bathtubs, fortune tellers, crystal freaks (not meth)& a silver back gorilla doing the deed with a panda in the back of a stretch limousine, who could ask for more in a novel. Still enjoying Dorsey.
March 18, 2017
Some mental images can't be unseen. In this case, two yiffing sign spinners in full uniform. Of course this bizarre happening is not unusual in a Serge Storms novel, as he manages to uncover the trendy and work it into a narrative as if it might even be normal.
You remember Serge? He's the fellow who kills those who would harm Florida or Floridians, usually in creative fashion to match the "crime" but always leaving them a potential out that rarely works. I used to refer to Serge as a serial killer but it turns out he takes umbrage at that as I found out in this latest of Dorsey's madcap series. According to Serge, "Serial killers are sick, obsessive losers who will never stop until they die or get arrested. Sequential killers, on the other hand, just happen to be the only person around when action is required." "A sequential killer never intends to kill again - it's just that the cosmic hand of responsibility sometimes keeps picking the same person." So, sorry, Serge, I'll refer to you as sequential from now on.
It has become a bit of an annual ritual. Run down to the book store in January to meet up with Tim Dorsey and grab an autographed copy or two of his new release. This one centers on dishonest landlords, weird doings with the state lottery, and Serge's attempts, along with his drug addled sidekick Coleman to duplicate some of the last episodes of "Route 66" that were actually filmed in Florida. As always, one picks up some delicious Florida trivia and geography and exposure to some of the most ingenious plotting devices and bizarre characters in fiction.
Dorsey has to be one of the hardest working authors around. His website shows 57 signings in the two months since the publication. Keep it up Tim, enjoy you and the series!
You remember Serge? He's the fellow who kills those who would harm Florida or Floridians, usually in creative fashion to match the "crime" but always leaving them a potential out that rarely works. I used to refer to Serge as a serial killer but it turns out he takes umbrage at that as I found out in this latest of Dorsey's madcap series. According to Serge, "Serial killers are sick, obsessive losers who will never stop until they die or get arrested. Sequential killers, on the other hand, just happen to be the only person around when action is required." "A sequential killer never intends to kill again - it's just that the cosmic hand of responsibility sometimes keeps picking the same person." So, sorry, Serge, I'll refer to you as sequential from now on.
It has become a bit of an annual ritual. Run down to the book store in January to meet up with Tim Dorsey and grab an autographed copy or two of his new release. This one centers on dishonest landlords, weird doings with the state lottery, and Serge's attempts, along with his drug addled sidekick Coleman to duplicate some of the last episodes of "Route 66" that were actually filmed in Florida. As always, one picks up some delicious Florida trivia and geography and exposure to some of the most ingenious plotting devices and bizarre characters in fiction.
Dorsey has to be one of the hardest working authors around. His website shows 57 signings in the two months since the publication. Keep it up Tim, enjoy you and the series!
October 16, 2016
Clownfish Blues
by Tim Dorsey
Tim Dorsey provides another comedic gumshoe type gem out of his home state of Florida. As the summer heat of Miami slows the private investigation business down for P.I. Mahoney, two defrauders plan to change the dull days of sultriness into a hi-jinxed road trip. Coleman and Serge have chosen a new life style, both plan to team up and move to a new town every week and find employment, a Route 66 brand of lifestyle where there is havoc to play out each and every occasion. Dorsey uses his past career experience of newspaper reporting and editor skills to help churn out classic whimsical detective novels such as his latest, Clownfish Blues.
by Tim Dorsey
Tim Dorsey provides another comedic gumshoe type gem out of his home state of Florida. As the summer heat of Miami slows the private investigation business down for P.I. Mahoney, two defrauders plan to change the dull days of sultriness into a hi-jinxed road trip. Coleman and Serge have chosen a new life style, both plan to team up and move to a new town every week and find employment, a Route 66 brand of lifestyle where there is havoc to play out each and every occasion. Dorsey uses his past career experience of newspaper reporting and editor skills to help churn out classic whimsical detective novels such as his latest, Clownfish Blues.
May 31, 2017
One of Tim's better ones. I love that he is bringing back many characters from previous novels and weaving them into the fun and insanity of Serge and Coleman.
August 21, 2017
Not a lot of "laugh out loud moments" in this Serge installment, but still an enjoyable read! Tim Dorsey seems to always find humorous new adventures for Serge and Coleman -- sign spinners extraordinaire!! 5 out of 10.
June 3, 2017
If I were an objective reader, I might point out how this is among the weaker books in the now 20-book series. Also, if I were an objective reader, I might point out how, even by Serge's lovable psychopathic standards (where you subconsciously approve of whom he executes), it was hard to accept the way . I'm sure I'd point out how each book is essentially a variation of every other book in the series.
However, I'm not an objective reader. Tim Dorsey and Serge Storms are my guilty pleasures every January/February. I'm Floridian and I love Dorsey's mix of trivia and unapologetic zaniness. It would take a hell of a lot worse than this to get anything less than 4 stars.
However, I'm not an objective reader. Tim Dorsey and Serge Storms are my guilty pleasures every January/February. I'm Floridian and I love Dorsey's mix of trivia and unapologetic zaniness. It would take a hell of a lot worse than this to get anything less than 4 stars.
January 1, 2020
Clownfish Blues is another hugely enjoyable episode in the Serge Storms saga. The plot this time (as though it matters) involves lottery scams and faked TV “news” in which, needless to say, Serge and Coleman brilliantly and hilariously dispose of the scumbags and various Bad Guys while, of course, manically pursuing Florida’s diverse history. For example, Serge insists on visiting Sopchoppy:
“This place is so remote and tiny, yet has all kinds of bonus feaures as both the self-proclaimed ‘music capital of North Florida’ and ‘earthworm harvesting capital’ of the whole state. That is a bold range of culture.”
With Tim Dorsey’s enthusiastic research and compelling, madcap storytelling and a welcome return of a couple of characters from Shark Skin Suite, this is another very funny and involving read. Very warmly recommended.
“This place is so remote and tiny, yet has all kinds of bonus feaures as both the self-proclaimed ‘music capital of North Florida’ and ‘earthworm harvesting capital’ of the whole state. That is a bold range of culture.”
With Tim Dorsey’s enthusiastic research and compelling, madcap storytelling and a welcome return of a couple of characters from Shark Skin Suite, this is another very funny and involving read. Very warmly recommended.
February 7, 2017
Let me say that Tim Dorsey never disappoints, and this book is no exception. To be honest though he uses all his books as a platform to showcase his perceived ills and issues with society. Sort of a Social Justice warrior. That being said I often agree with him on many of these things, but be forewarned if this sort of thing bothers you, this may not be the book for you. This is the 20th book in the Serge A Storms series and despite the former comments, its is easily one of the best. we meet some new characters and some old characters. If you are a fan of the series, this is a must read, if you have never read them, you can read this one with out reading the others, but I recommend you start at the beginning. I loved this one and I gave it 5 stars and 5 Lennys
March 16, 2017
From the publisher: If you’re loud and proud Floridian Serge A. Storms, how do you follow up on your very own remake of Easy Rider? You shoot your own “episodes” of your favorite classic television show, Route 66! With Coleman riding shotgun, Serge is rolling down the highway of his dreams in a vintage silver Corvette. It doesn’t matter that the actual Route 66 doesn’t pass through Florida, for Serge discovers that a dozen episodes near the show’s end were filmed (really!) in his beloved home state. So for Serge and the always toked and stoked Coleman, the Sunshine State is all the road you need to get your kicks. But their adventure traveling the byways of Florida’s underbelly is about to take a detour. Someone is trying to tilt the odds in the state lottery amid a long line of huge jackpots, resulting in more chaos than any hurricane season. Soon every shady character wants in - - crooked bodega owners, drug cartels laundering money, and venture capitalists trying to win one for the mathletes. They’re also gambling with their lives, because when Serge and Coleman get hip to this timely (and very lucrative) trip, there’s no telling whose number is up next. Throw in Brook Campanella, Serge’s old flame, as well as the perpetually star-crossed Reevis Tome, and it’s a sure bet that the ever lucky Serge will hit it big.
This is the 20th book in the series, and I have to state right up front that it kept a perpetual smile on my face from page 1. I really needed a break from a spate of books filled with violence, blood and gore, and news cycles that would be difficult to top for their outlandish details of the current political climate. But the author has managed to produce just that! We are told that “there are parts of greater Miami where even crime doesn’t pay.” The novel jumps around a lot, kinda like Serge and Coleman (his life-long friend, generally “stoned and tipsy”), with Serge driving a “genuine 1964 Corvette Stingray, just like Martin Milner drove in the third season of Route 66. For Serge and Coleman, it’s all about Route 66.”
The book is filled with recurring scenes such as, e.g., worm-grunting searches [no, I never heard of it before either], and “when the hucksters and hoopla dissipated, a tastefully quaint community accidentally emerged from the fog of failed avarice;” we meet a cable news cameraman named Gunter Klieglyte, and we find “a bicyclist with dangling iguanas, looking in the rearview mirror as officers interviewed Korean saloon workers, an Australian film crew, Marilyn Monroe and JFK, while a man in a camo hat ran through a dozen bodies chasing a small alligator . . . twenty-four-hour pedestrians moving with less verve and direction than zombies . . . sidewalks full of businesspeople on lunch and aimless people on parole… a dead guy hanging from a billboard and another with his head wrapped in scratch-offs.”
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which is, as you might have guessed, recommended.
This is the 20th book in the series, and I have to state right up front that it kept a perpetual smile on my face from page 1. I really needed a break from a spate of books filled with violence, blood and gore, and news cycles that would be difficult to top for their outlandish details of the current political climate. But the author has managed to produce just that! We are told that “there are parts of greater Miami where even crime doesn’t pay.” The novel jumps around a lot, kinda like Serge and Coleman (his life-long friend, generally “stoned and tipsy”), with Serge driving a “genuine 1964 Corvette Stingray, just like Martin Milner drove in the third season of Route 66. For Serge and Coleman, it’s all about Route 66.”
The book is filled with recurring scenes such as, e.g., worm-grunting searches [no, I never heard of it before either], and “when the hucksters and hoopla dissipated, a tastefully quaint community accidentally emerged from the fog of failed avarice;” we meet a cable news cameraman named Gunter Klieglyte, and we find “a bicyclist with dangling iguanas, looking in the rearview mirror as officers interviewed Korean saloon workers, an Australian film crew, Marilyn Monroe and JFK, while a man in a camo hat ran through a dozen bodies chasing a small alligator . . . twenty-four-hour pedestrians moving with less verve and direction than zombies . . . sidewalks full of businesspeople on lunch and aimless people on parole… a dead guy hanging from a billboard and another with his head wrapped in scratch-offs.”
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which is, as you might have guessed, recommended.
December 9, 2017
Serge and Coleman are reliving Serge’s version of the old tv show, Route 66. Each episode is funnier and more wacky than the last. Anyone who is not familiar with Tim Dorsey’s protagonists needs to be aware that Serge is certifiably crazy and Coleman is permanently drunk and/or stoned. Serge is a serial killer who only kills those most readers would want to eliminate like the guy who drives through a puddle and splashes you and soaks your phone. He has been doing this for years. Coleman is his compatriot and accomplice. The plots deal with lottery tickets and winning one of those huge rollover payoffs. The characters are hysterical and just that far out of the realm of reality. Fun reading throughout.
June 17, 2017
Way to go Elizabeth (sarcastic). I sat down to read this book and it was refreshingly different from anything I have read recently. Snappy dialogue and fast paced quickly changing plot. But I kept asking myself, "Where on earth am I? Is this Serge guy really a serial killer?" Sure enough, this is book TWENTY (!!) in a series. Whoa! And, yes, Serge is a serial killer or perhaps vigilante? He is taking the law into his own hands anyway and it is WILD. In fact his whole philosophy on life is pretty fringe. In this book he thinks his life is episodes of the show Route 66. On the plus side, this could read as a stand alone and the reader can catch on. However, incidents are referred to that obviously were explained in earlier books of the series.
*The author's love for Florida, warts and all, reminded me of Carl Hiaasen.
*The author's love for Florida, warts and all, reminded me of Carl Hiaasen.
April 12, 2017
A few books back I nearly gave up on this series. The stories were becoming to scattered, outlandish, political, lazy, and boring.
The last book Coconut Cowboys was an attempt to get back on track. I am happy to say that trend has continued and even been improved on.
There is no real way to describe what this or almost any Tim Dorsey book start Serge Storms is about, except to say think of all the outlandish, crazy shit that happens in Florida and add in a lovable, funny, sociopath (Serge) along with an even more lovable alcoholic drug addict (Colman), a large number of innocent bystanders and you have a classic Tim Dorsey book.
The only downside is the book doesn't last long enough.
The last book Coconut Cowboys was an attempt to get back on track. I am happy to say that trend has continued and even been improved on.
There is no real way to describe what this or almost any Tim Dorsey book start Serge Storms is about, except to say think of all the outlandish, crazy shit that happens in Florida and add in a lovable, funny, sociopath (Serge) along with an even more lovable alcoholic drug addict (Colman), a large number of innocent bystanders and you have a classic Tim Dorsey book.
The only downside is the book doesn't last long enough.
May 15, 2017
Holy Shit! The 20th in this series must be the same as the previous crap. It's the 1st and last for me. Competent writing from a former newspaper writer/reporter/editor. I don't mind the shallow treatment of drugs & politics & crime & sex & tourism & trivial issues, but the jokes were beneath me, I didn't get it.
November 27, 2018
The usual antic mayhem from one of my favorite crime writers. Tim Dorsey lives in the outer, loopier boroughs of Hiaasenville -- both excellent writes, and laugh out loud funny. Dorsey here delivers another fun ride with Serge and Coleman, the psychopath / stoner odd couple, as they travel along lesser known byways of Florida, with Serge dispensing oddball travelogue and his own brand of rough justice, and Coleman inhaling and imbibing just about anything intoxicating. No need to get all literary in this neck of the woods -- just put the top down and your mind on cruise control, and sit back and enjoy the ride. Sure, every novel in the series is roughly the same setup, but each is different, shining its light on its own weird facet of this truly weird state. I read 'em all!
March 17, 2017
Dorsey's raunchy romps always provide a nice change of pace. Serge Storm is still on his remaking-classic-movies kick, but this time it's TV's "Route 66," you know, the two guys, ronin of sorts I guess, in their convertible, every week a new town, a new job, a new problem to solve. But those episodes took place in a quieter, gentler world, not the over-the-top southern Florida that Serge inhabits. So it's a caper on speed, as Serge, accompanied by his stoned sidekick Coleman, traverses the state bringing his own brand of vigilante justice. There are scandals--the lottery is being fixed and, on a smaller scale, a pretty girl is extorting guys after causing traffic accidents by a technique I'm not describing. (That's where the raunchy comes in.) Fast pace; crazy series characters (Serge considers himself not a serial killer but a sequential murderer, a fine distinction); off-the-wall story line; smart dialog; and laugh-out-loud-amidst-the-groans hilarity. Not family entertainment but there's surely something to offend everyone.
March 5, 2018
Flori-duh!
August 27, 2018
A fun read.
April 18, 2019
The usual Florida silliness from Dorsey, this time about everybody trying to game the state lottery, while Serge Storms and Coleman reenact old Route 66 episodes. Good for a bunch of laughs, but prefer Carl Hiaason or Dave Barry for fun in Florida.
January 25, 2021
Coleman has a good time
September 30, 2021
This is a standard Serge Storm adventure.
February 16, 2023
Our living, breathing "Florida Man Headline," Serge Storms returns for Tim Dorsey's twentieth vicarious attack on wrongs found in Florida Life...While Serge and the eternally baked Coleman attempt to recreate Tod Stiles and Lincoln Case's adventures in Florida from the TV series "Route 66"...I guess they had some map issues and this was before GPS...In "Clownfish Blues," Dorsey targets Civil Forfeiture scams by local police and the state's lottery...Absolutely hilarious!!!
November 1, 2021
Tim Dorsey has a terrific way with words and seriously could write about anything and it would be good reading. Proof; worm grunting (yes it's a real thing). I think being a Floridian makes these books extra charming but anyone who enjoys humor, action, great dialogue and a little bit of the absurd should read Clownfish Blues.
April 13, 2024
2.5 stars
October 1, 2024
Serge remakes Easy Rider while drinking lots of coffee and avoiding his meds.
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