Tiger Shrimp Tango

May 12, 2014
Bestseller Dorsey delivers another joyously funny Florida vacation with his madcap 17th adventure featuring manic serial killer and Florida trivia expert Serge Storms (after 2013's The Riptide Ultra-Glide). Serge is feeling the need to recharge his "idea reservoir for unique ways to dispatchâ the deserving scalawags that make Florida the "scam capital of the nation.â Accompanied by his inveterate companion, the always stoned Coleman, and assisted by private eye Mahoney, whose patter is a terrible send-up of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, Serge out scams the scammers. Serge bounces around the state visiting such landmarks as the home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Legoland, and the Tupperware Museum, offering up his own commentary but never forgetting about the transgressors. Among them are dating bandits, a burglary crew, and hole-in-one insurance operators. Vengeance is delivered in outrageously inventive ways, as innocent materials (e.g., Mentos) are converted into deadly devices. Dorsey's rapid-style delivery and vicious lampoons lance varied targets such as Sarah Palin, the Tea Party, the Occupiers, and trendy restaurants, all within just a few pages. Agent: Nat Sobel, Sobel Weber.

September 15, 2013
Florida booster and serial killer Serge Storms goes on an outrageous road trip to rescue a young woman who has disappeared after a particularly noxious scam. With a 75,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2013

Florida booster and serial killer Serge Storms goes on an outrageous road trip to rescue a young woman who has disappeared after a particularly noxious scam. With a 75,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2014
A rare burst of focus sets Serge Storms (Riptide Ultra-Glide, 2013, etc.) straight on the path of a band of South Florida scam artists. With its fertile fields of kitschy history, South Florida is a grifter's dream. In a land that boasts roadside attractions like Gatorland and the Tupperware Confidence Center, nothing seems beyond belief. Still, Florida native South Philly Sal likes to start small. First it's Gustave and Sasha, his gigolo and gigolette, decoying suckers into trendy bistros that serve molecular cuisine while Sal's operatives burgle their bungalows. Then there's Uncle Cid, who sells the same Corvette over and over, only to steal it back from under the noses of the poor schlubs who just signed the papers. Sal's henchman, Omar, and his diminutive henchwoman, Piper, fleece thousands posing as a cancer-afflicted boy and a father who can't afford his son's treatment. And Sal mixes larceny with a little old-fashioned mischief, phoning hotel patrons en masse with fake poison-gas threats and rifling their room as they stream naked onto the street covered in fire-extinguisher foam. Naturally, these hijinks irk the vigilante in Serge, who goes after the perpetrators with the help of his stoned-out pal, Coleman, and an assortment of homebrewed chemical combinations Mr. Wizard never told you about. Dorsey's 17th is as antic as ever, but his straight-arrow plotting deprives readers of the fun of figuring out just what the hell is going on.

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February 15, 2014
There are really no better guides for a virtual tour of Florida than Serge Storms and his ever-inebriated sidekick Coleman (The Riptide Ultra-Glide, 2013), especially if you can appreciate a plot with plenty of slack for hysterical digressions bound by the time-tested moral: Don't be a jerk. This time philosophical serial killer Serge is working for his Hammett-channeling friend Mahoney to track the worst offenders in an epidemic of scam artistry. Harnessing the power of metadata (no one said this book isn't smart), Serge and Coleman uncover a dazzling string of culprits. Then they dispatch them in a series of science experiments intricately plotted to amuse Serge and make ironic statements. Serge punctuates his hunt for miscreants with tours of Florida attractions (LEGOLAND, Tupperware Confidence Center), a mission to unite the Democratic and Republican parties, and a plot to avenge his love Felicia's murder. This strong entry in the long-loved series is an incisive, darkly humorous road trip; perfect for those weary of Dexter's sobriety, and a great crossover match with Christopher Moore's adventures (Sacr' Bleu, 2012).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)