When Elves Attack

January 23, 2012
This small holiday package, the 14th Serge Storms thriller (after Electric Barracuda), packs a satisfyingly large punch of classic Dorsey craziness. At Thanksgiving, civic-minded serial killer Serge executes an unpatriotic thief the time-honored Florida way, in the explosion caused by deep-frying a frozen turkey. In December, Serge decides heâs âtaking Christmas large.â He and his stoned crony, Coleman, rent a suburban house, serve up a gingerbread house-turned-bong, and haunt the local mall dressed as elves to protect the public from seasonal felons and mean mall cops. Along the way they re-encounter familiar characters, including the G-Unit, a quartet of elderly spitfires on the lam from their retirement home. The snarky humor is a nice change from the usual Christmas-season sweetness, and Sergeâs paradoxical personality is at its most charming, whether heâs reprimanding a teenage girl for smoking just before torturing her boyfriend with a specially rigged set of Christmas lights or reveling in his first taste of snow. Agent: Nat Sobel, Sobel Weber.

Hyperactive psychopath Serge Storms and his druggie sidekick, Coleman, head home to Tampa in hopes of a kindler, gentler Christmas. Wherever Serge goes, can mayhem be far behind? Oliver Wyman embraces his inner-screwball as he gives voice to Tim Dorsey's multitude of semi-normal and criminal nutbars in the Sunshine State. Wyman's enthusiasm is as infectious as Serge's plans are outrageous. Serge and Coleman move into a suburban tract house across from old pal Jim Davenport and his family, where holiday stress has everyone's nerves jangling. Davenport's teenaged daughter wants a tattoo, Serge and Coleman are involved in a violent incident at a mall while dressed as elves, and some untraditional gingerbread adds spice to the festivities. Oliver Wyman's high-energy performance ramps up Dorsey's insanity, providing extremely funny listening. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine