Hurricane Punch

This is the ninth book in the Serge Storms series and it’s just as insane and hilarious as all of the others. Serge loves Florida and knows more about its history and trivia than almost anyone. He’s also insane and not a fan of his meds. His sidekick Coleman is continually high and willing to go along with pretty much anything Serge comes up with. Serge is not a serial killer because the people he kills deserve their fate and Serge continues to find creative ways to do away with people who break the social contract.

This time around Serge and Coleman are touring Florida through multiple hurricanes and trying to find out who the serial killer is that’s claiming to be Serge. Agent Mahoney, a former nemesis of Serge’s, is out of the show more mental hospital and on the trail.

It’s violent, it’s utterly implausible, it’s hilarious. show less

Serge and his semi-nemesis, Agent Mahoney, play a cat and mouse game through the press in between and during several hurricanes that pass through Florida without much of a breather. Mahoney, fresh out of psychological care resulting from his last stint of trying to catch Serge, is manipulating a rookie crime reporter's stories to entice Serge into the open.
Tim Dorsey skewers the media conglomerates responsible for the diminishment of print news, while giving Serge ever more inventive ways of killing people, which he manages to do during his search for a religion that will have him (a scene in a confessional - also involving Serge's sidekick Coleman - is a highlight).
One of Dorsey's more satisfying Serge novels due to the coherence and show more intertwining of the media and hurricane themes - and the usual sharp wicked humor. show less

Hurricane Punch is an interesting book. It is another book in the series of a serial murderer who escapes being caught, who seems to care about right and wrong, admits that he is mentally ill, who spouts historical information about the state of Florida and really is despicable yet a true hero. There is a sequence of story here concluding with an unexpected ending. Four stars were given to this book on originality alone and good story.

This is OK. I listened to "Torpedo Juice" and nearly died laughing. I think a large part of the humor of the series is watching normal people try to deal with Serge. (On the other hand, I was more than halfway through TJ when I realized that Serge is a serial killer, so I brought a very different point of view to every other book in the series.) There were a few scenes with Serge simply going off in odd directions that were flat-out hillarious. I get the impression, though, that the dysfunctional normality of Florida that drove Dorsey to write his first books is wearing a bit thin on him.

Funny in a twisted, sardonic sort of way. The dead on characterization of society make you want to laugh or scream out loud. The liberal use of the F word is the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars.

Perverse dark humor, creative use of back timing, quirky characters, lots of fun

Started reading Dorsey with 'Florida Road Kill' and it has been one wild, weird ride. It's Hunter S Thompson (in the good ole days)meets Carl Hiaasen, for a romp around the Sunshine State. Mix in a few Tropical Systems and you've got Hurricane Punch.