Florida Roadkill

Florida Roadkill

infobox Book |
name = Florida Roadkill
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = First edition cover
author = Tim Dorsey
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Crime novel
publisher = William Morrow (USA) & HarperCollins (UK)
release_date = 1999
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 273 pp (first edition, hardback)
isbn = ISBN 0-688-16782-9 (first edition, hardback)
preceded_by =
followed_by = Hammerhead Ranch Motel

"Florida Roadkill" is the first book in the unnamed series of books by Tim Dorsey which were centered on his character Serge Storms. It was published in 1999 by William Morrow and Company, an imprint of HarperCollins.

Note that although "Triggerfish Twist" was written several years later, the events of "Twist" take place at some unspecified point in the middle of those in "Florida Roadkill" (as [http://www.timdorsey.com Dorsey's web site] puts it, Tim didn't know what he was doing and killed too many people he later decided he needed).

Plot summary

"Roadkill" is set in 1997, against the backdrop of that year's World Series in which the Florida Marlins won a stunning upset in Miami. Intelligent but sociopathic criminal Serge Storms meets up with heartless stripper Sharon Rhodes and brainless drug addict Seymore "Coleman" Bunsen, who become his travelling companions and partners in crime. Serge hatches a plan to steal an enormous fraudulent insurance settlement from an oversexed dentist, but the money proves surprisingly elusive. Storms and company pursue the metal briefcase containing the cash until the two companions meet untimely ends; Serge suffocates Sharon by spraying "Fix-A-Flat" into her lungs, and Coleman is later shot to death (at least apparently; see "Torpedo Juice").

The book has two meandering subplots which eventually tie in with the main plot. The first involves a pair of longtime buddies who are participating in their annual unsuccessful fishing trip. They spend a great deal of time reminiscing, and their stories lend an odd thoughtfulness to Dorsey's trigger-happy writing style (a thoughtfulness which would later apparently be shelved until "Orange Crush"). Without their knowledge, the briefcase of money is hidden in the trunk of their car.

The second, slightly more comic, subplot deals with three bikeless bikers — Stinky, Ringworm and Cheese-Dick — who have been rejected from every biker group they have encountered and are on the down and out. They find an odd sort of niche as hired muscle in a retirement community, but are ultimately forced out by the community staff who want the seniors as miserable as possible. They spend the rest of the time yachting in a boat on loan from the retirement community's manager until they meet up with a deranged pervert who kills two of them (Cheese-Dick having died when accidentally shot with a flare gun).

A number of minor characters (such as Bradley Xeno, the boat captain, and McJagger, the retirement community operator) make minor appearances in the following book, "Hammerhead Ranch Motel".


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • List of wild mammal species of Florida — This is a list of mammal species found in the wild on the American State of Florida. In total, 98 species of mammals are known to inhabit, or recently to have inhabited, the state and its surrounding waters. This includes a few species, such as… …   Wikipedia

  • Serge A. Storms — is the main fictional character in most of Tim Dorsey s novels (and appears in all of them to date). His name is a pun on storm surge.In most of Dorsey s books, Storms is in his mid forties in age. He is described as tall and thin, but muscular,… …   Wikipedia

  • Torpedo Juice (novel) — Torpedo Juice is Tim Dorsey s seventh novel, published in 2005. As with Dorsey s previous works, the main character is amateur Florida historian and serial killer Serge A. Storms.Plot summaryThe book takes place mainly in the Florida Keys, where… …   Wikipedia

  • Tim Dorsey — (born 1961) is an American novelist. His writing style is frequently compared to those of Dave Barry and Carl Hiaasen (who both had cameo appearances in his first book, Florida Roadkill ). Dorsey s books are crime capers in the Florida style… …   Wikipedia

  • Triggerfish Twist — is the fourth book in Tim Dorsey s as yet unnamed series of books which were centered on Serge A. Storms. It was published in 2002.The book takes place in the summer of 1997, somewhere in the midst of the events of Florida Roadkill . Triggerfish… …   Wikipedia

  • Miami — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Miami (homonymie). 25° 47′ 16″ N 80° 13′ 27″ W …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Miami (Floride) — Miami Pour les articles homonymes, voir Miami (homonymie). Miami …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Orange Crush (novel) — Orange Crush   …   Wikipedia

  • Hammerhead Ranch Motel — is a novel by Tim Dorsey published in 2000. It continues the story, started in Florida Roadkill , of blithe psychopath Serge A. Storms and his pursuit of five million dollars in cash hidden in the trunk of a car. The book is non linear, with some …   Wikipedia

  • The Stingray Shuffle — infobox Book | name = The Stingray Shuffle title orig = translator = author = Tim Dorsey cover artist = country = United States language = English series = genre = Crime novel publisher = William Morrow (USA) Robert Hale (UK) release date =… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”