Book Review: Florida Roadkill by Tim Dorsey

I read a book that was neither chick lit nor mystery. Cha! I know. Write it on the calender! Though to be honest, the whole chick lit/mystery exclusivity is really recent and I do enjoy other genres of books. Florida Roadkill by Tim Dorsey is a crime novel, or a crime caper. Or a highly violent, yet light and funny novel that takes place in Florida. Seriously, that seems to be a genre onto itself. Violent Florida crime caper comedy. It is an entertaining genre for sure. Onto the review.

The main character is Serge Storm, a highly unstable, manic, obsessive, violent, personable guy who is prescribed many medicines that he doesn't take and enjoys being a rather spazztic tour guide to whoever he happens to be traveling with. Honestly, he is the kind of guy that you really don't want to like, but in the story you can't help but enjoy having him there. And outside of the psychological problems, he is really knowledgeable about the culture and history of Florida.

There are a ton of other characters in Florida Roadkill. So many that I had trouble remembering who everyone was and had to keep going back to check on when I met the people before. But all the characters were needed because the plot was wicked complicated. Basically, Serge ends up getting a very douchey dentist a 5 million dollar insurance settlement, which the dentist puts into a briefcase before running in an attempt to get away from Serge. The main secondary characters are a pair of buddies who kind of know the dentist and end up with the briefcase, unbeknown to them. The whole book, in flashbacks, out of sequence plot lines, and constant character focus changes, tells the story of Serge trying to get the money.

Though I kept getting confused by the characters and the plots, I would still recommend Florida Roadkill, especially if you have read Big Trouble or Tricky Business by Dave Barry. Also, apparently if you like Carl Hiaasen, you will enjoy Tim Dorsey (I haven't read Hiaasen yet, so I don't know, but I know that Dave Barry is the same genre and I loved both).

I am now currently reading The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke. I've read it before (and the whole series), but I wanted something light to read. And I have discovered that I don't remember who the killer is at all! My next book to read is Abandon by Meg Cabot. I am currently in possession of an Advanced Reader Copy. So excited!