Tropic of Stupid
A Novel
by Tim Dorsey
William Morrow and Custom House
You Are Auto-Approved
William Morrow
General Fiction (Adult) | Humor | Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 26 Jan 2021 | Archive Date 23 Mar 2021

This is the first book I have read by Tim Dorsey and I was not impressed. In order to enjoy a book,I think you have to find at least one of the characters likeable... and I did not. This is in a long series of books... so maybe this author/book was just not for me. Thanks to William Morrow and Custom House for the ARC through NetGalley.

3 stars

Serge A. Storms has a new outlook on life - one of wringing every precious second out of it and making people happy. He is a lover of economy motels and taking photos of old signs in his beloved Florida. He is also working to get his Florida National Park booklet stamped from all the parks. Along the way he delivers vigilante justice and begins to track a serial killer who he believes he is related to after submitting DNA to Ancestor R Us.

This is one of many Serge A. Storms books, but the first one I have read. I tried one several years ago, but it must not have been the right time for me as I quickly abandoned it. I am so glad I stuck this one out! What has changed? Well, I am freezing cold in Missouri right now and was in the mood for an irreverent, slightly twisted crime novel set in Florida in the vein of Carl Hiaasen. And honestly, the title just made me giggle and I knew I had to give it try. I also scoped out Dorey's webpage and he seems like an author who is very good to his readers and someone I would love to hear speak.

I also really liked that story once I got into it. It took me a couple of chapters, but when I eventually started figuring out the storylines, I couldn't put the book down. (It has also helped that I watched the Dexter series and made my peace with the wrongness of rooting for a serial killer.). I will be backtracking and catching up on Serge's adventures for sure.

TROPIC OF STUPID is the first book I have read by Tim Dorsey. I point this out because a) this is the twenty-fourth book in the series and b) if you have read the other twenty-three, you are going to read this too and c) for anyone else, it's a question of whether the other twenty-three are worth reading or not. (I do not think that you have to have read any of the other books to enjoy this one.)

Apparently, most of these books feature the same main character, whom I am not going to write about here, or at least not very much. There is a scene in TROPIC OF STUPID where another character (who is, by way of nothing in particular, an actual live person on this planet who you may have heard of) insists on being let out of a car in the middle of nowhere to escape said main character, and I know how he feels.

Generally speaking, when you have a series that revolves around one or two characters, it is very helpful for the reader to like that character, or at least to not be constantly irritated by that character.

Let me explain here what I mean by that. One of my favorite series is the Vorkosigan books by Lois McMaster Bujold, which center around an irrepressible hyperactive motormouth space mercenary. I like these books. I recommend them all the time. I would probably, in real life, go well, well out of my way to avoid that character ("How can you stand me! I can't even stand myself," he blurts out at one key point in the story). But the stories are great, and the character's charisma and determination go a long way.

TROPIC OF STUPID is a perfectly fine book; sort of a junior-varsity Carl Hiaasen; if this is the kind of thing you like (it is the kind of thing I like) then it should be a perfectly reasonable read. But the whole thing centers around this scatterbrain manic (and murderous) Florida-phile, who just pops up all over the place at random, doing random stuff, and... well, I suppose I can see how other people might find this sort of thing appealing, and there is a sort of low-level charisma in his heedless enthusiasms, but I would go a long, long way to avoid spending even a few minutes in his real-life company. Well-written, funny, excellent sense of place, but if you don't mind I am getting out of this car and hitchhiking back in the other direction.

What a pleasure it was to get back on the road with Serge and Coleman in Tropic of Stupid. This outing, the boys drive a borrowed 1970 Ford Cobra to travel the length and breadth of the Sunshine State, exploring Serge's ancestry.
Meanwhile, a wily Florida detective is also following Serge's family tree, in hopes of apprehending a serial killer. And this time, the killer's not Serge.
Author Tim Dorsey takes the reader to many undiscovered Florida sites and state parks, as Serge eagerly gets his guide book officially stamped.
In a finale straight out of the TV series "Seahunt," Serge uncovers the bad apple in his family tree.
Relish nutty supporting characters, gorgeous locales and a tour guide straight out of the cuckoo's nest in Tim Dorsey's laugh-filled Tropic Of Stupid.
And don't forget to bring a case of beer for Coleman.

Tim Dorsey is great, because Florida. Thee is truly "stupid" in Florida and Serge Storms always find it. Serge is a great character hat you wish you could meet. looking for his "history" is a fun trip.

Serge and Coleman are back for a new adventure. This book has all the qualities of previous titles by Dorsey, madcap adventures and misadventures, Serge's stories, and more. For the lovers of books by Carl Hiaasen, Topic of Stupid is on point.