Nuclear Jellyfish, Tampa writer Tim Dorsey‘s latest wacky Florida crime yarn, arrived in bookstores in late January, and it’s already generating enthusiasm among his regular readers and other fans of crime/mystery fiction.

Here’s my review, as published in the St. Petersburg Times. The (original) full text of the review. And click here to read, uh, Serge’s blog.

Tim is on the road, talking about his book, and signing copies, at various bookstores around the country. His itinerary follows the revivew.

Nuclear Jellyfish

By Tim Dorsey
William Morrow
320 pages, $24.99

Serge A. Storms, the serial killer at the center of a series of comic crime novels by Tampa writer Tim Dorsey, lives by a code. His code, probably more amoral than moral, isn’t quite like the one practiced by Hemingway’s antiheroes, or, say, the private detectives in crime/mystery books by John D. MacDonald (a major influence on Dorsey) or Raymond Chandler. Serge’s ethos, instead, is closer to that of the titular murderer in television’s “Dexter.” 

It boils down to this: Serge ices only those truly deserving of death. Or, at the very least, Serge’s victims are all certifiable jerks, caught in the act of inflicting considerable physical or emotional damage. He puts the hurt on skinheads who beat up the homeless, small-time criminals who attack an innocent, and auto-repair scam artists. 

The bloodletting in Nuclear Jellyfish, the 11th book in a decade from the former Tampa Tribune editor and writer, is as inventive — and as sickening — as ever; the author perfected his own brand of unsettling torture porn before that genre began its mercifully brief run slaying the competition at the box office. 

Serge and his alcoholic, pot-addled sidekick, Coleman, the Abbott and Costello of Florida road-tripping murderers, carry out their mayhem with the help of materials purchased at Home Depot, and a long streak of sadistic creativity. No spoilers here, but let’s just say that there will be swine, along with the blood. And garden hoses, and a death trap built out of cardboard boxes, air fresheners, and the expanding, hardening home improvement product known as Great Stuff. 

This time around, the hook for the story is an online travel guide. Serge nabs a job supplying reviews for an established travel web site, but loses the position because of his insistence on providing inappropriate content — for instance, tips on avoiding certain death and finding sex for hire while vacationing in the Sunshine State.

So, instead, the deranged duo, sometimes accompanied by a literary minded stripper named Story, travel around Florida in a two-tone 1971 AMC Javelin, gathering tasty morsels for Serge’s own blog. The killer, like the author, has a lifelong fondness for Floridiana — the state’s history, pop culture and kitsch, all of which are intermingled. 

So readers are treated to close-up inspections and/or goofy discussions of places and things associated with Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd, in Jacksonville, and the Allman Brothers, in Daytona Beach; the African-American landscape painters known as the Highwaymen, in Fort Pierce; serial killer Aileen Wuornos, in Port Orange; Dodgertown, in Vero Beach; and John Travolta’s mansion and airstrip, near Ocala. There’s even a wacky interlude with Claude Kirk, Florida’s oldest living governor, in West Palm Beach (not far from where Dorsey grew up).

A lot — probably too much — is crammed into this relentlessly quirky tale, which is interrupted with a long flashback, ala the crime-loving film director Quentin Tarantino. On display, in addition to the gory misadventures of the central odd couple, are a gang of jewel thieves led by low-life Jellyfish, so named because of a flubbed tattoo, warring bands of coin and stamp collectors, a mystery killer, and returning character Mahoney, a police detective who insists on speaking the language of film noir. 

Nuclear Jellyfish isn’t quite as much fun as its predecessors in the series, perhaps suggesting that Dorsey could be wearying of his cartoonish protagonists; Serge, too, acts as if he’s itching for the big sleep. Still, it makes for an often entertaining addition to a collection of books that, in the long run, may well be viewed as valuable if unconventional treasure troves of all things Florida.

Tim’s itinerary:

Sat., Feb. 14 – Marathon Discount Books – 2 p.m.
2315 Overseas Hwy, Marathon 

Sat., Feb. 14 – Cover to Cover – 5 p.m.
91272 Overseas Hwy, Tavernier Towne Shopping Center, Key Largo

Sun., Feb. 15 – Borders – 2 p.m.
2240 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale

Sun., Feb. 15 – Borders – 4:30 p.m.
700 N. University Dr, Coral Springs

Mon., Feb. 16 – West Palm Beach International Airport – 3 p.m.
Belvedere Road, West Palm Beach

Mon., Feb. 16 – Books & Books – 8 p.m.
927 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach

Tues., Feb. 17 – Southwest Florida International Airport – 4 p.m.
11000 Terminal Access Road, Fort Myers

Tues., Feb. 17 – Barnes & Noble – 7 p.m.
5377 Tamiami Trail, Naples 

Wed., Feb. 18 – Sanibel Books – 1-2 p.m.
1571 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel

Wed., Feb. 18 – One for the Books – 3:30-5 p.m.
3810 Del Prado, Cape Coral

Wed., Feb. 18 – Barnes & Noble – 7 p.m.
13751 Tamiami Trail, Fort Myers

Thurs., Feb. 19 – McBooks – 1:30-3:30 p.m.
3031 Placida Rd # 10, Englewood

Thurs., Feb. 19 – Hooked on Books – 6:30 p.m.
1200 W Retta Esplanade # F4, (Fishermen’s Village) Punta Gorda 

Fri., Feb. 20 – Sand Dollar Book Store – 1 p.m.
272 Miami Ave W, Venice

Fri., Feb. 20 – Annie’s Paperback Express – 3 p.m.
1522 US Highway 41 Bypass S, Venice

Fri., Feb. 20 – Borders – 7 p.m.
3800 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota

Sat., Feb. 21 – Borders – 1:30 p.m.
909 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa

Sat., Feb. 21 – Barnes & Noble – 3:30 p.m.
11802 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa

Sat., Feb. 21 – Borders – 5:30 p.m.
2020 Town Center Blvd, Brandon

Sun., Feb. 22 – Barnes & Noble – 1 p.m.
23654 US 19 North, Clearwater

Sun., Feb. 22 – Borders – 3 p.m.
6999 Tyrone Square, St Petersburg 

Wed., Feb. 25 – RJ Julia Booksellers – 7 p.m.
768 Boston Post Road, Madison, CT

Thurs., Feb. 26 – Bookworm – 7 p.m.
968 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, CT

Fri., Feb. 27 – Univerity of Connecticut Co-Op – 4 p.m.
2075 Hillside Rd Storrs, Mansfield, CT

Sat., Feb. 28 – Toadstool Bookshop – 7 p.m.
1 London Plaza Milford, NH

Mon., Mar. 2 – Borders – 7:30 p.m.
1500 16th Street, Oak Brook, IL (Chicago)

Tues., Mar. 3 – Mystery One Bookshop – 7 p.m.
2109 N. Prospect Ave., Milwaukee

Wed., Mar. 4 – Books & Co – 7 p.m.
1039 Summit AVE Oconomowoc, WI

Thurs., Mar 5 – Booked for Murder – 7 p.m.
2701 University Ave. Madison, WI

Fri., Mar. 6 – Third Place Books – 6:30 p.m.
17171 Bothell Way N.E. Lake Forest Park, WA

Wed., Mar. 18 – Manatee County Library luncheon
Bradenton City Center, 1001 Barcarota Blvd. W
Contact library system for details

Sat., Mar. 21 – Southwest Florida Festival of Reading
Harborside Events Center
1375 Monroe Street, Fort Myers

Tues., Mar. 24 – Paperback Express – 4-5 p.m.
3251 17th Street, Sarasota

Tues., Mar. 24 – Manatee Community College, Venice campus – 7 p.m.
8000 Tamiami Trl S, Venice

Wed., Mar. 25 – Venice Library luncheon
Contact library for details

Thurs., Mar. 26 – Lake County Festival of Reading
Contact library system for details

Sun., Mar. 29 – Dunedin Public Library – 1 p.m.
223 Douglas Ave., Dunedin

Wed,. April 15 – Willard Library – time tba
Battle Creek, MI

Thursday, Apr. 30 – Alabama Writers Symposium
Monroeville, AL

Fri-Sat. – June 5-6 – Mystery Florida conference
Lido Beach Resort, 700 Ben Franklin Drive, Sarasota
For details: mysteryflorida.com