If you’ve ever read one of Tim Dorsey’s novels, you know that it’s almost impossible to summarize them. They’re madcap adventures, set in Florida, featuring Serge Storms, a lovable serial killer, and his friend, Coleman, who is permanently stoned. And, the storyline is all over the place until the strings come together in an explosive climax. With Serge, that “explosive climax” can be taken literally, such as in Mermaid Confidential.

Serge’s new mission is to slow down, travel Florida’s old roads, and relax, so he and Coleman head to the Keys, where they find an older complex, Pelican Bay Condo. It’s just what Serge is looking for, and he’s quick to make friends with the new neighbors. But, there’s one problem in the development. One of the owners rented a condo, on a short-term basis, to a vacationer who parties and causes nothing about drug-induced trouble. Living with Coleman, Serge can handle that, but his first solution only works for a short-term. Then, the man sends the SWAT team to interrupt the neighborly spaghetti and game nights that Serge enjoys.

While out exploring, Serge also meets some of the local residents. Julie Cootehill, the daughter of a retired fishing boat captain, now volunteers for a children’s hospice. She’s also moved into a mansion owned by a powerful crime family. Mercado, the younger son, moved Julie’s aged father into the house as a companion for his own ailing father, while asking Julie to watch both of them. But, there’s a gang war about to break out.

There’s a car full of drug dealers and addicts heading straight down U.S. Highway 1, heading to the Keys. And, Vix, the only woman in the group can easily make a “casual leap to maximum violence.” An FBI agent in the north expects that to turn bad, recognizing it as one of those “wild fugitive runs that hurtle toward a bad ending…For some reason, they always head to Florida.”

For some reason, Serge is involved when gang wars and fugitive runs turn bad. He and Deputy Deke, one of Julie’s friends, recognize trouble when they see it coming. And, it’s heading straight for the mansion where Julie has moved the kids from that hospice.

While Serge’s antics always seem crazed, he’s a serial killer with a heart of gold. He turns up regularly to play with the kids at the hospice. He’s not going to let anything hurt Julie or the kids.

Crazed? Madcap? Carl Hiaasen always said he can’t make up the crazy things that happen in Florida. And, I looked up three of the things Tim Dorsey mentioned in passing in Mermaid Confidential. Toilet Seat Cut, Fred the Tree, and SWATTING are real. Tim Dorsey’s latest book is the twenty-fifth adventure for Serge, but even Dorsey can’t make everything up about Florida.

Mermaid Confidential by Tim Dorsey. William Morrow, 2022. ISBN 9780062967534 (hardcover), 368p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I read a galley to review for a journal.