Triggerfish Twist by
Tim Dorsey
pbk out August 02
(HarperCollins)
at £6.99
I am not usually a fan of American humour, so I thought I was not going to relish reading Triggerfish Twist. I mean what could be funny about Dorsey's running character from his previous books - Serge Storms the loveable homicidal maniac? Well, of course, it's his encyclopaedic knowledge of Florida folklore, his ability to put his dubious skills at the service of the downtrodden, and his unerring ability to see all that is wrong in American culture. For example, having accidentally walked into a lecture hall at the University of Florida, Serge is invited to give the commencement address. Amongst many other shibboleths of American culture, he eviscerates the urge to litigation, suggesting that if you drop a taco, don't look round for somebody to blame. After all, 'the blacks and the gays and the Jews did not drop your taco. You dropped the f****ing taco, my friend...life has just elected you the shmuck who has to go get the mop.' I warmed to Serge at this point.
Of course, there's a sort of story line in there somewhere. Mild-mannered family man, Jim Davenport moves into an apparently idyllic Florida neighbourhood, thinking he has a slice of heaven. Unfortunately, a developer is buying up properties, and putting in the neighbours from Hell as tenants to force other owners to sell to him. Enter Serge Storms and his friends. Jim's wife, Martha, is not sure she wants their son learning how to play baseball from a homicidal maniac. But then Jim loses his job and accidentally kills a notorious bank robber - don't ask how, just go with it. So who is going to protect poor Jim and his family from the predatory property developer, and the bank robber's even nastier brothers? Well, nice maniac Serge, naturally.
I loved this picaresque novel, and want to go back and read the earlier ones now. Though I am not sure about Dorsey's feelings for what I am doing here. When describing the bank robber's cousins he points out that 'Five have died violently, three are back in prison, two have gone insane from untreated venereal disease, and one writes book reviews.' Now what have I done to deserve that?
(
Ian Morson
Author of Falconer books and short listed for 1999 Ellis Peters Historical Crime Dagger)
