2016;
322 pages. Book #22 (and the latest) in
the Serge A. Storms series. New Author? : No. Florida Crime Noir, Stoner Humor. Overall Rating : 8*/10.
Welcome to Wobbly, Florida. That’s “Wobbly” as in “crooked”, since scams
and shakedowns and speed traps abound. Also
“Wobbly” as in “shaky”, since rumor has it that the dwindling groundwater level
has made conditions ripe for a sinkhole to develop.
But for Peter and Mary Pugliese, Wobbly seems like heaven compared to
their native New York. And well whattaya
know, Peter’s a geologist. He could be a
valuable asset for studying the sinkhole issue.
Or for covering it up.
Meanwhile, our recurring protagonist, Serge A. Storms, has found a new
passion in life – the movie Easy Rider. He’s ready to chase the American Dream, through
small towns in the backlands of Florida, and on a tricked-out chopper, just
like Peter Fonda. With his best bud and
super stoner, Coleman, at his side, just like Dennis Hopper.
What’s To Like...
Coconut Cowboy
is another vintage Serge-&-Coleman saga, and that’s the best kind of Tim
Dorsey storyline. The chapters flip-flop
between shenanigans in Wobbly, and the motorcycle meanderings of our
dysfunctional duo. There’s nothing very
twisty in either plot thread, but the fun’s in the details, in watching as Dorsey
contrives to bring both threads together, and in wondering if the sleazeball baddies are going to "get away with it".
In
addition to the usual psychotic wackiness, the reader is treated to all sorts
of small-town Florida historical trivia ( I presume these anecdotes are factual). We also get to attend the Purple Hatter’s Ball,
and there’s even a mention of Krotz Springs, Louisiana. Where, you ask? Hey, my company used to have a plant there. Along the way, you will learn important
knowledge, such as how to best answer the question, “Honey, which one of my
friends do you think is the sexiest?”
As
always, Tim Dorsey treats us to a fascinating cast of new characters. Some are good, some are bad, some are smart
and streetwise, some couldn’t spell “cat” if you spotted them the “C” and the “A”. All of them have their charms. You’re gonna love Elroy, Slow, and Slower.
If
you’ve never read a Tim Dorsey novel, you should be aware that there’s a goodly
amount of cussing, some gratuitous violence, constant drug-usage by Coleman, and
Serge-administered vigilante justice.
Here, there are five instances of the latter, albeit one by a guest
executioner. Some of us think that’s a
plus.
As
expected, the wit, humor, and madcap situations simply sparkle. The best is the Woodstock-esque hippie
festival, with Serge inadvertently taking his first trip. Cheech and Chong would be proud. Coconut
Cowboy is both a standalone novel and part of a series.
Excerpts...
“Florida’s
big-sky country, rolling hills and farms and sprawling beds of those lavender
and harvest-yellow wildflowers in an intoxicating oil-painting palette like a
Monet come to life. When I was a kid,
bumblebees whizzed around those flowers, and one of my uncles said you could
catch a bee in your cupped hands, and as long as you kept shaking them, the bee
would rattle around and couldn’t sting you.”
“Did you try it?”
asked Coleman.
“Stung me right
away and hurt like a bastard,” said Serge.
“The sixties were all about the lies.”
(pg. 96)
“Why are you so
upset?”
“The last scene
in Easy Rider always chokes me
up.” He aimed a camera out the
window. “Two freethinkers exploring the
limitless road of our great nation, and they’re wasted by a pair of mental dead
ends.”
Coleman exhaled
again as pot smoke filled a tiny cockpit.
“I remember that movie now. It
was about those cats doing weed all the time.
What a great plot!”
“Coleman, that
wasn’t the plot-“
“It most
definitely was the plot.” (…)
“Coleman, Easy Rider was about the American
Dream.”
“Like I just
said.” (pg. 26)
“One person’s Wiffle ball is another person’s butt whistle.” (pg. 186 )
The
greatest fun in reading Coconut Cowboy is
watching the two plotlines slowly race (is that an oxymoron?) towards convergence. Unfortunately, a spectacularly-spun story is
marred by an ending that is hasty, clunky, and strains at the believability
factor.
Serge
and Coleman finally make it to Wobbly (that’s not a spoiler), and I looked forward
to their climactic encounter with the baddies. But
in a blink of an eye, we jump from arrival to epilogue, with the events
in-between related after that. This drops
the tension to zero, and flat-lined the excitement.
Nevertheless, although this was disappointing, I wouldn’t say that it ruins the book. There's just too many plusses to this book. It just pushes it down from “great” to “good”.
8 Stars. Add 1 star
if you’re a bona fide biker. Subtract 1 Star if you’ve never watched Easy Rider.
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