Electric Barracuda

In Dorsey's madcap 13th novel featuring vigilante serial killer Serge A. Storms (after Gator A-Go-Go), Serge gets engaged in a scheme cooked up by his faithful sidekick, Coleman, who hopes to attract tourists to Florida by offering theme vacations: "My first theme vacation: the ‘tourist fugitive.' You come down here and pretend to be on the lam." Those on the gleefully maniacal Serge's trail include a conniving lawyer gulled into thinking Serge has the key to Al Capone's lost treasure, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement task force, and Serge's personal Javert, the obsessive, dubiously lucid but insightful Agent Mahoney. Dorsey cheerfully rejoices in Florida's colorful history and in the triumph of absurdity and anarchy over law and propriety. His police are no better than Keystone Kops, while tempering his deranged protagonist's taste for complex murder is Serge's unerring ability to select worthy targets. An unnecessary final revelation aside, series fans will be pleased. (Feb.)