Coconut Cowboy

Bestseller Dorsey’s entertainingly picaresque 19th Serge Storms novel (after 2015’s Shark Skin Suite) opens with a scene that sets the comic tone for what’s to follow. A dispute between mascots for competing eateries, a man in a panda suit and one in a gorilla suit, turns violent; at a nearby bank, a would-be thief, who leads a “long, imprecise life footnoted entirely by sighs,” learns to his chagrin that he’s waited in the wrong line to hand in a robbery note. Dorsey deftly brings all his players to life, none more so than his serial killer lead, Serge, a vigilante who has a soft spot for the victims of bad guys other than him, a wide-ranging knowledge of popular culture, and original insights (e.g., that the Amazon delivery model was inspired by the Acme company in the Road Runner cartoons). The major plot thread focuses on geologist Peter Pugliese, who has just moved from New York to the small burg of Wobbly, Fla., and finds himself in shady company. The author’s Kinky Friedman–like voice perfectly suits the engaging story arc. Author tour. Agent: Nat Sobel, Sobel Weber. (Jan.)