Mermaid Confidential

In bestseller Dorsey’s delightfully madcap 25th crime novel featuring Serge A. Storms (after 2021’s Tropic of Stupid), vigilante serial killer Serge and his stoner pal, Coleman, take a break from road trips and criminal pursuits to become responsible tenants at Pelican Bay, a bustling condominium complex in the Florida Keys. But, alas, the condo’s fun-loving community spirit has given way to petty squabbles, drunk and disorderly behavior, gun violence, and malicious prank calls to police, with boisterous, disruptive renters causing havoc within the complex. Finding themselves in the thick of things, Serge and Coleman are encouraged to take suitable action against troublesome occupants on behalf of their friendly neighbors. Meanwhile, a blast across from Pelican Bay on a neighboring key, which injures dozens, including members of the infamous Millan cartel, heralds the onset of a turf war between the cartel and the Benzappa family, and a gang of murderous drug smugglers with a treasure map head for the Keys to unearth a hoard of buried cash. The suspenseful, seemingly unconnected subplots imaginatively intertwine as Dorsey brings everything to a suitably vicious and explosive finale. This fiendishly funny adventure is irresistible. Agent: Nat Sobel, Sobel Weber Assoc. (Jan.)