Customer Reviews

Triggerfish Twist

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Mistakenly believing Tampa to be the third best city in the United States for raising a family, Jim Davenport moves his family to a lovely old home on Triggerfish Lane. But beyond the lofty facade of the Davenport's new residence lies the seedy underbelly of crime and murder, car salesmen and consultants, rental properties and urban renewal. It all comes together in Tim Dorsey's delightful "Triggerfish Twist."

The story comes complete with a laundry list of main characters, a large and unwieldy cast that, in many writers' hands, would collapse under its own weight. But Dorsey juggles them neatly, like an expert clown, and the tangled plotlines come together like, well, a game of Twister on the 4th of July without pants. (Read the book, you'll understand.)

Davenport is your average guy, a conscientious business consultant and family man. His wife, Martha, is a bit high-strung, it's true, but they and their children settle down on Triggerfish with high hopes for the future. Little do they know that Lance Boyle, who owns many of the properties on their street, is vying to buy up the rest so he can raze the houses and make a tidy sum on townhouses. To further that goal, he fills his rentals with the worst lowlifes he can find -- hoping to force a sharp decline in neighborhood values and encourage the few remaining homeowners, like the Davenports, to sell and move away.

There's more, but it'd be easier if you just read the book. Dorsey, an author of some note, is my latest discovery and a wonderful addition to my must-read list. The spiritual cousin of fellow Florida writer Carl Hiaasen, Dorsey is hilarious and inventive. This is the perfect time to visit his little corner of Florida.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.NET editor

This is my third Dorsey novel and he delivers with this one too. Dorsey is a lot like Hiaasen, only with a significantly more violent and demented twist. People are always getting bumped off in his novels, often in very creative ways. Readers of his Florida Roadkill and Hammerhead Ranch Motel books will be delighted to find that Serge and Coleman are back in this novel, which is actually a prequel to these books. Serge fans won't be disappointed as Serge is up to his usual frenetic and frenzied antics and also bumps off at least one deserving scumbag in his usual creative way. Coleman's character gets some hilarious fleshing out and development here, more so than in the previous books. And Sharon the gorgeous cocaine-snorting floozy/nympho makes up the threesome in this novel. The novel is very fast-paced and there is hardly a dull moment during the entire book, and Dorsey builds all the interelated threads and characters up to a spectacular and satisfying climax. Definitely another must-read for the Dorsey fans out there.

Dorsey's novel is most easily compared to those of Carl Haissen and Elmore Leonard (and Dave Barry's two full-length novels), but, if possible, it is even zanier and more incredible. It's set in Florida, with all of its quirks and swampland and the rampant crime from half-witted criminals. Dorsey weaves a topsy turvy plot of dozens of threads which all come together in the end, with the bad guys getting their due and the good ones having it all work out.

I'm impressed Dorsey was able to present as many characters as are in this novel, keeping them all straight for the reader, and then bringing them all together for a slam dunk ending.

I haven't read other Dorsey novels, but I can see the style getting repetitive after a while, so I'll take him in small doses. If you enjoy this book, be sure to check out Dave Barry's Tricky Business, which is a hilarious Florida crime caper from a talented comedic writer.

I read the first book in the Serge Storms series by Tim Dorsey and was reasonably entertained, but thought, I don't want to read a whole series about a psycho, and the descriptions of the next two books in the series didn't thrill me, so I passed on them. I just happened to find this one in a box of older books the other day and started reading it. I finished it last night. I had to muffle my laughter so as not to wake my sweetie up as I read until 2 AM to finish this!

Dorsey has really hit his stride. He still has uncontrollable psycho Serge Storms in the thick of things, but he's only one part of the whirl of obsessive and mostly unlikable characters pinballing off each other in the seedier parts of Tampa, FL. Serge is still a completely crazy killer but he kills such repugnant people, you can't feel too sorry for them. And Serge has an oddly sentimental streak to him--in this book, he does what he does in defense of the innocent suburbanites doing their best to live peacefully in what should be a nice quiet neighborhood. Serge likes them and envies them in a way, and will defend them to the death--generally someone else's.

As others have said, fans of Carl Hiaasen and Dave Barry should check this out--Dorsey may still be on the B team, but he's a zany Florida crime novelist to be reckoned with, and his books will make you laugh!

I picked up Triggerfish Twist at a tiny used book store for a quarter, along with various other books that caught my eye. I didn't expect much for the money, as I have been very disappointed by other books with equal amounts of bragging inside the cover, declaring just how hilarious the book you are about to buy is, and how no other book comes close (John Kennedy Toole's "A Confederacy of Dunces" comes to mind). I was definitely in for a surprise!

Until I started reading Triggerfish Twist, I never would have thought that I could laugh out loud while reading a book... especially one so full of violence! While I wasn't sent into teary-eyed hysterics on every page, I often found myself chuckling at various characters and events in the book, and smiling through the whole thing. The characters are numerous, but easy to keep track of, and all of the separate stories twist and weave so well together that even if some of the events are predictable, you don't know exactly how they're going to go off, and, when they do, it's perfect. I could easily imagine this book being a "Bubble Boy" type movie, only with more blood.

Triggerfish Twist definitely isn't the Iliad, or any other great thought provoking tome, but it's worth a read if you want a good laugh.

Even though this isn't Tim Dorsey's first book, right now it's the first in the series. (Rumor has it there will be another prequel.) You are slowly introduced to the crazy neighbors of Triggerfish Lane. You have the family that moves from the north, a man who waters his lawn at night due to the watering restrictions, an old man who likes test driving cars so he can look at expensive houses that are for sale and pretend he can afford them, and more neighbors that you'll just have to read about yourself. Well, I will tell you a little about Serge... All of Tim Dorsey's book somehow follow Serge and his crazy antics. You see, he should be on medication, but sometimes he doesn't take it and some people end up dead. He also is obscessed with Florida facts, maybe obcessed is an understatement. Anyway, once you read one of Tim Dorsey's books, I'm sure you'll be just as hooked!

After Triggerfish, read the following in this order: Florida Roadkill, Hammerhead Ranch Motel, Stingray Shuffle, then Orange Crush!

This is the first title from Tim Dorsey that I have read; the first of many.

This story is intensely funny with a nicely woven plot. Such great characters. The story goes 100mph. Make sure you don't blink!

I love Sharon. What a [...]. She is definitely my favorite character and she is inserted in the most appropriate places.

The nice thing about this book is that it is a very good story as well as a zany adventure. The elements blend perfectly.

I look foreward to the rest.

I didn't think Tim Dorsey could top himself..... but he did! This next title in the on-going Serge series is even sillier and crazier than the others.

If you're a first time reader of Tim Dorsey, don't worry about jumping into the series---this one is a prequel. According to the book cover, Tim killed off too many characters with the last books. So he did a prequel.

The book is *wonderful*. Crazy, madcap adventures in Tampa. Though if you've lived in Florida long enough, you'll recognize some of the adventures from past newspaper headlines. We have a saying down here.... "All the nuts roll down to Florida." And it's the truth.

Even if you don't buy the book, go down to the bookstore and read pages 269-271. I don't think I've roared with laughter that hard for a very long time. It's good. Very very good.

I know you'll enjoy it.

Fulfilling every reader's wish
Is Dorsey's funny Triggerfish
Perhaps the best one of the lot
(At least of all the ones I've got)


The fourth novel in the series is set in Tampa in 1997. Jim Davenport is the unlikely star of this one, proving that even a milquetoast can cause a lot of trouble given the right circumstances.

It all begins when a clerical error lists Tampa as the third best city to raise a family, and good old Jim accepts a transfer from his company, settling in with his family in Triggerfish Lane. He soon learns that sometimes opportunity knocks just for the heck of it, and finds himself in the middle of a character jungle that only Dorsey could create.

As usual, the characters and highly improbable situations make the book, and things really get crazy when Serge, the world's favorite psychopath, moves into Triggerfish Lane with his cronies Sharon and Coleman. Serge is a fountain of information and a philosopher, but when faced with injustice he springs into action, devising his trademark Machiavellian and Goldberg-ian solutions to the problem.

You'll find yourself laughing out loud at things that aren't normally considered funny, such as real estate scams, corporate down-sizing, used car dealership tricks, fake millionaires, substance abuse (almost any substance), deranged killers on the rampage, pit bulls and little old ladies in cold water, but when Dorsey puts them all together, it'll hit your funny bone hard.

Recommended for people who like it dark, twisty and funny




Amanda Richards, August 19, 2008

He just keeps getting better and better, and was really good to start...

A bit noir in spots, Dorsey has humor dripping from each page and is marvelous at keeping the pace and the sub-plots speeding down the track.

"Triggerfish Twist" is the latest and greatest with his anti-hero, Serge, still at the helm. You could start reading him in any order, but the chronology of the books do give those ordered readers some tongue-in-cheek smugness that
follows with the insider connections of the prior mayhem...

"Flordia Roadkill" was first, then "The Hammerhead Ranch Motel", and "Orange Crush" the third leading to the latest... Wild rides all and will not disappoint.

If you like Carl Hiassen's stuff, you'll love Dorsey's wit and roll.