Electric Barracuda

By: Tim Dorsey

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Serge Storms, that loveable thermonuclear vigilante and one-stop Florida-trivia shop, has been leaving corpses strewn across the Sunshine State for more than a decade. The authorities - especially one tenacious state agent - have begun to notice the exponential body count and send a police task force to track down Serge. Could his luck finally have run out? 

Meanwhile, armed with his perpetually baked sidekick, Coleman, Serge decides to blitz the state and resurrect his internet travel-advice website - which, of course, must be the finest and the final word on trekking the Sunshine State. 

To up the ante, Serge concocts a theme vacation for his cyberspace audience. And that theme? You, too, can experience Florida through the eyes of a fugitive. 

Off they go blogging along a getaway route through the state's most remote bayous, back roads, and bars, where the number of cadavers begin stacking up like Serge's website hits. 

Clues and questions mount: 

• Who are all the women being photographed naked in the swamp? 
• What made Coleman draw on his face with magic markers? 
• Where is the cruise-to-nowhere taking its drunk prisoners? 
• When was the last time a Civil War reenactment involved a sports car? 

But Serge also has some personal business to tidy up. His grandfather's old Miami Beach gang suddenly had their life savings wiped out, and there's a good bet it was no accident. Too much action for Serge to juggle? Not when it all dovetails nicely into his Secret Master Plan. And especially if it involves Serge's favorite new obsession: tracking Al Capone's little-known escapades in the Everglades. 

So gas up the car, say good-bye to the relatives, and join Serge on the lam as he drives straight for the deepest bowels of Florida to unravel the final mysteries of Electric Barracuda.

©2011 Tim Dorsey (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers

Serge snaps back

I have to admit the last couple of Serge Storms’ stories have left me a bit cold….they seem to have lost some of the crazy mix of serial killing high jinks and Florida history. In his new book Dorsey jumps back "over the shark". Serge is back in all his glory with a (sorry, but one has to use the term) “mad cap” caper across Florida evading the usual mix of inept or just plum crazy cops. Serge is certainly the funniest and most endearing serial killer imaginable and I can always do with more of him and less of some of the ancillary characters and plots, but this book has more Serge than we have seen in recent books and for that we should give thanks. If you are a fan, you will enjoy this book…if this is new to you then maybe start with Hurricane Punch then the Big Bamboo. As always the performance (calling it a narration does not do it justice) by George Wilson is impeccable.

Another excellent adventure

In my humble opinion, this is the best adventure since Hurricane Punch. There were several moments where I actually laughed out-loud (something a book rarely offers). I really enjoyed the multiple threads and revisiting with some of my favorite characters from previous books. And a couple of excellent and unexpected twists make for an excellent Serge and Coleman installment. Thanks Tim and Oliver. I look forward to the next adventure.

Insanity as an Art Form

After listening to all the Terry Pratchett and Carl Hiaasen that Audible had to offer I was looking for something "interesting". I picked up some Tim Dorsey on a sale. This one is definitely my favorite. It is so insane it's wonderful. In addition to what the other reviewers mentioned it has some of the funniest parenting advice in history regarding a 5 year old boy: "I don't know, give him something with lots of sugar (to drink)", "Hey Serge, he's chewing through the leash". Serge is persued by Mahoney, an FDLE agent trapped in a Raymond Chandler novel who's as least as crazy. And don't forget the Doberman, the most accident prone prime time bounty hunter in history. Lastly, I really like Oliver Wyman as the reader. Serge is a serial killer who refuses to take his medication and drinks multiple pots of coffee each day. Wyman gives Serge a higher pitched and slightly faster voice, which fits nicely with this behavior. Enjoy, it's not your grandmother's humor.

Good book

A very well narrated book with good story line. I really enjoyed listening to it. I would recommend this to Audible. Thanks to Audible for having this in store.

Another Tim Dorsey Comedy

This book is perfect Tim dorsey. It is funny, ironic and thrilling. I cannot wait for the next book, and the narrator is awesome as well. The narrator hits Surg's character perfectly.

Clever, quirky, annoying

Any additional comments?

I generally enjoyed this work, but the vocal presentation of Serge left something to be desired. Wyman pitched his voice to make Serge sound like the Chairman of the Lollipop Guild. It wasn't until halfway through that I realized Serge was average sized adult. The croaky, nasal voice made this less enjoyable that it could have been. Next time, make Serge sound a bit more resonant and a lot less Donald Duck.

More fun adventures with Serge and Coleman!

All I can say is I am a long time Tim Dorsey fan, and to make it breif.... I couldn't help but smile the whole time I listened to this book! Funnnyyyy!

Great fun!

Serge and Coleman travel through the Everglades with the cops in hot pursuit. Doesn't seems they will make it this time...

Great fun!

Fantastic book once again

Fantastic Book. I highly recommend this novel. It is one of Tim Dorsey’s finest books.

fun read

really interesting carecters and a quick paced read. i love it you will too. enjoy.