No Sunscreen for the Dead: A Novel

The endless obsessions of Floridian trivia buff and homicidal journeyman Serge A. Storms bring him and his drugged-out pal Coleman to a small retirement village while Serge attempts to add to his voluminous knowledge of Florida history by interviewing these underappreciated folks. Along the way, he takes revenge for his newfound friends against scammers and con artists, wears a duck costume, educates the elderly about fireworks, and finds himself embroiled in a Russian plot straight out of the Cold War playbook.

No Sunscreen for the Dead proves that a long-running series that seemingly has done it all can still have some tricks up its sleeve. Not only was it a very entertaining read, but it was fun to see Serge actually on target for once, as opposed to ricocheting between different plans.

Like some of the later Dorsey novels, it takes a long time for the threads to come together, practically the last ten pages in this case, which grants the book a curious feeling, a mix between wondering how this will tie in and wondering about what this has to do with Serge anyway? That might be a sticking point for some readers.

The death scenes, as always, are hilarious and brutally creative, and you can’t help but rejoice as Serge defends everyone’s grandparents from predatory scammers with deadly efficiency. That alone made this one worth the four stars.