No Sunscreen for the Dead audiobook

Tim Dorsey has kicked off the new year by writing what may be the best of his 22 books in the Serge A. Storms series thus far. NO SUNSCREEN FOR THE DEAD is certainly my favorite, given that it revolves around the sections of the population demographics of which I am happily a member. I also am pleased to report that Dorsey continues to find plenty of the arcane, unusual, bizarre and, yes, downright useful elements of the state of Florida to stuff this intriguing, one-sit novel right up to its brim.Dorsey’s penchant for dropping factoids throughout his books is what initially attracted me to them, starting with FLORIDA ROADKILL and advancing right up to the present. What has followed over the past two decades has been formula writing at its best, each volume containing comfortably familiar elements strung together with a number of surprises. The maniacally homicidal but extremely polite Serge A. Storms is a righter of wrongs in the most inventive of ways. He remains loyal to a fault toward his trusted friend, the perpetually well-toasted Coleman, who somehow still possesses some functioning brain cells. The two of them find countless villains to battle in NO SUNSCREEN FOR THE DEAD, and do so with the usual inventive aplomb that has been a trademark of this one-of-a-kind series.This latest installment kicks off with Serge wanting to visit Florida’s largest retirement community, a destination that quickly leads the duo to the Retirement Coast and the trailer park communities where seasoned citizens of both the landed gentry and snowbird variety reside. Serge makes friends quickly, but also discovers in due course that a cottage industry of skimmers and flim-flam artistes is taking advantage of those who for decades kept their noses to the collective grindstone in order to quietly maintain and enjoy their retirement years.Those who are looking for ways to commit murder and mayhem with five-volt batteries and flour will find much to love here, as will the baby boomers who as children vacationed with their families in St. Petersburg and Tampa. Dorsey, through his fictional persona, also notes that the region played an extremely important role in the Cold War, which comes home to roost in the novel’s present. Those of us who load up our so-called smartphones with various apps will find a plethora of reasons to pause before automatically ticking off those agreement boxes after reading this book. Dorsey isn’t exaggerating. It’s one of the few areas here that doesn’t have one foot in the absurd.There is more. Readers will look at swans in an entirely new way and appreciate lightning. By the time Serge and Coleman fade off in the distance once again, one can only conclude that NO SUNSCREEN FOR THE DEAD is more than worth its price of admission.Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

My book club has read quite a few Tim Dorsey novels and they are all well liked by everyone and this should be no exception. i enjoyed reading the book, mainly because I live in a Senior Adult Community. Not a trailer park but an apartment complex and there is drama there every day! I also liked that he talked about The Villages. There seems to be a movie or series about the Villages on Amazon now and I will watch since most people I know who move there are never heard from again. Assuming because they are so busy. This one was not as funny as some of them to me but very enjoyable and the main character Serge is a psycho/genius and I enjoy that a lot although it is not funny to kill people. LOL That's why it's getting 4 stars instead of 5.

Another stellar outing for Tim Dorsey's cheerful psychopath Serge Storms and his perpetually stoned sidekick Coleman, this time focused on the hidden secrets of Florida's retirees. Serge has gotten it into his head that he'd like to retire early and heads for the largest retirement community in the world, The Villages. But after an all-too-brief foray there, and a stop at the Mennonite community in Sarasota known as Pinecraft, he and Coleman instead wind up at an over-55 mobile home park outside Sarasota called Boca Shores. There they quiz the senior residents about their pasts (decorated war heroes, Peace Corps volunteers battling disease and starvation etc.), showing that they are more than just punchlines to the jokes about early-bird specials and shuttle-bus tours (but there are plenty of those as well). Serge gleefully takes on the people who would take advantage of these folks -- dishonest salesmen, abusive caregivers and too-strict park managers -- while making friends with the park's lone security guard.Meanwhile there are three other plots playing out, one involving a company that both invades your privacy and guarantees to protect it, another involving a Cold War era spy ring, and a third about a series of strange double murders of retirees. Sure enough, it all ends up leading to Boca Shores and Serge, who among other things has figured out how to weaponize the park's swan population. Some of Dorsey's books come across as plotless shaggy dog stories, but this one has a coherent plot that was both delighfully twisted and fairly unpredictable. It was nice, too, to see Dorsey making the state's stereotypical seniors far more fully rounded characters who wind up bonding with, and helping, Serge to save a couple of their neighbors. I only take a point off because I surely do wish he'd stayed at the Villages a lot longer. Talk about targets of opportunity!

I loved No Sunscreen For The Dead. It is bonkers, extremely funny and actually rather an exciting story.This is the 22nd Serge Storms book. If you don’t know Serge, he’s not easy to explain. He lives in Florida and is a manic collector of trivia who has crazes, during which he discovers scumbags behaving despicably and dispatches them in ways which have an ingenious poetic justice and which are wholly deplorable and extremely entertaining. This time, Serge is manically pursuing an oral history project among residents of a retirement village. He and his hilariously drugged-up sidekick Coleman discover that unscrupulous salesmen are preying on the residents...with extremely amusing and satisfying results for the reader (who really ought to disapprove, but hell – they deserve it) but not for the scumbags. Alongside this is a rather intriguing espionage story which began in 1970 and which eventually impacts on the present day joyous mayhem of Serge’s activities.It’s just a joy. I laughed out loud regularly, Tim Dorsey writes superbly, with especially brilliant dialogue, he constructs and paces his story extremely well and there’s a lot a lot of genuinely interesting and amusing detail about all sorts of aspects of Florida. I read the whole thing with complete delight and can recommend it very warmly.(My thanks to Farrago for an ARC via NetGalley.)

Time again for an annual update on the happenings of psychopath and serial killer Serge Storms and his addled sidekick Coleman. Granted he only kills folks who would harm Florida or Floridians and he always does it in creative fashion with a "bonus round" which permits them to escape their fate if they are clever enough. On his plus side, he is a trivia fountain with regard to Florida history and locations so always fun to tag along for that.I've been into this series for 22 years and have run into Tim Dorsey all over the state from nearby Bradenton to St. Pete, Ft. Lauderdale and Ft. Myers so managed to accumulate all the Serge novels as signed first editions from an author who has got to be one of the hardest workers in the industry. Check his schedule on his website, I get worn out just looking at it!Anyway, in this one, Serge is off to explore the world of retirement and picks the west coast of Florida to examine. Had to give this one 5 stars since a. I live on Florida's west coast and b. live in a community similar to the one that he describes in Sarasota, just a few miles down the road. And he nails it - the life style, the issues, the characters. Really a fun romp and probably one of the better books in the series. It has now made the rounds of a number of friends and family and they tend to agree.

Serge wears his colors on his sleeve and these colors do NOT runAnother excellent adventure from the twisted mind of Serges ghost author,Tim Dorsey. I always love the inventive and creative methods to punish the villains. Who doesn't love BONUS ROUND!! Serge and Coleman guide this party towards another retirement community full of commie traitors and the patriotic best of America. I know you'll love this latest installment of insanity,Serge style. I highly recommend this book.

Quite the entertaining slapstick story. Serge, along with his stoned buddy Coleman, start visiting diners where retirees eat. They start chatting with the people then go over to their homes (mobile homes) and find out how they have been swindled. They then proceed to dish out justice to those who are the swindlers. Serge always manages to have very inventive ways to punish the bad guys.At the same time someone is killing off retirees around the state and an analyst at a data protection company realizes he may have inadvertently given the killers the names of those to target. When he goes to his boss about this and the information climbs up the ladder of bureaucracy others who learn about it are also killed. Another side story that eventually is pulled in with all the rest near the end involves a young high school kid that appears to be recruited by a Russian spy back in the 70s. The side story tells how he is recruited and what happens to him for several years then flashes to the present on how he is involved with the retirees and others. Living in the particular Florida retirement community is anything but boring when Serge shows up. He spices up their lives, helps them out, dishes out justice and enjoys himself along the way. Love this series.

Only just one of the many satisfying stories in this series by Tim Dorsey. I can honestly say that Mr. Dorsey has only helped to deepen my appreciation of the wonderful state of Florida. Florida can be a great place to visit but there is much about Florida that just makes me wonder. Mr. Dorsey's marvelous (anti-)hero Serge is another breed of psychopath that is intellectually engaged and motivated. He loves life every day he is master of his destiny. I love him. Not everybody loves Serge in the story but they are clearly the bad guys.Serge has everyone's best interest at heart as he hatches some crazy events that create some serious adjustments in the lives of the folks in a retirement community near Treasure Island Florida. Who are through no fault of their own are getting taken advantage. There is another interesting story that runs parallel to Serge's antics...so there's lots going on. Serge is a sincere champion of fair treatment and fair play as you will see in his game show episodes. Traveling with his stoney wingman Coleman; Serge shows us how Florida is always worth the trip! Dear Mr. Dorsey, more, please.

This is a strong 3 1/2 stars for me. I have read several books with the characters Serge and Coleman, but it has been a while since. The story line was ok with a back story involving Russian spies going on and catching up at the end along with the current story with Serge and Coleman.I was laughing so much with Serge and Coleman's antics and his relationship with the senior citizens of a retirement community. You see, Serge is a psychotic but harmless person for the most part and if you are on his good side like the seniors in the story, he will back you up and take care of your problems like, murder and make those problems go away. And his side kick Coleman? Well he is along for the ride and always high. If you know what I mean. Hilarious situations that kept me laughing a lot. But story line not so much and that is why the 3 1/2 rating.

Disclaimer: full time Serge disciple here (we follow nobody). A new Dorsey book to read is like drinking a fifth of sunshine on the rocks and number 22 was no exception. Russian spies (so timely!), tv trays, Jeopardy, pineapple bongs, death by brillow pads, philosophical pondering on junk drawers.... what more could I ask for from my favorite mass murderer and his kooky pothead sidekick?

Delightful quick spin around all the best Florida retirement villages by psycho superhero-with-a-heart Serge Storms and stoner sidekick Coleman! Mark my words, you will not be disappointed! Prepare to LOL! "Go, Serge, Go!"

I have enjoyed reading Tim Dorsey and Serge's adventures almost from the start and I am amazed at the novelty, excitement and humour that the tales consistently have. Tim is generous with his writing skills and keeps the reader enthralled from the start to the end.I would find it hard to think of another series that is so good and in so much need of turning into a movie series!Read on!

Hilariously psychotic. Perfect! The perfect literary palate cleanser between epic novels.

No Sunscreen for the Dead is a humorous romp filled with violence, the literary equivalent of Quentin Tarantino and Mel Brooks collaborating on a movie. Serge Storms and his sidekick Coleman are self-appointed vigilantes who seek out ne’er-do-wells and punish them however they see fit. While this brawling, boozing, womanizing pair will never be confused with Spandex-suited superheroes, they still enact a brand of street justice that readers will find satisfying. But now they are ready to put their years of head-knocking behind them and retire to one of the large, gated communities on Florida’s “Retirement Coast.” Once down there, they discover countless seniors have been swindled out of their life savings, so the dangerous due set out on one more mission.

A little more political intrigue in this one and a few less "game shows" still end up with another entertaining read.

I love this whole series! I think of it as one of my guilty pleasures. The humor, the wit, the Florida mania (my home state for a little over two decades), and the wacky cartoon plots all appeal to me. Even when I objectively might find an entry to be mediocre, I still always enjoy the books in this series no matter how close to the formula it stays. THIS, however, is one of the very best in the series, one of the three masterpieces by my count. Not only is it still funny. Not only does Serge still have some interesting ways of executing the scumbags that he issues his vigilante justice, but this time Dorsey makes it touching with his integration into a Sarasota retirement community. The love he feels for the senior citizens and the causes he champions for them in vintage Serge fashion is actually warmhearted! That's right, the action and silly humor has an actual heart with it for this story.The most common weakness for a Tim Dorsey book is the subplot, which often inspires me to just want to skim ahead and find the next scene with Serge and Coleman. This subplot was very good, involving espionage with the early '70's counterculture, and focusing on the story of two childhood "friends" (I put that in quotes because...you'll see.).For the first time in a long time, I didn't read the hardcover but listened to the audiobook as read by Oliver Wyman, and he does one hell of a job! His variety of voices (including elderly women) and the spot-on voices for Serge and Coleman (I love how he makes Serge sound like a profane Bugs Bunny on speed) are perfect! I am a very satisfied fan with this one!