Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Clownfish Blues: A Novel
    Clownfish Blues: A Novel
    Clownfish Blues: A Novel
    Audiobook9 hours

    Clownfish Blues: A Novel

    Written by Tim Dorsey

    Narrated by Oliver Wyman

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    A (Serge A.) Storm is brewing for a cabal of bad guys gaming the Florida state lottery in this insanely funny novel from the maestro of mayhem, Tim Dorsey.

    If you’re loud and proud Floridian Serge A. Storms, how do you follow up your very own remake of Easy Rider? You shoot your own ""episodes"" of your favorite classic television show, Route 66!

    With Coleman riding shotgun, Serge is rolling down the highway of his dreams in a vintage silver convertible Corvette just like the snazzy car Martin Milner drove. It doesn’t matter that the actual Route 66 didn’t pass through Florida, for Serge discovers that a dozen episodes near the series’ end were filmed (really!) in his beloved home state. So for Serge and the always toked and stoked Coleman, the Sunshine State is all the road you need to get your kicks.

    But their adventure traveling the byways of the Sunshine State’s underbelly is about to take a detour. Someone is trying to tilt the odds in the state lottery amidst a conga line of huge jackpots spinning off more chaos than any hurricane season. With this much at stake, of course every shady character wants in. Crooked bodega owners, drug cartels laundering money through the lottery, and venture capitalists are all trying to game the system—and lining up to get their cut. They’re also gambling with their lives, because when Serge and Coleman get hip to this timely (and very lucrative) trip, there’s no telling whose number is up next.

    Throw in Brooke Campanella, Serge’s old flame, as well as the perpetually star-crossed Reevis, and it’s a sure bet that the ever lucky Serge will hit it big. Winning has never been this deadly—or this much fun!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJan 24, 2017
    ISBN9780062659316
    Author

    Tim Dorsey

    Tim Dorsey was a reporter and editor for the Tampa Tribune from 1987 to 1999, and is the author of twenty-five other novels: Mermaid Confidential, Tropic of Stupid, Naked Came the Florida Man, No Sunscreen for the Dead, Pope of Palm Beach, Clownfish Blues, Coconut Cowboy, Shark Skin Suite, Tiger Shrimp Tango, The Riptide Ultra-Glide, When Elves Attack, Pineapple Grenade, Electric Barracuda, Gator A-Go-Go, Nuclear Jellyfish, Atomic Lobster, Hurricane Punch, The Big Bamboo, Torpedo Juice, Cadillac Beach, The Stingray Shuffle, Triggerfish Twist, Orange Crush, Hammerhead Ranch Motel, and Florida Roadkill. He lives in Florida.

    More audiobooks from Tim Dorsey

    Related to Clownfish Blues

    Related audiobooks

    Mystery For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      A Criminal Tale Of Two Cities

      Jul 26, 2023

      Stranded by bad weather the other day in Portland, Oregon, I took a walk. The town still prides itself on its 1880s converted sawmills-and-saloons ambience. But, surveying central Portland from a nearby hilltop, I was struck more by the similarity to

      3 min read

    • Article

      Table Talk

      Sep 1, 2017

      Table Talk
      8 min read

    • Article

      Cheering Section

      Apr 9, 2020

      Cheering Section
      3 min read

    • Article

      Breaking Good

      Aug 19, 2020

      Breaking Good
      12 min read

    • Article

      Breaking Good

      Aug 19, 2020

      Breaking Good
      12 min read

    • Article

      Commentary: Los Angeles Feels Unsafe

      Aug 26, 2018

      I noticed a change in my neighborhood about a year and a half ago. It began to feel more dangerous, even during the day. Scavengers regularly dig through my trash and dump what they can't use. The remains bake in the sun. Sometimes the scavengers pas

      3 min read

    • Article

      Coin Adventures with‘Falco Dog’

      Mar 5, 2021

      I am a coin dealer and collector, and I have spent a lifetime loving the history and beauty of coins. I have harnessed this same passion and channeled it into every aspect of Gobrecht Numismatics. Coins have given me such joy, allowed me to meet so m

      3 min read

    • Article

      Coin Adventures with 'Falco Dog'

      Mar 19, 2021

      I AM A coin dealer and collector, and I have spent a lifetime loving the history and beauty of coins. I have harnessed this same passion and channeled it into every aspect of Gobrecht Numismatics. Coins have given me such joy, allowed me to meet so m

      3 min read

    • Article

      Tinseltown No More

      Nov 20, 2023

      Tinseltown No More
      4 min read

    • Article

      Small But Mighty

      Feb 29, 2024

      Small But Mighty
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Smoke of the Land Went Up

      Mar 4, 2024

      The Smoke of the Land Went Up
      11 min read

    • Article

      How To Buy A Rock

      May 8, 2019

      How To Buy A Rock
      9 min read

    • Article

      Bazaar Land, Las Vegas

      Apr 4, 2018

      Bazaar Land, Las Vegas
      3 min read

    • Article

      Looters Who Hit LA Stores Explain What They Did: 'Get My Portion!'

      Jun 5, 2020

      LOS ANGELES - The young man flanked the shattered entry of a ransacked CVS in Santa Monica, where people had swept the shelves clean of everything from diapers to detergent. The man, who did not cover his face, admitted he was a looter. He did not ap

      6 min read

    • Article

      Don't Lose It

      Jul 1, 2020

      Don't Lose It
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Sticky Tar Pit of Time

      Sep 11, 2019

      The Sticky Tar Pit of Time
      6 min read

    • Article

      Aughts

      Sep 11, 2017

      Aughts
      23 min read

    • Article

      A Long-Ago Burglary

      Mar 14, 2022

      A Long-Ago Burglary
      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Clownfish Blues

    4/5

    68 ratings18 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 1/5
      Again !!! Not available in your country WHY. I would like to read the whole series.
    • 4/5
      Serge, self-described “sequential killer,” as opposed to serial killer, continues to find inventive ways to punish wrong-doers. Rice, crystals, Lee Harvey Oswald masks, earthworm boarding, whatever it takes. The location is of course Florida. The context involves lottery madness, where the enormous pots keep rolling over and seemingly everybody is buying tickets, from those that can’t afford it (most of the customers) to organized criminals. It affects the state like “a hurricane about to make a landfall,” with people frantically flocking to stores. There’s also a nod to fabricated reality shows, street corner sign spinners, Furries and stalkers. As usual, nothing heavy here, just Florida-centric humorous madness. But it’s fun to read.
    • 4/5
      I used to think that Carl Hiassen and Dave Barry had the market on absurd, Florida fiction but, after reading Clownfish Blues, I've decided to add Tim Dorsey to the group. Completely ridiculous, madcap capers which are totally over the top was just what this reader needed for this crazy 2016. Thanks Tim.
    • 5/5
      America's favorite serial killer, Serge A. Storms, takes to the backroads and byways of Florida again in [a:Tim Dorsey|27017|Tim Dorsey|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1274614239p2/27017.jpg]'s latest addition to the series. This time Serge is obsessed with re-creating scenes from the final season of the TV show Route 66 that were filmed in Florida; of course, in his on inimitable style, which means there will soon be dead bodies scattered about. Absurd and laugh-out-loud hilarious as fans of the series have come to expect, this volume is exciting from beginning to end. Highly recommended to everyone with a sense of humor.

      (Note: the publisher provided this ARC to me through a Goodreads giveaway.)
    • 4/5
      Serge and Coleman do their own Florida-style take on the old Route 66 television series, leaving a trail of bodies and mayhem in their wake.
    • 5/5
      A few books back I nearly gave up on this series. The stories were becoming to scattered, outlandish, political, lazy, and boring.
      The last book Coconut Cowboys was an attempt to get back on track. I am happy to say that trend has continued and even been improved on.
      There is no real way to describe what this or almost any Tim Dorsey book start Serge Storms is about, except to say think of all the outlandish, crazy shit that happens in Florida and add in a lovable, funny, sociopath (Serge) along with an even more lovable alcoholic drug addict (Colman), a large number of innocent bystanders and you have a classic Tim Dorsey book.
      The only downside is the book doesn't last long enough.
    • 3/5
      Clownfish Blues is a picaresque novel set in the not-quite-parallel universe called Florida. It’s the first book by Tim Dorsey that I’ve read, but seems to the twentieth in a series of similarly themed novels he’s written. Some of the characters have been carried over, but there’s no need to have read the earlier books to enjoy this one. Plot elements are not continued from earlier works; indeed, plot elements are barely continued from one chapter to the next within this book. The plot, such as it is, just follows along as Serge and his perpetually stoned pal Coleman wander around Florida, mildly channeling the old TV show Route 66. Dorsey has a fine eye for the idiosyncrasies of life in paradise, where more-or-less genteel retirement communities are veneered over the infrastructure of swamp rats and crackers and leavened with a few waves of immigrants. The book strings together a series of humorous adventures, poking affectionate fun at the natives along the way. It’s easy-going and good-natured, but never quite gets to the laugh-out-loud level of funny.
    • 4/5
      Tim Dorsey's books are reliably crazy romps through Florida. Very similar to Carl Hiaasen's novels with a raunchier twist. Clownfish Blues follows Serge A. Storms and Coleman, his sidekick, through a series of adventures while attempting to film a homemade remake of the Route 66 tv show. Along the way there is lottery mania, "earthworm grunting", crystals and seers. As in most of Dorsey's books there is mystery and intrigue along the way. Bad guys to stop and people to save. The best part is the manic ride from the first page to the last, the parts where you wonder how it all relates and the end where it all pulls together. There is a good bit of language and drug use and violence. I am a big fan of Hiaasen and it takes a little while to get used to Serge and Coleman but I am getting to like them more and more with each Dorsey book that I read. (Review based on complimentary Advance Reader copy.)
    • 3/5
      Took me a while to get into this book, but I ended up liking it. Lots of characters to keep straight, just like in life. Characters are crazy and motivated in a strange way, but their hearts are in the right place. Another strange Florida fiction book, but I enjoyed it.
    • 4/5
      This is my first Tim Dorsey but will not be my last, I have read several of Carl Hiaasen novels and this is better. After reading mystery this is a nice change of pace. Would love to see this made into a TV series or even a movie, it would very funny and I would love to see some of these characters come to life. Will just keep my fingers cross...
    • 4/5
      Serge is obsessed with the old Route 66 show that featured a silver Corvette and two guys travelling the highway enjoying adventures in each town they came to. He has discovered that the last few episodes of the series were filmed in Florida....far off the real Route 66. With this in mind he has set off to create his own episodes. Taking his pal, Coleman, to ride shotgun they are out to ride the highway and byway and experience whatever they can. And experience it they do!Serge is a hyper type whose mind is constantly spinning. Coleman prefers the mellow haze of being stoned on pot or beer. The two are destined for strange things, and that is what they find. Odd, absurd, unusual, strange....those are just mild descriptions.Starting with worm grunting and taking it to high tech and a bit beyond, they move to hostage negotiations (doesn't matter that neither have any training in it) and on. Even becoming involved with one of the biggest scams of the Florida lottery.They are not the only characters in the book. There is also Reevis, the serious news journalist, who is plagued by his assigned news photographers who feel that reality style filming is the only way to go, even it it blows the integrity of the story. Attorney Brooke Campanella, Serge's old flame and Reevis' current one. Ziggy Blade, one of the hippy-ist lawyers you'll ever meet, and a few others.This is a Mr. Toad's wild ride with action, craziness and hilarity throughout! Not a boring page to be found in this book.
    • 2/5
      The idea of riffing on the old TV show Route 66 was promising, but this book must be aimed toward a different comic sensibility from mine. Perhaps I might have enjoyed it if I had had some prior exposure to the characters, but i don't really think so. There were a few entertaining bits, including finding the tissues in a woman's home and the earthworms, but most of the humor seemed to be based on Coleman's drug-induced stupidity and Serge's casual cruelty. I'm not inspired to further investigate Dorsey's oeuvre.
    • 3/5
      I had not read Tom Dorsey before and I was surprised he has been such a prolific writer. But I was disappointed with Clownfish Blues and it might be from high expectations that Dorsey had characters as interesting as the other Florida “weird” writer Carl Hiaasen. In my opinion he does not. I felt no empathy for any of the characters and the story line had too many twists and turns with only about half of them believable and none of them very funny. I’m used to laughing out loud with Hiaasen; I don’t recall much more than a guffaw. Many of the characters are truly eccentric (to put it politely) but there weren’t any I would want to hang with. Maybe the book is better than I thought; I was just disappointed. I will try another Dorsey book with different expectations.
    • 4/5
      Florida is a place unlike any other in the US, and Tim Dorsey serves up a dose of a lot of the craziness going on. Dorsey introduced Serge Storms in his first book "Florida Roadkill" 17 years ago and Serge is the main player in this edition as well. The book is almost like a series of vignettes as various characters get involved with aspects of Florida life from earthworm-grunting to crystal gazing, and sharing with the rest of the country, lottery madness. Players from previous books make appearances to add to the chaos.While nodding my head at the madness of much of Dorsey's pointed satire, I found that I didn't enjoy the book as much as I might have if the plot hadn't jumped around as much as it did.There is a definite loss of the story lines if you haven't read most of Dorsey's previous books. Nevertheless, there is a great deal of fun in here for those observers of life in Florida.
    • 4/5
      In this novel, Dorsey takes on the lottery. The jackpot has hit a record high and everyone, from the down and desperate to organized crime, is flocking to buy tickets in the hope of hitting it big.Serge and Coleman are travelling around the state with themselves recast as the leads in the TV series Route 66. We also spend time with Brooke Campanella, who is trying to help the underprivileged; and Reevis Tome, who has involuntarily found himself cast in the lead role of a morally bankrupt and terribly staged "reality" crime-solving show. I must be honest, I didn't really enjoy the sections with Reevis. Dorsey (a former reporter and editor) clearly Has Opinions about what has happened the to the media over the last couple of decades, and he often gets pointed about it in the novels. The problem is when he casts someone earnest to highlight it. I find nearly all his earnest characters absolutely painful to read as it is, and so I ended up skimming and cringing my way through those sections to get to the fun parts.And there certainly are fun parts. Even though there are disappointingly few creative crime scenes, there are several laugh-out-loud moments in this book. As always, there are bizarre twists and turns, Florida trivia, and an unpredictable ending. I found this quite enjoyable, except for the reality TV parts.
    • 4/5
      Tim Dorsey has returned with another crazy, hilarious entry in his Serge A. Storms series. If you live in Florida, you realize that all the wild stories that end up in this series are based on the unbelievable events that happen here all the time. In this foray Serge and his buddy Coleman are tooling around the state in their silver Corvette doing their version of a Route 66 series remake.From Sopchoppy harvesting worms , to lottery fraud, to Cassadaga all seemingly unrelated events eventually come together. Of course it doesn't come without lots of fun and laughs, as usual. At the finale, Reeves (series regular), boy reporter and Serge's lost love, Brooke aid and abet in the fun. An added bonus in reading this book is the lesson in Florida history and geography the reader enjoys.Read as an ARC from LibraryThing.
    • 5/5
      It’s time for the twentieth trip through the wildness that is Florida, featuring historian and “sequential” killer Serge A. Storms. I really love this series because Tim goes everywhere in the state, from the big cities, to the swamps, to cracker country and perfectly capturing Florida’s craziness.
    • 5/5
      I received this book through Early Reviewers. I enjoy reading Tom Dorsey's manic, convoluted stories and this one was the same crazy ride I have come to expect. I am pleasantly surprised that Serge is still going strong even in book 20! There are always laugh out loud moments in this series and I spend a lot of time shaking my head wondering why I am laughing at this insanity. Enjoyable read if you like Dorsey's style.