Florida's favorite serial killer with a conscience, Serge A. Storm, is on the loose again in Tim Dorsey's The Stringray Shuffle (#79). This book was published back in 2003, but if you've been reading these books out of sequence, as I have been doing, a few more of the puzzle pieces do fall into place in this romp.
In this adventure, Serge's obsessions include hypnotism, the Kennedy Space Center, trains and a silver briefcase filled with five million dollars. Much of the action centers around getting the cast of characters - Serge and his sidekick Lenny (I really do like Coleman better.), the Russian mob, a Jamaican gang, a lounge lizard performing troupe and a women's book club - onboard the Amtrak Silver Stringray from New York City to Miami. It's a mystery train trip to re-enact The Stringray Shuffle. After ten years of being remaindered, The Stingray Shuffle has suddenly rocketed onto the best-sellers list for author Ralph Kunkleton. No one is more surprised than he about how it got there, but now he has a train full of fans along for the ride. Along the way several morally reprehensible villains meet their demise at the imaginative hands of Serge A. Storms. No wonder the trustees at the Flagler Mansion in West Palm Beach had to put up a building to protect Henry Flagler's personal rail car after what those two Palm Beach Ivy League brothers did to it during their Christmas break! Good thing Serge was on hand to extract the apropriate penalty!
As always, I learned many interesting bits of Florida history along the way, and noted several more places ot visit. I also checked out the Amtrak website to see what it would cost to ride the rails myself from New York City to West Palm Beach in a private bedroom with all my meals included. It definitely sounds like a lot more fun than flying these days! Thanks for championing the railroads, Mr. Dorsey. I'd hate to see them fade from Florida's history, too.
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