HarperLuxe
February 2018
On Sale: January 30, 2018
496 pages ISBN: 0062791737 EAN: 9780062791733 Kindle: B072HFRNZY Large Print / e-Book Add to Wish List
No one worships the Sunshine State as much as Serge A.
Storms. Perpetually hunting Floridian arcana and lore, he
and his permanently baked sidekick, Coleman, are on the
road again. This time they’re on a frenzied literary
pilgrimage that leads them back to Riviera Beach, the cozy
seaside town where the boys spent their formative years.
Growing up, Serge was enthralled by the Legend of Riviera
Beach, aka Darby, a welder at the port who surfed the
local waves long before the hot spots were hot. A god on
the water, the big-hearted surfer was a friend to everyone
—the younger surfers, cops, politicians, wealthy
businessmen and ordinary Joes—a generosity of spirit that
earned him the admiration of all. Meanwhile, there was a
much murkier legend that made the rounds of the
schoolyards from Serge’s youth—that of the crazy hermit
living in a makeshift jungle compound farther up the
mysterious Loxahatchee River than anyone dared to venture.
Then Serge moved away. But never forgot.
Now he’s back, with those legends looming larger than ever
in the rearview mirror of his memory. As his literary
odyssey moves north from Key West, closer and closer to
his old stomping grounds, Serge digs into the past as only
Serge can. Along the way, he unintentionally disturbs some
long-forgotten ground, attracting the attention of a cast
of villains that only Florida can produce.
As the body count grows, so does the list of questions:
Why are the guys in the hard hats worried about the
monkeys? When do you hack a motel air-conditioner? How
does Coleman get high with cat toys? Who is expecting the
dildo? And will book tours ever be the same after Serge
decides to check one out?
Told in alternating flashbacks between Serge and Coleman’s
childhoods and the present day, The Pope of Palm Beach is
a witty and deliciously violent delight from the twisted
imagination of Tim Dorsey.