Tim Dorsey Books in Order: Complete Serge Storms Series

Looking for the Tim Dorsey books in order? This guide covers every Serge Storms novel in publication and chronological order, along with Tim Dorsey’s short fiction, nonfiction, anthology work, and collected editions.

Dorsey’s Florida crime comedies follow Serge A. Storms, a Florida-obsessed vigilante with a taste for elaborate revenge, and Coleman, his perpetually intoxicated sidekick. Below, I’ve listed the Serge Storms books in order of publication first, followed by the chronological reading order.

Jump to:

• Serge Storms Books in Publication Order
• Serge Storms Books in Chronological Order
• Serge Storms Collections
• Tim Dorsey Short Fiction
• Tim Dorsey Nonfiction and Companion Books
• Tim Dorsey Anthology Contributions
• About Tim Dorsey

Serge Storms Books in Publication Order

The best place to begin is Florida Roadkill, then continue in publication order. Most books center on a new caper, but recurring characters, continuing storylines, and callbacks make more sense when you read the series in order.

The early novels don’t unfold in publication order, but I still recommend this reading order for your first time through the series. It introduces Dorsey’s characters as readers originally met them and keeps later connections from appearing too soon.

Do you need to read Tim Dorsey’s books in order? You can follow many of the individual plots on their own, but the series is better in order. Start with book one and continue from there.

1. Florida Roadkill (1999)
2. Hammerhead Ranch Motel (2000)
3. Orange Crush (2001)
4. Triggerfish Twist (2002)
5. The Stingray Shuffle (2003)
6. Cadillac Beach (2004)
7. Torpedo Juice (2005)
8. The Big Bamboo (2006)
9. Hurricane Punch (2007)
10. Atomic Lobster (2008)
11. Nuclear Jellyfish (2009)
12. Gator A-Go-Go (2010)
13. Electric Barracuda (2011)
14. When Elves Attack (2011)
15. Pineapple Grenade (2012)
16. The Riptide Ultra-Glide (2013)
17. Tiger Shrimp Tango (2014)
18. Shark Skin Suite (2015)
19. Coconut Cowboy (2016)
20. Clownfish Blues (2017)
21. The Pope of Palm Beach (2018)
22. No Sunscreen for the Dead (2019)
23. Naked Came the Florida Man (2020)
24. Tropic of Stupid (2021)
25. Mermaid Confidential (2022)
26. The Maltese Iguana (2023)

Serge Storms Books in Chronological Order

The chronological reading order changes the opening stretch of the series. Triggerfish Twist comes first, followed by Florida Roadkill, Hammerhead Ranch Motel, The Stingray Shuffle, and Orange Crush. From Cadillac Beach onward, the chronology matches publication order.

I’d save this order for a reread. Florida Roadkill is still the strongest introduction to Serge, Coleman, and Dorsey’s style.

1. Triggerfish Twist
2. Florida Roadkill
3. Hammerhead Ranch Motel
4. The Stingray Shuffle
5. Orange Crush
6. Cadillac Beach
7. Torpedo Juice
8. The Big Bamboo
9. Hurricane Punch
10. Atomic Lobster
11. Nuclear Jellyfish
12. Gator A-Go-Go
13. Electric Barracuda
14. When Elves Attack
15. Pineapple Grenade
16. The Riptide Ultra-Glide
17. Tiger Shrimp Tango
18. Shark Skin Suite
19. Coconut Cowboy
20. Clownfish Blues
21. The Pope of Palm Beach
22. No Sunscreen for the Dead
23. Naked Came the Florida Man
24. Tropic of Stupid
25. Mermaid Confidential
26. The Maltese Iguana

Serge Storms Collections

These ebook collections bundle novels that already appear in the main list. They don’t contain additional stories.

• The Tim Dorsey (2014), collecting Florida Roadkill, Hammerhead Ranch Motel, Orange Crush, Triggerfish Twist, and The Stingray Shuffle
• Tim Dorsey Collection #2 (2014), collecting Cadillac Beach, Torpedo Juice, The Big Bamboo, Hurricane Punch, and Atomic Lobster

Tim Dorsey Short Fiction

Tropical Warning collects an original Serge Storms short story, a Florida travel feature, and a preview chapter from Tiger Shrimp Tango. For publication order, read it after The Riptide Ultra-Glide.

• Tropical Warning: An Original Serge Storms Story and Other Debris (2013)

Tim Dorsey Nonfiction and Companion Books

Florida Roadkill: A Survival Guide is a travel companion to the places and details connected to Dorsey’s novels. Squall Lines collects articles and essays from across his journalism and writing career.

• Florida Roadkill: A Survival Guide: A Travel Companion to the Novels (2010)
• Squall Lines (2012)

Tim Dorsey Anthology Contributions

Dorsey wrote the introduction to Florida Happens. He also contributed the original story “Triggerfish Lane” to Tampa Bay Noir.

• Florida Happens: Tales of Mystery, Mayhem, and Suspense from the Sunshine State (2018) (Introduction by Tim Dorsey)
• Tampa Bay Noir (2020) (“Triggerfish Lane”)

About Tim Dorsey

Tim Dorsey was born in Indiana and grew up in Florida, which became the setting and subject of nearly everything he wrote. He died in November 2023. His novels blend crime, satire, travel, and a deep knowledge of Florida history.

Before writing fiction full-time, Dorsey worked as a newspaper reporter and editor, covering police, courts, and politics. That background gave him an eye for the strange crimes, local characters, and civic absurdities that fill the Serge Storms series.

Dorsey traveled the routes he wrote about and filled the books with real locations and historical details. He credited his years in journalism with shaping his fiction, and his literary hero was Kurt Vonnegut.

Looking for more books in order?

If you want more thriller authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Thriller Books in Order index.

• Books in Order (Full Index)
• Carl Hiaasen Books in Order
• Janet Evanovich Books in Order
• Randy Wayne White Books in Order