Kirkus Reviews QR Code
FLORIDA MAN by J.C. Bruce

FLORIDA MAN

A Story From the Files of Alexander Strange

From the The Strange Files series, volume 2

by J.C. Bruce

Pub Date: April 1st, 2020
Publisher: Tropico Press

A nerdy but swashbuckling reporter crisscrosses Florida to identify his college friend’s mysterious stalker in this second novel in Bruce’s thriller series.

Former Phoenix Daily Sun columnist Alexander Strange sets out with his papillon dog through the Deep South to spend some time on his Uncle Leo’s trawler, which is moored in Goodland, Florida. As a professional aficionado of all things bizarre, Alexander anticipates the Sunshine State will provide ample fodder for his “weird news reports.” Little does he know how odd his journey will become. His first peculiar encounter is with Madam Jazzabelle, a palm reader—or “Licensed Chirologist,” if you ask her—in New Orleans. After she foresees death in his hand, she abandons her practice and insists on accompanying Alexander on his journey. When the flirtatious Tess Winkler, Alexander’s old college flame who lives in Gainesville, reaches out to him, he agrees to help her uncover who’s been sending her threatening messages—although Amy Duffy, Tess’ spurned would-be lover and former roommate, is the prime suspect. The investigation eventually involves hush money, blackmail, abortion, and a conservative politician. The trio of self-appointed investigators are joined by Bristol Kreuger, a “full-on goth.” Together, they conclude that the disturbing messages correspond to physical locations on a “Weird Tour of Florida” that Tess once published. Bruce’s choice to structure the book as visits to these real-life sites, whose diversions range from the paranormal to the divine, is an amusing way to gain insight into the Southern state’s oddest nooks and crannies. Indeed, the situation comes to a head at The Devil’s Millhopper, described as “one of the largest sinkholes in Florida.” Overall, the book’s substance does not go much deeper than an average airport read. However, Alexander’s one-liners are certainly worthy of a chuckle, Bruce’s prose is consistently crisp and controlled, and the tension between the various characters is genuinely entertaining throughout.

A charming and suspenseful page-turner punctuated by dashes of the surreal.