The Danny Teakwell Series
Sunrise on Hollywood Beach
The Danny Teakwell Series currently comprises two award-winning titles: Psycho-Tropics and Funeral Daze, with Box currently working on a third. All titles in the series are set in the 1990s-2000s in Hollywood, Florida, where Dorian grew up. Hollywood is part of Florida’s “Gold Coast,” sandwiched between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Dorian spent his formative years on the beach doing the activities described in the books: surfing, diving, and fishing.
The feel and milieu of the eras and places in South Florida described in the book are accurate, but most specific locations are fictional. Specifically, there’s no Seabreeze Towers or Tradewinds bar on Hollywood Beach. Likewise, there was never a Sunset Fishing Pier in Hollywood, although Dorian grew up fishing off the nearby Dania Beach pier, which today features a cool bar and restaurant called the Quarterdeck with unbeatable 360 degree views.
The Hollywood boardwalk is the highway of beach life. Locals call it “the boardwalk” even though it is technically a “broadwalk,” made of bricks rather than boards. Old-timers will remember that as late as the 1980s it was only a strip of asphalt. Hollywood Beach resisted crass development much longer than most other South Florida coastal towns, retaining a small-town feel that lasts even today. While the PlayLand pinball arcade, trampolines, and miniature golf are long-gone, the paddleball courts at Garfield Street are still going strong. On the other hand, new mega-developments like the Margaritaville Resort, towering above the quaint Johnson Street bandshell, portend of things to come.
PSYCHO-TROPICS (DANNY TEAKWELL BOOK 1)
SUMMER 1995. A high school reunion unburies the past (literally) in this twisted mystery of revenge and redemption. Lottery-winning surfer Danny Teakwell seems to be living the life, but he’s been hiding a terrible secret, punishing himself for two decades. Now he’s hit rock bottom. So he thinks. The ghosts from his past show up at the reunion, launching him on a mayhem-filled race through the Sunshine State to save a missing woman. He broke a vow to her when they were kids. He won’t let it happen again. The odds aren’t good. He has three days and his only allies are a pill-popping lawyer, crusty barkeep, and seven-year-old embalming expert. Heart and dark humor combine with page-turning action and plot surprises that will keep you guessing until the end.
FUNERAL DAZE (DANNY TEAKWELL BOOK 2)
SUMMER 2000. When down-and-out surfer and former lottery winner Danny Teakwell was framed for a grisly murder, he got help from a family of wacky morticians that included seven-year-old embalming expert Jessica Jewell (Psycho-Tropics). Five years later, the tables are turned when Jessica shows up, alone and desperate, seeking shelter. Her parents suddenly sold their family funeral home and vanished.
Danny’s not in a good place. Grieving the recent death of his wife and childhood sweetheart, he’s let life crumble. He reluctantly agrees to take the girl in for one night, but the willful twelve-year-old convinces him to join her investigation to find her parents and get back their funeral home. The trail leads into a ghastly criminal conspiracy of corpses, caskets, and killers. As the bond between the unlikely pair grows, it becomes unclear who’s saving who and which one is really running the show.
Hilarious and heartwarming mystery and suspense with a walloping conclusion, Dorian Box brings his unique blend of darkness and light to life in this standalone sequel to Psycho-Tropics.
PRAISE FOR PSYCHO-TROPICS
“An engaging thriller with plenty of humor, good characterization, and a memorable villain …” — Kirkus Reviews
“Marrying humor with suspense is not easy, but it comes across masterfully … A truly enjoyable read.” — Writer’s Digest Award Winner in Genre Fiction
“Psycho-Tropics is like riding Pipeline with a hangover. It’s jaw dropping, heart thumping and addictively exhilarating, but with a hint of disorientation, dizziness and an unsettled stomach. But by the end you’ll be smiling ear to ear and bursting to tell your mates how good it was.” — Andrew Norton, Surfer Dad UK
“Clues are tossed out like bait, twisting and turning the storyline along … The characters are brilliantly constructed … The dark humor serves to lessen the tension in all the right ways before it heightens again … Effortlessly captures the wonderful eccentricities of life in South Florida ….” — IndieReader Starred Review, Official Seal of Approval
PRAISE FOR FUNERAL DAZE
“Funeral Daze by Dorian Box manages to be laugh-out-loud funny, heartwarmingly tender, and full of lively action and suspense, all at once —a thoroughly entertaining and engaging read.” — IndieReader (5 Stars; IR Seal of Approval)
“The story unfolds at a crisp and steady pace, with plenty of thought-provoking moments once 12-year-old Jessica enters the scene, offering Danny surprisingly mature reflections on tragedy and a knockout mystery to occupy his time. … Funeral Daze delivers an appealing spin on the mystery genre through rich characterization and an abundance of insight throughout.” — Publishers Weekly BookLife Prize Semifinalist
“Funeral Daze is a novel that takes both light and dark elements to present a fantastically engaging, emotionally resonant story in a deeply humorous and satirical fashion. Unmissable reading.” — Readers’ Favorite Silver Medal for Humor Fiction
“A hilarious page-turner that effortlessly blends crime, humor and South Florida beach culture. … Award-winning author Dorian Box (Psycho-Tropics, The Hiding Girl) has always employed brilliant doses of well-timed levity in crime fiction, but he pulls out all the stops for this laugh-out-loud caper.” — BestThrillers.com
“Time and again, Box has proven he can write a tense thriller that is funny, dark, and completely endearing. It’s the perfect combination of a smart storyline and characters that keep you reading well after bedtime. Fantastic!” — NetGalley
“Funeral Daze is a macabre and hilarious novel that intersects the lives of several bizarre and oddly compelling characters. … Dorian Box masterfully directs the story into a series of unpredictable and uproarious events that are deliciously ironic, unexpectedly thought-provoking, and always edgy and dark.” — D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
“A perfect beach read, this zany mystery has the thrills, quirky characters, juicy plot twists, and gripping conclusion you’re looking for!” — Reedsy Discovery
— Kirkus Reviews