Caribbean Rim by Randy Wayne White

Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on March 13, 2018

Doc Ford novels are always a fun way to pass time. The tropical settings open the door to light-hearted plots (the kind that invite the reader to have a tropical drink and smoke a joint after reading a chapter), but unlike modern thrillers that often take themselves too seriously, the plots are rarely implausible.

Archeologist Leonard Nickleby and his former student, Lydia Johnson, have a plan to make a bunch of money. Leonard stole a log book from a treasure hunter. Lydia has some inside information about the treasure that she’s kept hidden from Leonard. Now Doc Ford is trying to track them down in the Bahamas — not a difficult task after Leonard becomes a local legend by (as he tells it) saving two kids from a shark attack. The question is whether Doc will find Leonard and Lydia before a “crazy-ass killer” who seems to be chasing them.

Doc’s stoner friend Tomlinson, always good for comic relief, plays a leading role in the novel — he probably gets more print time than Doc, who is offstage for much of the novel — dispensing philosophy and trading Bible quotations with a local preacher and fellow Mason in the Bahamas. A more nefarious role is played by a former Hollywood producer (blacklisted after a sex scandal) who may or may not be holding a woman captive, but in any event is up to no good on an isolated island that local authorities are trying to ignore.

Sharks seem to have learned new behaviors near the islands. Since Doc is a marine biologist when he isn’t doing favors for clandestine government agencies, studying the sharks gives Doc something to do — in addition to chasing Leonard. Along the way he encounters the usual assortment of offbeat characters who populate a Doc Ford novel. Randy Wayne Smith also uses Doc and some local characters to teach the reader about Caribbean history and marine biology. Doc even manages to deal with a life-changing event in his usual laid-back style. Caribbean Rim isn’t Smith’s best work, but it is a good beach read in a series that delivers consistent entertainment.

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Mangrove Lightning by Randy Wayne White

Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on March 21, 2017

I get a kick out of the characters in the Doc Ford novels. The secondary characters primarily exist to provide comic relief. Tomlinson, in particular, is a perfect foil to Doc Ford. Tomlinson is good-hearted but annoying, and he’s a magnet for trouble, not that Ford can’t find enough trouble on his own.

In Mangrove Lightning, Ford and Tomlinson find themselves chasing crazy people in Florida’s mangroves, the kind who capture young women and find creative ways to torture and kill them. Ford is drawn into the investigation by Tomlinson, who is concerned about the disappearance of Gracie, the niece of legendary fishing guide Tootsie Barlow. Ford thinks he should know better than to listen to Tomlinson, but it turns out (as it has in other books in the series) that Tomlinson’s tenuous connection to the world sometimes delivers insights that less addled individuals fail to perceive.

In any event, finding the creepy swamp dwellers is only the start of Doc Ford’s latest adventure. The mystery, largely driven by Tomlinson’s spiritual awareness (or drug consumption), addresses the connection between the present and a history of Chinese slavery, rum runners from Cuba, gangsters, land developers in southern Florida, and demons from Chinese mythology … unless they aren’t mythological. There are even crazy killers who kill with lightning, which is a creative twist on the crazy killer theme.

The plot is strange in a good way, the story more about Tomlinson than Doc Ford, who is off on a romp of his own, investigating a child porn ring. I didn’t have a problem with spotlighting Tomlinson since the character really shines in this story. Hannah Smith, another good character from the past, also plays a key role. The creepiness of the villains might be a bit much for sensitive readers, but the story isn’t overly graphic. Randy Wayne White allows the reader’s imagination to fill in the bloodier gaps.

Despite the novel’s tongue-in-cheek nature, Mangrove Lightning races to a powerful conclusion. The ending is very dark, much more so than the story that precedes it, and generally darker than is common in the series. It might not be a good fit for readers who want unfailingly happy endings. There is nevertheless some light in the darkness, in that this turns out to be a story about courage and endurance in the face of extreme peril … and creepiness.

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Deep Blue by Randy Wayne White

Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on March 15, 2016

Deep Blue is a satisfying action novel. Deep Blue doesn’t provoke deep thought but it gives the reader a chance to hang out with some of the fun, offbeat characters who live in or around the marina where Doc Ford makes his home. The character (other than Doc) who plays the strongest role in the novel is kooky Tomlinson, a high-functioning burnout who believes in his ability to practice “remote viewing” and never met a mind-altering substance he didn’t like.

Doc Ford begins the novel on a mission that doesn’t go quite as he planned. When he returns to the marina, he’s plagued by a couple of high-tech drones. With the help of a dog that might be even more mindless than Tomlinson, Ford captures the drones and tries to keep their owner from recovering them. The drone owner turns out to be a wealthy technology master whose father has a history with Tomlinson.

The characters (especially the dog) are amusing. Most of them are more focused on the month-long marina Christmas party than the threat that they eventually encounter. Ford, the most sober of the bunch, flies around causing and resolving trouble, leading to some reasonably innovative action scenes. I particularly enjoyed the ones that take place underwater.

The novel moves briskly without short-changing the interaction of characters or the creation of atmosphere. At two or three points, Randy Wayne White plants chapter-ending cliffhangers that are supposed to produce “Oh No!” responses, but the eventual outcome is predictable. Probably series fans wouldn’t want it to be any other way. In short, this is a breezy, entertaining novel that delivers what fans of the series expect but not much more.

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