Sanibel Flats

Ah, the airport thriller. White's entry into the genre is solid, albeit rather peculiar. What can we say? It was the 1990s. A lot of strange things happened then, including White's idea to use a fictional South American country Masagua as part of his setting, as well as two fictional Mayan tribes. One part of my brain ended up poking at it, trying to analyze the 'why.' I could not work out if he thought he was being sensitive by using a fictionalized people, or lazy with characterization. Perhaps lazy, because despite being in Florida, and despite being in Costa Rica and a fictional South American country, White tries to give us some local flavor by using two Spanish words: 'calle,' and 'tienda.' Oh, yes, my gringo friends: 'street' and show more 'store.' Not particularly relevant either. It's just so peculiar.

But enough about the imaginary culture. What about the weird white people culture? White's particular take specializes in the Florida coastal community, homespun locals and Northern white people exploiting the Keys. There's also touches of the crazy conventioneers visiting Florida, the obnoxious low-level businessmen and the women on sexual holiday.

The other specialty White brings to the series is his interest in fish biology. There's little bits about bullhead sharks, squid, and tarpon mixed into the story. Marion Ford is doctor of marine biology, early military, now retired from government work with a few priceless contacts remaining. It's a solid set-up, with just enough tantalizing bits and pieces of backstory that White isn't locked into any one direction with his hero, should the series take off (spoiler: it did).

The beginning is intriguing, but slow. It seems like White is pulling on a lot of threads here, but of course, they are all linked and are able to be unraveled in the end. It begins with an old friend, Rafe, contacting Ford and asking for help recovering his kidnapped son. Avoiding spoilers, it eventually heads in more international-thriller directions. Tomilson, local denizen and man of unexpected talents ends up playing mission sidekick and often, comic relief:

"We might be gone for a while; keep that in mind. Maybe a week, maybe three.”
“Hell, three weeks or three months, I still only got two pairs of pants."

The main character is a bit of a cad, however, which makes it less enjoyable from my perspective. There's actually a bit that takes place in a Costa Rican whorehouse (as White calls it) that I think is supposed to show how the character is not judgemental about the women working there--although he does call it a 'whorehouse'--and anyway, it's not like he needs to pay for sex--he just wants people to know he doesn't have anything against women earning their money that way, of course. (Except that he tries to talk an unhappy white American out of doing it and to go back home). It's all very regressive, but not unusual on the scale of male detectives (thinking of early Elvis Cole in L.A., early Matt Scudder in NYC, early Dave Robicheaux in New Orleans, early Spenser in Boston), so I mention it more as a 'your-tolerance-may-vary' kind of thing, as well as hoping it will improve as White moves into the 21st century.

Overall, I rather enjoyed it, but I'm drawn toward marine biology. Actually, I happen to be drawn to archeology and historical Mayan culture as well, so it was a pity White decided to camouflage his cultural references. Tomilson ended up being a stand-out character for me, bringing a needed touch of both humor and ethics to the story. As a first book in a series, it has a lot of promise. The writing is generally competent, closer to early Robert B. Parker than late, a cut above Michael Connelly but below Lawrence Block or Robert Crais, if that's any help. show less

I am not much into series books, but when I realized that the new restaurant on the St. Pete Pier, Doc Ford's, is named after the fictional character created by Randy Wayne White, I decided to get the first book in the series and read about him. Since I have been reading more challenging books lately, this book was a fun read that was most welcome during the holiday season. Like many other popular Floridian authors, White conveys his appreciation for the fauna and flora of Florida as well as the laidback Floridian lifestyle. Doc Ford, the main character, knowledgeable about navigating Sanibel's waters and terrain, a west coast island, functions as a marine biologist among the people in Sanibel.

Doc, a former CIA operative in Central show more America, purports to want to slow down his pace but can't resist getting involved with Central American guerilla warfare when his high school buddy, Rafe Hollins, solicits his help. As the story and mystery develop, it is apparent that Doc thrives on drama as much as his love interests. He befriends Tomlinson, a drug-involved, former academic, and their adventures in Central America dealing with revolutionaries and Mayan history is exciting and charming.

I enjoyed learning about Doc's shark business as much as his dealings in Central America. If you're not familiar with Doc Ford, it is well worth your time.

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This started out interesting enough, but ended up w/a couple too many balls in the air and a little long on clichés that I don't enjoy all that much. Also, Ford's notions about "promiscuous" women were annoying, especially coming from a guy whose only apparent claim to sexual purity was not paying for it. Manly men are virile, women are just slutty. Man, that shit never gets old [eyeroll]

After ten years of living life on the edge, it was hard for Doc Ford to get that addiction to danger out of his system. But spending each day watching the sun melt into Dinkins Bay and the moon rise over the mangrove trees, cooking dinner for his beautiful neighbor, and dispensing advice to locals over a cold beer lulled him into letting his guard down. Then Rafe Hollins appeared. How could he refuse his old friend's request - even if it would put him back on the firing line? Even if it would change forever the life he'd built here on Sanibel Island?

Smart engaging thriller with a heart and a brain-- the heart is the community gathered around the marina on Sanibel Island, and the brain is Doc Ford's knowledge of the complex eco-system of the Florida everglades and Gulf of Mexico.

Lifted far above the average by excellent writing, the Doc Ford novels are compulsively readable. The plot of this novel had **too much** going on, enough for two books, and linking them together strains credulity.

Strongly recommended.

Over-the-top plotting and wooden female characters mar this entry in a series that has a lot of promise. I much prefer the ones that focus on Florida and the natural world rather than black ops and skullduggery. High marks for Tomlinson and the Florida setting; thumbs down for overplotting and over-the-top shenanigans.

This is the first of at least four and maybe five Doc Ford mystery series. Doc is a marine biologist in Florida but he has a past. He's done with that past now and living out a laid back laissez faire life on Sanibel Flats. But, he past calls him one day. His old friend, Rafe Hollins calls in distressed because after Rafe kidnapped his son from his ex-wife, terrorists kidnapped Rafe's son from Rafe. Doc must now re-enter his past. There's a little Hiassen here and a little of all the other Florida writers, but White also has something that's all his own. His second Doc Ford is out of print but I'm hoping his new publisher is going to re-print them. I'd hate to miss one.