Black Widow

Another skillfully written, mostly well-paced Doc Ford novel. Ford gets involved in thwarting a blackmail scheme involving his goddaughter and her friends after a pre-wedding trip to a Caribbean island. The first part of the book takes place in the comfortable confines of Dinkin’s Bay Marina and Sanibel Island.

The dangerous part takes place in the tropics. Randy Wayne White continues his fascination with wealth and exclusivity by creating a truly bizarre resort run by a hermaphrodite on a fictional island where the lucky few go to relax and detox, but are subject to humiliation, forced and drugged sex, and eventually blackmail.

This is a strange and convoluted novel, but somehow makes more sense than some of the later entries in the show more Doc Ford series. show less

From the Doc Ford books that I have read to date, I believe that this one is my favorite. Marion was much less of a drama queen than he is in most of the books; Doc is always portrayed as a man's man, a studly stud, but generally he is commiserating forever on all his woman woes and that wasn't the case this time. Also, the backstory was quite good; a bit much with ALL of the "Black Widow" threads (and the spider does make a messy web) leading back to Doc and his goddaughter Shay, but still good.

Cool and interesting elements of geography and explorer history thrown in too like:

"The plaque says this map was drawn in 1507."

"That’s right. The Waldseemuller map" There was a smile in her voice. "It's not the original, of course. Notice show more something unusual about it?"

"Yes. It shows the western coast of South America, and the Baja Peninsula. Hudson Bay, too. All fairly accurate. I'm trying to remember my fifth-grade history -"

"Excellent catch, Dr. Ford. You're thinking of Magellan. He didn't reach the Pacific Coast until decades later, and he never really explored it. And explorer Henry Hudson didn't arrive in the Americas until a hundred years later."

I said, "So the map couldn't have been made in 1507."

"But it was - it's been well documented. The maps on that wall represent some of history's great mysteries. That's what Sir James claims, anyway. The Stuttgart Map, for instance, is from the sixteenth century. It shows Antarctica in incredible detail - two hundred and fifty years before western explorers had laid eyes on it. Not only that, it's the Antarctic as it would appear without ice. I checked for myself. It’s true."

I compared the map to the world globe that sat beside a leather reading chair. She was right about the accuracy. The map was dated 1535.

"How can that be?"

The woman shrugged. show less

I was delighted when I first discovered Randy Wayne White's series about Doc Ford -- for a while it seemed that I had found a replacement for my much loved and sadly missed Travis McGee series. Doc Ford is not only a marine biologist, but a super-agent for one of the blacker divisions of the U.S. government. Ford was physically fit, intellectually astute, and seemed gifted with sensitivity and an interesting array of friends at his home base of Dinkin's Bay in southwest Florida.

But as the series progressed, I became more and more disenchanted with the books. White seemed to be taking the lazy author's way out of dealing with Ford's unattached status -- most of the women Ford was attracted to ended up dead or involved with other men and show more causes. Ford's moments of introspection and soul-searching became perfunctory and formulaic. And most of his friends faded far into the background, with the exception of the ubiquitous Tomlinson. In short, Doc Ford was becoming, in my opinion, a static figure -- and a two dimensional one, at that.

So when I picked up this latest entry in the Doc Ford series at my local library, I was not expecting much more than a few hours of escapism. But I was pleasantly surprised when I got past the first few chapters. The story took off in a few unexpected directions, and soon I was hooked.

Blackmail, sexual indiscretions, a date rape drug ring, the practice of obeah, and the lost treasure of the Templar knights all come together to make a very engaging plot. Add a surprising revelation about Ford's past, and the result was a book that I was reluctant to put down. Highly recommended. show less

Synopsis: Doc Ford has just received two letters. One is from an old friend who reveals the name of the person who killed Doc's parents. The other is from a doctor telling Doc that he has a brain disease. These bombshells are secondary to finding that his god-daughter is being blackmailed by unscrupulous people on a Caribbean island. Doc investigates and finds that he is not the only one interested in breaking up this ring. A retired British secret agent is also in the case. Together they go after the head of the ring and run into murders, viscous dogs, and a truth that will derail the lives of several people.
Review: This is one of White's better books. It is full of suspense, carries a twisted plot line, and introduces several show more intriguing characters. It also brings up some interesting mental/physical pathology. show less

Doc Ford is asked by his goddaughter to help her pay off a blackmailer who has an incriminating tape of her and her three best friends partying on St. Arc. When the blackmailers don't back down Doc travels to St. Arc to track them down. The book goes into some pretty out there and somewhat silly areas but if you can suspend disbelief it's not a bad thriller.

Doc Ford receives a desperate appeal for help from an old friend. Shay Money, a successful 26-year-old businesswoman who's about to be married, fears her future happiness is in jeopardy because an extortionist has videotaped her and three female friends in sexually compromising situations. While Ford manages to get the tape in exchange for a sizable payment, his suspicions that the criminal isn't done with money are soon confirmed.

Another great book by White. Continuing with the series.