Rating: 
Summary: worthy successor to Travis McGee
Review: Randy Wayne White played in the Senior Baseball League, writes a column for Outside magazine & some terrific fishing stories (Batfishing in the Rain Forest: Strange Tales of Travel & Fishing) and is the author of the outstanding Doc Ford novels. Not bad... Doc Ford is a marine biologist who formerly held a somewhat shadowy position in US Intelligence. This installment of the series finds Doc & his burn-out hippie friend Tomlinson investigating the death of explosion victim Jimmy Darroux. This leads them to Jimmy's delectable widow Hannah and a feud between sport fisherman and net fishermen over a pending netting ban. As the violence escalates, noone is safe & Doc's moral compunctions are challenged and then shattered. If you haven't discovered this great writer & wonderful series yet, I urge you to give them a read. The cover blurbs comparing him to John D. MacDonald, Carl Hiassen & Elmore Leonard are well deserved. GRADE: A
Rating:
Summary: A fishing and fighting tale of wrenching change on the Gulf.
Review: Randy Wayne White spins a great yarn in "Captiva," a tale of treachery and adventure woven with the kind of science and social detail that compels another turn of the page. Fishing afficianados and friends of the Gulf Coast will fall into this one in minutes, pulled along by the depth of complex characters White paints across the mangrove islands and shallow bays in this once sleepy part of Florida that is today its fastest growing area. The rip currents between now-banned net fishermen, sport fishing, entrepeneurs and developers boil with snapping freshness under this new writer's deft touch. Living at the center of generational change in the "heat islands," White - - a veteran guide himself -- grabs your attention on page one and doesn't let go through a fast-paced panorama of Florida's at once laid-back and flat-out coastal culture. Devotion to facts in the fiction and a keen view of human turmoil make this a wonderful summer read for snowbirds back on their northern beaches
Rating: 
Summary: Quirky characters
Review: The intrigue in this mystery is doubled by the introduction of so many quirky characters into the life of the protagonist, Doc Ford. The mystery series never gets stale in the hands of this gifted author. Each book is unique in its own right and it is difficult to judge which is my favorite. The novelity of the various character actors in this drama, however, would certainly make this book at the top of the list for favorite books. This is what you want to read when you really want to escape from your ordinary, routine life.
Rating:
Summary: The Heart of Florida is in this Book
Review: The thing that Randy Wayne White does best is to convey all the sights, sounds, smells and feelings of Florida. His stories are all about Marion "Doc" Ford, an ex-NSA agent currently living on Florida's Gulf Coast and trying to live a quiet life as a marine biologist. Even though he's trying to live the quiet life, it's just not in the cards. Every book finds him in the middle of a new mystery that he solves with class and wit. However, anyone who thinks that these books are about Doc Ford and his adventures is wrong. Doc is a great central character, and his adventures are great reads. But Mr. White is ultimately not writing about Doc or his adventures. His central character is Florida itself, and the stories he writes provide vehicles for him to explore this magical place in greater and greater depth. As a fishing guide himself, Mr. White knows Florida and it's evident in the care he takes to put the reader inside the skin of his characters. There's just no way to read a Doc Ford novel without feeling the oppressive heat or swarms of mosquitos, or getting a sense that you could actually dip your fingers into the waters of Dinkins Bay if you wanted. And this is the thing I love most about Mr. White's novels. You get to pretend, just for a little while, that you're actually living in Florida, running a skiff over the flats or casting a fly rod under the mango trees. The plot of this particular story? It's about a brewing war between net fishermen and other groups who have voted to restrict net fishing in Florida. Acts of sabotage are happening up and down the coast, and the story opens with a bomb being set off at Dinkins Bay itself. Doc and his buddy Tomlinson do a bit of investigating and both become entangled with a lady who lives in a net fishing community and is one of the focal points of the conflict. In the course of this story, Doc falls deeply for this lady and we also see some very bad things happen to Tomlinson. Tomlinson's plight brings out the old NSA version of Doc, and we get a window into the life he used to lead when he worked for the government. This book has one of the most clever and satisfying 'revenge moments' I've read when Doc finally confronts the main villain and we see him get what's coming to him. I laughed out loud when I figured out how Doc had gotten even with this person. Probably the best Doc Ford moment I've read so far. This book rates 5 stars, both because I love Doc Ford and because I love Florida. As long as Randy Wayne White is writing, I don't much care what the plot is because I know it's going to take me where I want to be...the languid waters of Florida where the days are for fishing and the nights are for relaxing on the shore with a beer and a few good friends. I can hear the Jimmy Buffett music playing in the background right now....
Rating:
Summary: The Heart of Florida is in this Book
Review: The thing that Randy Wayne White does best is to convey all the sights, sounds, smells and feelings of Florida. His stories are all about Marion "Doc" Ford, an ex-NSA agent currently living on Florida's Gulf Coast and trying to live a quiet life as a marine biologist. Even though he's trying to live the quiet life, it's just not in the cards. Every book finds him in the middle of a new mystery that he solves with class and wit. However, anyone who thinks that these books are about Doc Ford and his adventures is wrong. Doc is a great central character, and his adventures are great reads. But Mr. White is ultimately not writing about Doc or his adventures. His central character is Florida itself, and the stories he writes provide vehicles for him to explore this magical place in greater and greater depth. As a fishing guide himself, Mr. White knows Florida and it's evident in the care he takes to put the reader inside the skin of his characters. There's just no way to read a Doc Ford novel without feeling the oppressive heat or swarms of mosquitos, or getting a sense that you could actually dip your fingers into the waters of Dinkins Bay if you wanted. And this is the thing I love most about Mr. White's novels. You get to pretend, just for a little while, that you're actually living in Florida, running a skiff over the flats or casting a fly rod under the mango trees. The plot of this particular story? It's about a brewing war between net fishermen and other groups who have voted to restrict net fishing in Florida. Acts of sabotage are happening up and down the coast, and the story opens with a bomb being set off at Dinkins Bay itself. Doc and his buddy Tomlinson do a bit of investigating and both become entangled with a lady who lives in a net fishing community and is one of the focal points of the conflict. In the course of this story, Doc falls deeply for this lady and we also see some very bad things happen to Tomlinson. Tomlinson's plight brings out the old NSA version of Doc, and we get a window into the life he used to lead when he worked for the government. This book has one of the most clever and satisfying 'revenge moments' I've read when Doc finally confronts the main villain and we see him get what's coming to him. I laughed out loud when I figured out how Doc had gotten even with this person. Probably the best Doc Ford moment I've read so far. This book rates 5 stars, both because I love Doc Ford and because I love Florida. As long as Randy Wayne White is writing, I don't much care what the plot is because I know it's going to take me where I want to be...the languid waters of Florida where the days are for fishing and the nights are for relaxing on the shore with a beer and a few good friends. I can hear the Jimmy Buffett music playing in the background right now....
Rating:
Summary: Revenge, Incorporated
Review: There's a war brewing in Central Florida between the Mullet Fishermen and the Deep Sea Sports Fishermen. The Mullet Fisherman are sore because of a new net ban and they're taking their frustrations out on the Sports Fishermen whom they think voted for the ban. Doc Ford tries to remain neutral, but when his friends are caught in the crossfire of an angler civil war, he takes the law into his own hands and goes out for revenge! A very satisfying story with an unexpected ending.
Rating:
Summary: Excelent writing,great plot,"Doc" Ford is a real hero.
Review: This is the best from Randy Wayne White yet,he has brought Doc-Ford to life in this fast reading adventure,I really couldn't put it down. His first books cover stated that he was the heir to John D Mcdonalds,which is hard to beleive but I've read all of his works and after this one I'm a believer.
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