The Heat Islands : A Doc Ford Novel

Rating:
Summary: Tarpon Tournament surprise
Review: Having never been involved in a Tarpon Tournament, I found the whole premise of the book a delightful surprise. The whole experience came alive for me when reading the pages of this novel. This is a gifted author who knows how to plot a story and bring the reader along on an adventure. Be careful though in reading any Randy Wayne White book: they are addictive.

Rating:
Summary: Tarpon Tournament surprise
Review: Having never been involved in a Tarpon Tournament, I found the whole premise of the book a delightful surprise. The whole experience came alive for me when reading the pages of this novel. This is a gifted author who knows how to plot a story and bring the reader along on an adventure. Be careful though in reading any Randy Wayne White book: they are addictive.

Rating:
Summary: a worthy series
Review: HEAT ISLANDS is the second book in the Doc Ford mystery series, after SANIBEL FLATS. Ford, a marine biologist and ex-secret agent, is pulled into trouble when a friend is accused of murder. The case is tied to some shady dealings involving land and the Floridian environment-destroying building boom.
Ford mourns for a lost Florida, everywhere he goes the state has been overrun by tourits and developers. He's trying to hide at a quiet marina, but (like his forefather Travis Mcgee) can't resist a friend in need. White's description of Florida's nature is wonderful. The villain is sort of a stereotypical nut job, but Ford's quiet heroism makes up for it. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down ! What a page turner !
Review: The Heat Islands is a great book! I highly recommend it. I also recommend Sanibel Flats, the first Doc Ford novel. Growing up in South Florida, reading a Doc Ford novel is just like reading about old friends. Randy White is so accurate in his descriptions of the islands, fishing, the South Florida coastal towns, and the people that live and work there. Doc and his friends are so "real-life". I can't wait for the next one !

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down ! What a page turner !
Review: The Heat Islands is a great book! I highly recommend it. I also recommend Sanibel Flats, the first Doc Ford novel. Growing up in South Florida, reading a Doc Ford novel is just like reading about old friends. Randy White is so accurate in his descriptions of the islands, fishing, the South Florida coastal towns, and the people that live and work there. Doc and his friends are so "real-life". I can't wait for the next one !

Rating:
Summary: Is there a doctor in the houseboat?
Review: The title refers to those vast expanses of concrete developers have produced as they've urbanized native Florida. It's only mentioned once in the book, but it sets the environmental tone for the story, and for the main character, Doc Ford.

First the good part: White is a top writer with a compact style. He knows the Florida gulf coast locale; his story and characters are consistent and believable, for the most part. This is a series novel. The anchor is Doc Ford, a marine biologist living at a small marina on Sanibel Island. He seems to be loosely patterned after Steinbeck's Ed Ricketts ("The Log From the Sea of Cortez"). Sometimes series novels get a little predictable. I didn't notice it so much here, because this is White's second in the series, and his style is never sing-song. But there were a few characters that I feel sure we'll hear from again in other novels: Dewey, Doc's casual girlfriend, a world-class tennis contender; Walda, Dewey's Romanian tennis friend; and an assortment of fishing guides who work out of the Dinkin's Bay Marina. Others I'm sure we'll never hear from again. You can tell.

The plot orbits the death of a very unpopular local marina owner. White manages to weave some romance and assorted other intrigues into the story before it's over.

Doc's biological knowledge, his keen deductive ability, and his sharp observational skills turn detective once again in this case. Doc also has the enviable ability to learn things but not mention them until just the right time. Remarkable. At first the cops don't want him involved in the investigation, but he eventually solves the case and ties up the loose ends.

Now the bad part: Doc is a formula character, appealing, but still paperback chic: ex Navy SEAL, worked for the CIA and the NSA (we believe, White also has the ability to keep secrets), quiet, soft-hearted--involved in sea anemones, fish larvae, etc. But when the chips are down, and they're down twice in this book, Doc's old killer instinct surfaces, and he turns his very dark skills against the bad guys. You can tell when he's about to do that, a strange look comes in his eyes. "Like he's, what-do-you-call-it, not all there." Have you heard all this before? What the heck, it's only fiction. I can suspend belief for the short time it takes to read this book, but I sometimes yearn for an anti-anti-hero.

Read this book by Randy Wayne White. It's good entertainment, and you won't be tempted to join the Sierra Club after you've finished.

Rating:
Summary: John D. MacDonald Would Have Been Proud
Review: This is the second book in the Doc Ford stories, and even though the first one was very good, I liked this one even better. The reason for this is that the story focuses on Doc's home in Sanibel Island and really gives us a feel for what it's like to live on the Gulf Shores of Florida. There is excellent character development to the point where these characters come alive and you feel like you're spending some quality time with good friends. The plot is also quite compelling. It takes off right at the first with the discovery of a dead body floating in the gulf (the body of Marvin Rios who everyone hates but who wields quite a bit of money and influence), and then is compounded by the arrest of Doc's friend Jeth (the gentle fishing guide with a stutter who we got to know in Sanibel Island). Doc sets out to prove Jeth's innocence along with his best friend Tomlinson (my personal favorite character in the series). All the while, you have a sub-plot involving Karl Sutter, con-man and brother-in-law of the deceased. His underhanded dealings are worthy of the best of Carl Hiaasen and John D. MacDonald. Add in a beautiful pro-tennis player and her friend, and you have a story that's not only an excellent mystery but a great deal of fun in the process.

This book is a very fast read. I took it with me on a business trip and finished it after only 2 days. As coincidence would have it, the trip was to the Florida coast, and this book set the perfect mood for me while I was there.

If you like mysteries, or Florida fiction in general, you really owe it to yourself to discover Randy Wayne White. I've read all of them. James W. Hall, John D. MacDonald, Carl Hiaasen, and Leonard Shames. Trust me. Randy Wayne White is one of the best.