January 21, 2008
Bestseller Ford’s 15th Doc Ford thriller (after 2007’s Hunter’s Moon
) may baffle newcomers with a backstory relating to the murder of Ford’s parents. Ford, a marine biologist and covert operative who lives on Florida’s Sanibel Island, is busy serving his shadowy U.S. government masters by researching the potential use by terrorists of jellyfish and other venomous sea creatures when he 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. His efforts to protect her lead him to the Caribbean and a sophisticated blackmail racket with a lengthy list of victims. Despite some awkward prose (“The combination of flesh and death, the orderly geometrics of my wound, struck me as indefinably profound”), series fans should enjoy the ride. Author tour.
Starred review from February 1, 2008
What happens in the Caribbeanat least on the tiny island of Saint Arcdefinitely doesnt stay there. Especially if you happen to be a rich, young woman out for a final fling with your girlfriends before tying the knot. That demographic is likely to snag you in the web of Saint Arcs resident voodoo queen, the Widow, a sexually ambiguous dragon lady who runs a sophisticated blackmail enterprise. In this fifteenth outing for Whites beloved hero, marine biologist and special-ops agent Doc Ford, the Widow meets her match when she targets Fords goddaughter, Shay. Feeling a bit out of sorts since he retired from the clandestine services, Ford is ready to mix it up a little and heads off to the island to confront the blackmailers. He finds much more of a challenge than he expected and is happy to join forces with a mysterious island resident, a seventysomething Brit who appears to be a former special-ops type himself. White makes the most of this pairing (imagine Michael Caine as the Brit), injecting some bantering fun into the high-octane action. As always in this consistently entertaining series, the plot offers a fascinating mix of headline-grabbing crime (Caribbeanvacations gone bad) and history (island archaeology, with a touch of those ever-popular Knights Templar). Like Robert B. Parker and John D. MacDonald at their best, White draws readers into his world with characters youd pay just to hang out with andthen hooks us with straight-ahead action.Its an old-school combination, but it still works just fine.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)