Doc Ford Books
Its cool gulf breezes lured him from a life of danger. Its dark undercurrents threatened to destroy him. 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 the 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? Sanibel Flat s featuring ex-CIA agent Doc Ford is the first in the series by bestselling author Randy Wayne White.
In Randy Wayne White's The Heat Islands , marine biologist and former secret operative Doc Ford is lazily poling his skiff along Southwest Florida's flat copper sea in search of sea anemones, when he runs into the body of the most hated man on Sanibel Island-Marvin Rios. And when the Island's simplest and sweetest resident is arrested for the murder Doc heads straight into the heart of the sunshine state's dark side-to save his friend from being framed, and to save Sanibel Island from a rising tide of land-grab schemes, blood money and violence.
When solitary marine biologist Doc Ford focused his telescope on the woman in the white boat, he didn't know his life was about to be capsized: that his conniving uncle Tucker Gatrell would discover the Fountain of Youth, that The National Enquirer would write about it, and that the law would beat down his door in search of three missing men. But Doc Ford is about to find these things out-- the hard way. Because in the shadowy world of Southwest Florida, where gators yawn, cattle craze, and Indian bones are buried, mysteries great and small have found the man to solve them...in The Man Who Invented Florida by bestselling author Randy Wayne White.
“A Doc Ford novel has more slick moves than a snake in the mangroves. In Captiva , Randy Wayne White takes us places that no other Florida mystery writer could hope to find.”—Carl Hiaasen Randy Wayne White is acclaimed as "wildly inventive" ( The San Diego Union-Tribune ), "a wonderful writer" (Paul Theroux), "a fine storyteller" (Peter Matthiessen), and "the rightful heir to John D. MacDonald" ( The Tampa Tribune-Times ). Now he delivers a wicked thriller that sends government agent-turned-marine biologist Doc Ford into dangerous new waters, as a Florida fishing dispute escalates into a deadly war that reaches across the ocean...
"We’ll drop anything we're doing to read a new Randy White novel and be glad we did." --Denver Post Randy Wayne White's Doc Ford novels have been praised as "witty" (San Diego Union-Tribune), "must-reads" (Chicago Tribune) and "superb." (Denver Post) Now, White's newest thriller takes Doc Ford to Havana, where his friend is being held by the Cuban government. Still haunted by his suspected involvement in a plot against Castro, Ford ventures to Cuba--where he finds himself entangled in a web of murder, revenge, and assassination.
Government agent-turned-marine biologist Doc Ford sails an endless sea of questions when he agrees to investigate a death from the past. Years ago, off Florida’s Gulf Coast, a teenaged girl found an ancient gold medallion. Then, she began having nightmares. Then she was found hanging from a tree. Now, years later, the girl’s mother is being terrorized with break-ins, phone calls with no one there—and her daughter’s grave has been dug up. Somebody wants that medallion. The search for answers will lead Doc through a shadowy world of ancient ritual and modern corruption, to an evil that was born in the past—but lives in the present…
Randy Wayne White's Ten Thousand Islands was "one of the most satisfying thrillers in recent memory"-- Chicago Tribune "Of all the writers [in] the Florida mayhem boom, only White can claim to have created a series hero to match Hemingway's memorable outdoorsmen and John D. MacDonald's much-missed Travis McGee."-- Publishers Weekly (starred review) The past comes disconcertingly alive for Doc Ford in Randy Wayne White's most electrifying novel yet. On a working vacation to Guava Key, marine biologist Doc Ford notices two female joggers who follow the same route at the same time every day. He can't help thinking how easy it would be for a predator to become aware of them, too. As it turns out, he isn't the only one. There seem to be more and more predators these days. Forced to step in, Ford finds himself involved in a story of intrigue and revenge that becomes more dangerous with every turn-and some of them hit pretty close to home. Add to that a Bahamian relative he never knew he had, a letter leading to a treasure that may or may not exist, and some past history that becomes very alarmingly present, and his life has suddenly become very complicated. Not to mention the prospect of his death. . . . Filled with crackling power and atmosphere, and some of the best suspense characters in fiction, Shark River is a triumph of storytelling.
"We'll drop anything we're doing [for] a new Randy White novel and be glad we did." ( Denver Post ) Randy Wayne White's ninth Doc Ford novel starts out as a fun excursion for four divers off the Florida coast. Two days later only one is found alive - naked atop a light tower in the Gulf of Mexico. What happened during those 48 hours? Doc Ford thinks he's prepared for the truth. He isn't.
In this thrilling novel from New York Times bestselling author Randy Wayne White, Doc Ford returns to his stilt house on Dinkin's Bay to find an old friend and one-time lover waiting for him. Her real-estate developer husband has disappeared and been pronounced dead, and she's sure there's worse to follow--and she's right. Following the trail, Ford ends up deep in the Everglades, at the gates of a community presided over by a man named Bhagwan Shiva (formerly Jerry Singh). Shiva is big business, but that business has been a little shaky lately, and so he's come up with a scheme to enhance both his cash and his power. Of course, there's the possibility that some people could get hurt and the Everglades itself damaged, but Shiva smells a killing. And if that should turn out to be literally, as well as figuratively, true...well, that's just too damned bad.
The abduction of Doc Ford's son pulls the former assassin back into business--and into the trap of an avenging politico with a twisted and violent plan of revenge.
New York Times bestselling author “Randy Wayne White spins another terrific Florida tale”* in this thriller of bio-terror and extreme revenge. It starts with a simple request: check up on the mysteriously reclusive biologist brother of an old friend. But what Doc Ford stumbles upon in the doctor’s secluded island home is a nightmare. He has hanged himself—and his body is host to a rare strain of feeding, breathing parasites. It’s not an accident. Neither is the fact that the flesh eaters are multiplying in the infested Florida waters. A biological catastrophe has arrived. And only Doc Ford can find out why, and stop it from spreading further…
Imagine hurricane winds over the Sahara Desert, preceded by a cavalry of tornadoes. Imagine dunes flattened, then resculpted. Then imagine all that at the bottom of the sea. A Category 4 hurricane has swept the west coast of Florida, creating havoc, changing lives, and reshaping the ocean bottom. Well-known reefs and wrecks have been covered—and new ones have emerged. From one such wreck, marine biologist Doc Ford and his friends make a chance discovery that will have a monumental effect—a cluster of mysterious objects that lead to an equally mysterious woman and her ancient, gray-gabled estate of a beach house. The woman weaves a haunting story of a loved one lost, and her chance to uncover the truth if Ford will help salvage the boat, named Dark Light , which sank without explanation in the hurricane of 1944. Intrigued, Ford agrees, and begins a chain of events that will change his life forever. For there are other things in that wreck as well, and other men who want them, men willing to commit terrible acts. And the woman herself—the woman is not what she seems. . . . Filled with passion and vivid, pungent prose and some of the best characters in suspense fiction, Dark Light is a thriller of uncommon intensity.
Bound in the publisher's original quarter cloth and paper over boards, spine stamped in gilt.
It went against all of Ford's instincts. When his goddaughter, Shay, called, he assumed it was with details of her imminent wedding, but the news was anything but cheerful. She and her bridesmaids had thrown a pretty wild bachelorette party, it seemed, on St. Arc in the Windward Islands - and someone had secretly videotaped it. Now that person was threatening to blow up her future unless she came across with enough money. But don't worry, Doc, she said, she'd negotiated it down. All she needed him to do was make the exchange. Please? Ford knew it was a mistake - a mistake to trust the extortionist, a mistake for her not to tell her fiance - but he agreed. Now one of the bridesmaids is near death. The blackmailer grabbed the money and threatened to release the tape on the Internet anyway. The panicked bridesmaid took an overdose of pills and alcohol. Fueled by guilt and an overpowering rage, Ford swears to destroy the person responsible, but the blackmailer has other ideas. An agent of corruption like no one they have ever met, the black widow is just getting started.
Winter in New York City: Amid sleet and snow, Doc Ford is at the Explorers Club with his new friend, former (and maybe current) British agent Sir James Montbard, researching a jungle expedition and awaiting the arrival of an attractive U.S. senator with whom Ford has become more than friendly. Her car pulls up, she starts to get out - and the unthinkable happens: an abduction attempt right before Ford's eyes. He engages, managing to save the senator, but the companion in her car is not so lucky. A fourteen-year-old Minnesota boy, in New York as the prize for an essay-writing contest, he is snatched and vanishes - dead, authorities fear, until they receive the kidnappers' ultimatum. Ford goes on the hunt, an odyssey that brings him first to Long Island, then to Florida, but if what happened before was unthinkable, it's nothing compared with what he discovers. The boy's captors have a definite agenda, and to make sure he isn't rescued before their thirty-six-hour deadline is up, they've put him someplace they're sure no one will find him: they've buried him alive. But there's something about the boy his captors do not know. He has a past, as do Doc Ford and many of the other key players in these extraordinary events. And before those thirty-six hours are over, all those pasts will catch up to the present - with catastrophic results.
Doc Ford wrestles more than one kind of demon, in the stunning novel from the New York Times -bestselling author. Many dangers lurk in the deep-the worst of them are human. Thirty minutes into what should have been an easy, beginner-level dive in a remote Florida lake, the rim of a cave collapses, trapping two of Doc Ford's friends. Ford himself manages to escape and quickly surfaces to find help-but that's when his troubles only begin. Two men are waiting for him on the shore, and they are not the kind of men you want to meet at any time. Murderers and ex-cons, they're intent on diving to the bottom of the very deep lake and uncovering the remains of a legendary plane wreck there, supposedly loaded with Cuban treasury gold. Ford's expertise is just what they need. And if he doesn't want to help? He can die. His friends? They can die, too. In fact, they can die right now. . . . As the hours tick away, two mortal struggles unfold simultaneously, one above and one below. Neither outcome is certain, no man is safe . . . and in the deep shadow, only death awaits.
It began peacefully enough, on one of Florida's private islands. At a reception hosted by a notorious Russian black marketeer, Doc Ford uses darkness, and his friend Tomlinson, as cover to get an underwater look at the billionaire's yacht. By the time Ford surfaces, everything has changed. Environmental extremists have taken control of the island. Or are they thugs hired by the Russian's competitors? Whatever the motive, they have herded everyone together and threatened to kill one hostage every hour until midnight unless their demands are met-at which point they will just blow everybody up. Electronic jammers make communications with the outside world impossible. The only hope of avoiding terrible consequences: The militants do not know Ford's capabilities, or that he is still on the loose. But that situation won't last for long . . . and the clock is ticking.
The stunning new thriller—the twentieth Doc Ford novel—from the New York Times–bestselling author. Both Doc Ford and his friend Tomlinson have buried secrets. Now one of those secrets is about to come alive—with a vengeance. While trying to solve one of Florida’s most profound secrets, Doc Ford is the target of a murder attempt by someone who wants to make it look like an accident. Or is the target actually Tomlinson? Whatever the answer, the liveaboards and fishing guides at Dinkin’s Bay on Sanibel Island are becoming increasingly nervous—and wary—after a near-poisoning, a plane crash, and an explosion make it apparent that Ford and Tomlinson are dangerous companions. What their small family of friends don’t know is that their secret pasts make it impossible for the two of them to go to the law for help. There is an assassin on the loose, and it is up to them to find the killer—before he (or she) finishes the job.
The stunning new thriller from the New York Times –bestselling author. When a Crow Indian acquaintance of Tomlinson’s asks him to help recover a relic stolen from his tribe, Doc Ford is happy to tag along—but neither Doc nor Tomlinson realize what they’ve let themselves in for. Their search takes them to the part of Central Florida known as Bone Valley, famous primarily for two things: a ruthless subculture of black-marketers who trade in illegal artifacts and fossils, and a multibillion-dollar phosphate industry whose strip mines compromise the very ground they walk on. Neither enterprise tolerates nosy outsiders. For each, public exposure equals big financial losses—and in a region built on a million-year accumulation of bones, there is no shortage of spots in which to hide a corpse. Or two.
The remarkable new novel in the Doc Ford series by New York Times –bestselling author Randy Wayne White. Doc Ford’s old friend, General Juan Garcia, has gone into the lucrative business of smuggling Cuban baseball players into the U.S. He is also feasting on profits made by buying historical treasures for pennies on the dollar. He prefers what dealers call HPC items—high-profile collectibles—but when he manages to obtain a collection of letters written by Fidel Castro between 1960–62 to a secret girlfriend, it’s not a matter of money anymore. Garcia has stumbled way out of his depth. First Garcia disappears, and then the man to whom he sold the letters. When Doc Ford begins to investigate, he soon becomes convinced that those letters contain a secret that someone, or some powerful agency, cannot allow to be made public. A lot happened between Cuba and the United States from 1960–62. Many men died. A few more will hardly be noticed.
Doc Ford has long lived a double life. This time, it may finally have caught up to him. The electrifying new thriller from the New York Times- bestselling author. “ I’ll make an example of someone close to you.” On a moonless night on Sanibel Island, Florida, marine biologist Marion “Doc” Ford carefully watches a video of a hooded man executing three hostages. The man is an American working with ISIS, and in the next few days, it’ll be Ford’s job, as part of his shadowy second life, to make sure he never kills anybody else again. But a lot can go wrong in a few days, and Ford has no way of knowing that not only will the operation prove to be a lot more complicated than he has anticipated, but that he’ll end up bringing those complications back with him to the small community of boaters, guides, lovers, and friends in Dinkin’s Bay, where he’s long made his home. Someone has taken Ford’s actions very personally, and now no one there is safe – least of all, Ford himself. “White continues to provide thinking readers with action-packed thrillers that are also thoughtful and informative,” writes Bookreporter.com. “By the end, you won’t be able to read fast enough.” Better get started now.
The ghosts of a 1925 multiple murder stalk Doc Ford in this electrifying novel in the New York Times –bestselling series. Doc Ford has been involved in many strange cases. This may be one of the strangest. A legendary charter captain and guide named Tootsie Barlow has come to him, muttering about a curse. The members of his extended family have suffered a bizarre series of attacks, and Barlow is convinced it has something to do with a multiple murder in 1925, in which his family had a shameful part. Ford doesn’t believe in curses, but as he and his friend Tomlinson begin to investigate, following the trail of the attacks from Key Largo to Tallahassee, they, too, suffer a series of near-fatal mishaps. Is it really a curse? Or just a crime spree? The answer lies in solving a near-hundred-year-old murder...and probing the mind of a madman.
Murder, sunken treasure, and pirates both ancient and modern send Doc Ford on a nightmare quest in this New York Times bestseller in Randy Wayne White's thrilling series. Marine biologist Doc Ford has been known to help his friends out of jams occasionally, but he's never faced a situation like this. His old pal Carl Fitzpatrick has been chasing sunken wrecks most of his life, but now he's run afoul of the Florida Division of Historical Resources. Its director, Leonard Nickelby, despises amateur archaeologists, which is bad enough, but now he and his young "assistant" have disappeared--along with Fitzpatrick's impounded cache of rare Spanish coins and the list of uncharted wreck sites Fitz spent decades putting together. Some of Fitz's own explorations have been a little...dicey, so he can't go to the authorities. Doc is his only hope. But greed makes people do terrible things: rob, cheat, even kill. With stakes this high, there's no way the thieves will go quietly--and Doc's just put himself in their crosshairs.
The sins of the past come back to haunt Doc Ford and his old friend Tomlinson in this thrilling new novel from New York Times -bestselling author Randy Wayne White. Marine biologist and former government agent Doc Ford is sure he's beyond the point of being surprised by his longtime pal Tomlinson's madcap tales of his misspent youth. But he's stunned anew when avowed bachelor Tomlinson reveals that as a younger man strapped for cash, he'd unwittingly fathered multiple children via for-profit sperm bank donations. Thanks to genealogy websites, Tomlinson's now-grown offspring have tracked him down, seeking answers about their roots. . . but Doc quickly grows suspicious that one of them might be planning something far more nefarious than a family reunion. With recent history on his mind, Doc is unsurprised when his own dicey past is called into question. Months ago, he'd quietly "liberated" a cache of precious Spanish coins from a felonious treasure hunter, and now a number of unsavory individuals, including a disgraced IRS investigator and a corrupt Bahamian customs agent, are after their cut. Caught between watching his own back and Tomlinson's, Doc has no choice but to get creative--before rash past decisions escalate to deadly present-day dangers.
*NATIONAL BESTSELLER* From New York Times bestselling author Randy Wayne White, after the deadliest hurricane to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast in a century, Doc Ford must stop a gang of thieves — and worse — during the twelve hours of chaos that follow the passing of a storm’s eye. A Russian diplomat disappears while Doc is tagging great white sharks in South Africa, and members of a criminal brotherhood, Bratva, don’t think it’s a coincidence. They track the biologist to Dinkin’s Bay Marina on the west coast of Florida, where Brotherhood mercenaries have already deployed, prepared to pillage and kill in the wake of an approaching hurricane. No one, however, is prepared for a cataclysmic event that will forever change the island and leaves Doc to deal with escapees from Russia’s most dangerous prison, including a serial killer—the Vulture Monk—who has a taste for blood. His only ally is an enigmatic British inventor whose decision to ride out the storm might have more to do with revenge than protecting a priceless art collection. Doc has a lot at stake—the lives of his fiancée, Hannah Smith, and their son, plus the fate of his hipster pal, Tomlinson, whose sailboat has disappeared in the Gulf of Mexico. The greatest threat of all, though, is a force that cannot be escaped—a Category Five hurricane that, minute by minute, melds sins of the past with Florida's precarious future.
Doc Ford returns for a perilous journey into Mesoamerica after a world-shattering earthquake threatens his family's safety—and all of their lives In the wake of a killer hurricane, Doc Ford heads to Honduras, where his best friend, Tomlinson, crashed his beloved sailboat into a reef off the Mosquito Coast. Tomlinson swears he died in the shipwreck and was brought back to life by a runaway orphan—the direct descendant of the last king of the ancient Mayan people. Corrupt politicians want the child out of the picture before he catalyzes a revolution among the Indigenous population. But the boy, a charismatic twelve-year-old, has gone underground with the help of Tomlinson and a network of street urchins. They're all on the run and in the crosshairs when Ford arrives and picks up his friend’s trail. The Marina family has already suffered the death of one key member, and Ford is determined not to burden his homeless friends with yet another funeral wake. What no one is prepared for, however, is a cataclysmic earthquake that hits the area with the impact of a meteor that nearly destroyed all life on earth more than sixty million years ago.