Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 294 pages
- Published by: St. Martin's Paperbacks March 15, 1997
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0312953984
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0312953980
-
Book Dimensions:
6.6 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
- Weighs: 5.3 ounces
From Publishers Weekly
In the third Doc Ford adventure, White again seamlessly splices an offbeat west coast of Florida locale with even more offbeat inhabitants. Principal among them is Doc Ford, who operates a small biological-supply business from a lab in his stilt-supported house. Lately, Doc has tried to control his telescope viewing of a tanned, red-haired lady who skinny-dips off an offshore sailboat and to limit his beer intake to four a day. While trying to be patient with his hippie pal Thomlinson, who drops by to expound on many topics, Doc reluctantly gets involved with his Uncle Tucker, who lives up the coast in Mango. Tuck has discovered a well of healing water on his land that he claims is responsible for his old gelded horse's newly grown testicles. Smuggled into a local rest home, the water has dramatically revived the nearly dead sex life of his Native American buddy Joseph Egret. Tuck's trouble is his somewhat uncertain ownership of the land. While he importunes Doc for help, the local news focuses on the disappearance into the mangrove swamps of two government investigators and a much loathed TV fisherman. Like fellow Floridian Carl Hiaasen, White ( The Heat Islands ) is adept at weaving ecological concerns into an oddball narrative with no loss of steam. The fate of the three missing men, even by bizarre Florida crime fiction standards, is inspired.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Series veterans Marion "Doc" Ford and hippie friend Tomlinson ( Sanibel Flats , St. Martin's, 1990) become tangentially involved in the case of three men who go missing near Dinkin's Bay. The "victims" seem to have nothing in common except terrible luck; their portion of a broader story melds with a mostly amusing plot dealing with the proposed government expansion of the Everglades National Park. White offers an eclectic vision of Florida with his laid-back prose but pays close attention to various "characters," especially Marion's braggart uncle. Upbeat, literate, fascinating, and clever: manna for deeper readers.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reader ReviewsOne reviewer posted that "even an average Doc Ford story is better than most". While that's certainly true, I'm not sure this is an "average" Doc Ford story--it's just different. Because it's barely about Doc Ford. Oh sure he appears here and there and sort of rescues the situation at the end. But the story is really about Doc's uncle and his Indian friend/co hort. Which by the way, does make this the funniest in the Doc Ford series. Having read every one of the ten Doc Ford books as of end of 2003, here's my list of how they all rate, (drum roll, please): (5 stars) Captiva Twelve Mile Limit Shark River The Heat Islands Ten Thousand Islands Sanibal Flats (the first in the series) The following are the 4 stars in the series--great stories, but I wouldn't recommend them as a first read of the author: Everglades The Man Who Invented Florida North of Havana The Mangrove Coast
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