Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* What happens in the Caribbean at least on the tiny island of Saint Arc definitely doesn't 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 Arc's resident voodoo queen, the Widow, a sexually ambiguous dragon lady who runs a sophisticated blackmail enterprise. In this fifteenth outing for White's beloved hero, marine biologist and special-ops agent Doc Ford, the Widow meets her match when she targets Ford's 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 (Caribbean vacations 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 you'd pay just to hang out with and then hooks us with straight-ahead action. It's an old-school combination, but it still works just fine.--Ott, Bill Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
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. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Doc Ford has become a South Florida literary figure, and White certainly knows his way around the bayous. In this series installment, Doc is asked by his goddaughter to investigate some disturbing videos that were made while she and her girlfriends were celebrating a bachelorette party on the Caribbean island of St. Joan of Arc. After being drugged by some local beach boys, the girls were sexually assaulted. Now that the goddaughter's wedding is coming up, she doesn't want any dirty laundry to spoil her special day. Doc finds himself drawn into a shadowy world of Obeah ceremonies, black magic, and witchcraft, and the listener is quickly drawn into the action and the often graphic violence. George Guidall could read the Tax Code and make it thrilling; his way of giving a wide variety of characters their own distinct personalities with just a slight change in inflection is what makes him one of the major audiobook readers. All libraries will find this a popular item; highly recommended.--Joseph L. Carlson, Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Blackmail overshadows Sanibel, Fla., in a way that poses a special set of challenges to marine biologist extraordinaire Doc Ford, making his 15th appearance (Hunter's Moon, 2007, etc.). The smarts of Einstein, the courage of Rambo, the sensitivity of Dr. Phil and the noblesse oblige of Galahad: Marion Ford, as his fans know well, is a man of parts. It's the Galahad part that kick-starts him. Usually, the obligatory lady in distress is leggy, bosomy and a sucker for the Ford charm. This time, however, the lady happens to be Shay Money, his goddaughter. Just before her wedding to rich, handsome, socially prominent, politically ambitious Michael Jonquil, Shay and three of her bridesmaids-to-be decide they owe themselves a bachelorette party at Saint Arc in the Caribbean. As it turns out, Saint Arc is a terrible place to cut loose, and now there's a videotape that demonstrates explicitly how out of hand things can get under tropical skies. Ford's assignment is to persuade a covey of no-goods that extortion has a downside. In Saint Arc, he encounters the customary ration of leggy, bosomy, susceptible ladies, plus a macabre reason to view blackmail in a scary new light. Starts intriguingly, then descends into a welter of aimless episodes, derivative characters and suspense-killing digressions. Fans will be put to the test. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
