This was one of the better Randy Wayne White novels that I have read. He is a really gifted writer. The first chapter was superb, and the hook was set. The ending was good too.

At some point though, he starts to add too much tangential stuff, the purpose of which seems to be only to fill out the book, which to me only bogs down the story; get on with it already. It becomes too much about the characters' lives as if there is not enough story to tell. I don't think half the book should be about Doc's insecurities.

And then there is always the... come on, Doc, open your eyes! A smarter man would just listen to what people tell him. Instead, Doc will make a whole slew of mysterious inferences which make little sense other than to portray Ford as invincible. Reality check, at some point Doc cannot see the forest for the trees; that's where I get caught out. So it seems like every time I am high on the story... it goes too far off the rails and then I’m like... meh, it's okay... and I want to downgrade it. In this case, I'll keep it at 4-stars rather than downgrade it to 3-1/2. I really enjoy reading the Doc Ford books, but I am not sure what will get me over the hump to find them much better than average or really great. ( )

When a Crow Indian acquaintance of Tomlinson's asks him to help recover relics stolen from his tribe, Doc Ford is happy to tag along - but neither Doc nor Tomlinson realizes what they've let themselves in for. Their search takes them to the part of Central Florida known as "Bone Valley", known 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 people walk on. ( )

I listened to the Audio version which I do with all of his books because George Guidall is a fabulous narrator. As for the actual story, I felt it wasn't as good as most of his other books. The story line just fell flat to me. It had potential but it just wasn't realized in this book. There was alot of back & forth conversation with innuendos, spiritualistic garble etc.that should have been left out. There was just too much of it. Anyways I'm hoping Cuba Straights is much better. ( )

See my other most recent rant. I don't want to have to repeat it. ( )

See my other most recent rant. I don't want to have to repeat it. ( )