This was my second Randy Wayne White read. It was an okay story with okay characters, entertaining enough and it didn’t drag so I bumped my rating up half a star.

It seems like all his characters have the same manner of speaking around a subject... and then all seem to have a complete understanding of whatever gibberish is being spoken to them. In the real world that would never happen, and I wish someone would come along and slap some sense into them until they said what they actually meant. Similarly all the characters seem to be imbued with more-or-less the same mannerisms and everyone always has to have their own hidden agenda. And lot of death... well, because.

I thought I was having a 60s "Dr. No" flashback when Quarrels came into the picture... ( )

Synopsis: 'Leonard Nickelby, a former professor and current director of Florida Division of Historical Resources, hooks up with a former student of his, Lydia Johnson, in an improbable meeting in the Ocala National Forest. Leonard, who is married at the time their affair begins, quickly develops feelings for the much younger Lydia, and a few months later they embark on a treasure hunt together in the Bahamas.

Carl Fitzpatrick, who has been on many treasure hunts of his own, has previously mixed it up with Leonard, who thinks very little of anyone he considers to be an “amateur treasure hunter.” The two butted heads when Leonard impounded Fitzpatrick’s cache of rare Spanish coins, which vanishes along with Leonard and Lydia. Realizing that the duo is most likely working from a list of uncharted wreck sites that he’s compiled over the last decade, Fitz knows Leonard is heading for trouble. Because of his own adventures, he cannot go to the authorities without casting a negative light on himself. So, Fitz instead turns to his old pal, Doc Ford.

Doc agrees to go after them, which is a good thing because Leonard and Lydia end up being captured by Salvadorian drug dealers. But, while trying to help them, Doc inadvertently finds himself in the crosshairs of very dangerous people with connections to a powerful Hollywood type who has a separate agenda, and it’s all downhill from there. . . '

Review: Compared to many of his books, this one moves very slowly and the plot isn't particularly interesting. We finally discover the father of Hannah's baby. ( )

Modern pirate story featuring Doc Ford, Marine biologist and ex-CIA agent. Quirky cast along with a focus on island environment and native population. Fun read but other novels in this series are more captivating. ( )