Sanibel Flats (1990) by Randy Wayne White – M.D. “Doc” White, 36 years old, has returned home to Sanibel Island on the Florida Gulf Coast after serving in a secretive U.S. government agency in the fictional Central American country of Masagua (a thinly disguised Nicaragua).
Trained as a marine biologist he buys a stilt house and sets up a pen in the ocean next to his home for some large bull sharks. To earn income he is dissecting small bull sharks and shipping them to schools to be studied.
High school classmate and fellow Vietnam
The authorities at Sandy Key who have authority over Hollins death have no interest in an investigation and swiftly determine it was a suicide.
Back at Sanibel, Doc is being wooed by Jessica McLure, a lovely neighbour, who is a painter. It is Jessica who wants to turn the friendship intimate.
Doc has strong morals in business but his relationships with women are hardly honourable. His attitude helps keep him from being perfect but it is certainly chauvinistic.
It is not hard to figure out what Doc will do about his friend’s son being held captive but how it takes place is both clever and chilling.
One of the reasons the quest is interesting is Doc being joined by Tomlinson, an eccentric ocean neighbour with a Ph.D. from Harvard, whose life has been on a meandering course because of his affection for recreational pharmaceuticals.
I was struck by similarities between Doc and Travis McGee. Both are big articulate men. They are veterans who fought in the Vietnam Florida
They have comparable attitudes a generation apart on the development of Florida Florida
The book has some philosophy and deft dialogue that also brought to mind John D. Macdonald. An example is Tomlinson’s reflection on danger:
“You know what I think about danger? I think if you’re walking on thin ice anyway, why not dance?”
There is a brisk pace to the book. I understand why the series is popular. There are interesting characters. Doc fits well into the classic American loner in pursuit of justice.
One of the early books in the series I want to read another before reaching conclusions about the series. It is entertaining thriller fiction. I expect I would have enjoyed it even more had I been able to go read it on the beach after buying it at the Murder on the Beach bookstore. (Mar. 21/12)
Bill - Oh, I can definitely see why you would think of this as a "beach book." I do like the setting, and I was thinking, too, of the similarities between Doc and Travis McGee. Really interesting actually. One wonders whether that's where White got his inspiration...
ReplyDeleteI haven't read anything by either Randy White or John MacDonald — they go right into my new-authors-to-watch-out-for list. More and more "heroes" in crime and mystery novels are turning out to be retired agents or war veterans. In wonder if this is a fairly new trend — where the investigator is unconventional, a non-conformist, and quite old but not quite out of his or her prime. Thanks for the review, Bill.
ReplyDeleteMargot: Thanks for the comment and your observations. As a resident of Florida I expect White was very familiar with the McGee series. I am going to return to that series shortly to see if there are further connections.
ReplyDeletePrashant: I do not consider it a new trend when the McGee books written from the 1960's through the 1990's and White started the series with Doc in 1990.
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