Deep Blue

January 25, 2016
White’s fast-paced 23rd Doc Ford novel (after 2015’s Cuba Straits) pits the Florida wet work specialist against David Abdel Cashmere, a Chicagoan turned terrorist who features as the executioner of three hostages in several videos. Ford travels to the Yucatan, where his target is staying at a seaside resort, but things don’t go as planned. He finds his facilitator, known only as K.A.T., with one of Cashmere’s supposed victims, Winslow Shepherd, in an eighth-floor hotel room. When Ford confronts the pair, they both fall from the room’s balcony, and Ford is forced to flee back home to Sanibel Island, Fla. Cutting-edge drones appear on the island, which are controlled, he soon discovers, by Winslow’s son, Julian (aka the Black Knight of the Internet). Ford rallies his allies, chief among them Tomlinson, his “boat-bum hipster” sidekick with ESP powers, and Brazilian Vargas Diemer, a wealthy jet-setter of questionable loyalty. Lively characters, enough action for three summer blockbusters, and plenty of plot twists make this a great addition to the bestselling series. Agent: Esther Newberg, ICM.

The masterful George Guidall, among the most accomplished of audiobook performers, narrates White's twenty-third Doc Ford novel. Ford is a marine biologist and occasional assassin for the federal government (mostly). White's books focus on technological marvels and the eccentric and amorous residents of the Florida island marina that Ford calls home. Guidall's performance is, as always, unpretentious and precise. His pronunciation is clear. His characters come to life. Their accents are detectable without being distracting. At the same time, he sounds like your favorite uncle telling a story off-the-cuff. There are sharks, stakeouts, fancy boats, and surprises. A good thriller, well delivered. F.C. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine