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Doc Ford Mystery book cover 1
Doc Ford Mystery book cover 2
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Doc Ford Mystery
Series · 27
books · 1990-2024

Books in series

Sanibel Flats book cover
#1

Sanibel Flats

1990

Its cool gulf breezes lured him from a life of danger. Its dark undercurrents threatened to destroy him. After ten years of living life on the edge, it was hard for Doc Ford to get that addiction to danger out of his system. But spending each day watching the sun melt into Dinkins Bay and the moon rise over the mangrove trees, cooking dinner for his beautiful neighbor, and dispensing advice to the locals over a cold beer lulled him into letting his guard down. Then Rafe Hollins appeared. How could he refuse his old friend's request-even if it would put him back on the firing line? Even if it would change forever the life he'd built here on Sanibel Island?
The Heat Islands book cover
#2

The Heat Islands

1992

In Randy Wayne White's The Heat Islands, marine biologist and former secret operative Doc Ford is lazily poling his skiff along Southwest Florida's flat copper sea in search of sea anemones, when he runs into the body of the most hated man on Sanibel Island-Marvin Rios. And when the Island's simplest and sweetest resident is arrested for the murder Doc heads straight into the heart of the sunshine state's dark side-to save his friend from being framed, and to save Sanibel Island from a rising tide of land-grab schemes, blood money and violence.
The Man Who Invented Florida book cover
#3

The Man Who Invented Florida

1993

When solitary marine biologist Doc Ford focused his telescope on the woman in the white boat, he didn't know his life was about to be capsized: that his conniving uncle Tucker Gatrell would discover the Fountain of Youth, that The National Enquirer would write about it, and that the law would beat down his door in search of three missing men. But Doc Ford is about to find these things out—the hard way. Because in the shadowy world of Southwest Florida, where gators yawn, cattle craze, and Indian bones are buried, mysteries great and small have found the man to solve them...in The Man Who Invented Florida by bestselling author Randy Wayne White.
Captiva book cover
#4

Captiva

1996

Randy Wayne White is acclaimed as "wildly inventive" (The San Diego Union-Tribune), "a wonderful writer" (Paul Theroux), "a fine storyteller" (Peter Matthiessen), and "the rightful heir to John D. MacDonald" (The Tampa Tribune-Times). Now he delivers a wicked new thriller that sends government agent-turned-marine biologist Doc Ford into dangerous new waters, as a Florida fishing dispute escalates into a deadly war that reaches across the ocean...
North of Havana book cover
#5

North of Havana

1997

Randy Wayne White's Doc Ford novels have been praised as "witty" (San Diego Union-Tribune), "must-reads" (Chicago Tribune) and "superb." (Denver Post) Now, White's newest thriller takes Doc Ford to Havana, where his friend is being held by the Cuban government. Still haunted by his suspected involvement in a plot against Castro, Ford ventures to Cuba—where he finds himself entangled in a web of murder, revenge, and assassination.From the author of the critically acclaimed novel Captiva (Prime Crime, 5/97) Another mystery featuring Randy Wayne White’s Doc Ford is on the way Will appeal to fans of Carl Hiaasen and John D. Macdonald "We’ll drop anything we're doing to read a new Randy White novel and be glad we did." —Denver Post
The Mangrove Coast book cover
#6

The Mangrove Coast

1998

Readers who still yearn for Travis McGee and wish the Busted Flush wasn't in permanent dry dock should hook up with Randy Wayne White's Doc Ford—a Travis McGee for The '90s. (The Orlando Sentinel). Randy Wayne White continues to produce the kind of novel that makes The Denver Post say, We'll always drop anything to read a new Randy Wayne White novel, and be glad we did. In The Mangrove Coast, the daughter of a dead war buddy calls Ford in distress. If you're ever really in trouble, his friend had written her, Ford's the one you can trust. And trouble is what she's got. Her mother's disappeared in Mexico without a trace, in the company of an unsavory companion, and her money's gone, too. Doc agrees to help, and finds himself in Baja, on the trail of a man more genuinely evil than any he has ever encountered. There's more to it than that, though—a third man whose shadowy presence brings death in its wake. For Doc, the mystery—and the danger—only deepens. In fact, solving the puzzle may turn out to be the most perilous thing of all. Filled with crackling prose and atmosphere, and some of the best characters in contemporary suspense, The Mangrove Coast is a triumph of inventive storytelling.
Ten Thousand Islands book cover
#7

Ten Thousand Islands

2000

Government agent-turned-marine biologist Doc Ford sails an endless sea of questions when he agrees to investigate a death from the past. Years ago, off Florida’s Gulf Coast, a teenaged girl found an ancient gold medallion. Then, she began having nightmares. Then she was found hanging from a tree.Now, years later, the girl’s mother is being terrorized with break-ins, phone calls with no one there—and her daughter’s grave has been dug up. Somebody wants that medallion. The search for answers will lead Doc through a shadowy world of ancient ritual and modern corruption, to an evil that was born in the past—but lives in the present…
Shark River book cover
#8

Shark River

2001

The past comes disconcertingly alive for Doc Ford, in a series that continues to grow in popularity and acclaim. Randy Wayne White's Ten Thousand Islands was "one of the most satisfying thrillers in recent memory" wrote the Chicago Tribune, and the starred review in Publishers Weekly said, "Of all the writers [in] the Florida mayhem boom, only White can claim to have created a series hero to match Hemingway's memorable outdoorsmen and John D. MacDonald's much-missed Travis McGee." And now White has created his most electrifying novel yet. On a working vacation to Guava Key, marine biologist Doc Ford notices two female joggers who follow the same route at the same time every day. He can't help thinking how easy it would be for a predator to become aware of them, too. As it turns out, he isn't the only one. There seem to be more and more predators these days. Forced to step in, Ford finds himself involved in a story of intrigue and revenge that becomes more dangerous with every turn-and some of them hit pretty close to home. Add to that a Bahamian relative he never knew he had, a letter leading to a treasure that may or may not exist, and some past history that becomes very alarmingly present, and his life has suddenly become very complicated. Not to mention the prospect of his death... Filled with crackling power and atmosphere, and some of the best suspense characters in fiction, Shark River is a triumph of storytelling.
Twelve Mile Limit book cover
#9

Twelve Mile Limit

2002

"We'll drop anything we're doing [for] a new Randy White novel and be glad we did." ( Denver Post ) Randy Wayne White's ninth Doc Ford novel starts out as a fun excursion for four divers off the Florida coast. Two days later only one is found alive - naked atop a light tower in the Gulf of Mexico. What happened during those 48 hours? Doc Ford thinks he's prepared for the truth. He isn't.
Everglades book cover
#10

Everglades

2003

Doc Ford returns to his stilt house on Dinkin's Bay to find an old friend and one-time lover waiting for him. Her real-estate developer husband has disappeared and been pronounced dead, and she's sure there's worse to follow-and she's right. Following the trail, Ford ends up deep in the Everglades, at the gates of a community presided over by a man named Bhagwan Shiva (formerly Jerry Singh). Shiva is big business, but that business has been a little shaky lately, and so he's come up with a scheme to enhance both his cash and his power. Of course, there's the possibility that some people could get hurt and the Everglades itself damaged, but Shiva smells a killing. And if that should turn out to be literally, as well as figuratively, true...well, that's just too damned bad. Replete with passion and rich, pungent prose and some of the best suspense characters anywhere in fiction, Everglades is the finest work yet from an extraordinary talent.
Tampa Burn book cover
#11

Tampa Burn

2004

The abduction of Doc Ford's son pulls the former assassin back into business—and into the trap of an avenging politico with a twisted and violent plan of revenge.
Dead of Night book cover
#12

Dead of Night

2005

New York Times bestselling author “Randy Wayne White spins another terrific Florida tale”\* in this thriller of bio-terror and extreme revenge. It starts with a simple request: check up on the mysteriously reclusive biologist brother of an old friend. But what Doc Ford stumbles upon in the doctor’s secluded island home is a nightmare. He has hanged himself—and his body is host to a rare strain of feeding, breathing parasites. It’s not an accident. Neither is the fact that the flesh eaters are multiplying in the infested Florida waters. A biological catastrophe has arrived. And only Doc Ford can find out why, and stop it from spreading further…
Dark Light book cover
#13

Dark Light

2006

Imagine hurricane winds over the Sahara Desert, preceded by a cavalry of tornadoes. Imagine dunes flattened, then resculpted. Then imagine all that at the bottom of the sea. A Category 4 hurricane has swept the west coast of Florida, creating havoc, changing lives, and reshaping the ocean bottom. Well-known reefs and wrecks have been covered—and new ones have emerged. From one such wreck, marine biologist Doc Ford and his friends make a chance discovery that will have a monumental effect—a cluster of mysterious objects that lead to an equally mysterious woman and her ancient, gray-gabled estate of a beach house. The woman weaves a haunting story of a loved one lost, and her chance to uncover the truth if Ford will help salvage the boat, named Dark Light, which sank without explanation in the hurricane of 1944. Intrigued, Ford agrees, and begins a chain of events that will change his life forever. For there are other things in that wreck as well, and other men who want them, men willing to commit terrible acts. And the woman herself—the woman is not what she seems... Filled with passion and vivid, pungent prose and some of the best characters in suspense fiction, Dark Light is a thriller of uncommon intensity.
Hunter's Moon book cover
#14

Hunter's Moon

2007

Doc Ford faces his greatest challenge ever, in the stunning new novel by the New York Times-bestselling writer. Book after book, Randy Wayne White's audience and critical acclaim continue to grow. His most recent thriller, Dark Light, was "one of his brightest novels" (South Florida Sun-Sentinel), "darkly marvelous" (The Miami Herald), "a compelling, readable tale in the justly celebrated Doc Ford series by one of this country's premier crime novelists" (Booklist). With Hunter's Moon, White is ready to take another giant leap. On a foggy, tropic October night, the full moon burning through the mist, I stopped paddling when I heard unexpected voices. Muted whispers, neither English nor Spanish, the voices of men moving in stealth. They shouldn't have been here. I shouldn't have been here. There were plausible explanations, but I didn't like any of them. When Ford saves from assassination a controversial former president of the United States who is staying on an island off Florida's west coast, he has no idea what he's just let himself in for. J. C. Wilson knows that he has only a short time to live, and he has a full agenda. In seven days, the United States is planning a secret strike on a Central American oil-rich nation, and Wilson intends to intercede-but he'll need help from certain people. One of them is an old adversary, the former dictator of the targeted country, long since disappeared and rumored to be a recluse. Another is a former lover, a woman of considerable influence and mystery. And the third is Doc Ford . . . whether he likes it or not... Rich with passion and vivid, pungent prose and some of the best characters found in suspense fiction today, Hunter's Moon is White's most remarkable novel yet.
Black Widow book cover
#15

Black Widow

2008

Entreated by his goddaughter to help pay off a blackmailer who videotaped her bachelorette party and then threatened to expose her debauchery, Doc Ford reluctantly agrees and then finds himself in danger when the extortionist releases the tape anyway, prompting a bridesmaid's suicide and a dangerous vengeance plot. 125,000 first printing.
Dead Silence book cover
#16

Dead Silence

2009

Imagine the worst that can happen. Then imagine again. The stunning new Doc Ford novel by the New York Times–bestselling author. Winter in New York City: Amid sleet and snow, Doc Ford is at the Explorers Club with his new friend, former (and maybe current) British agent Sir James Montbard, researching a jungle expedition and awaiting the arrival of an attractive U.S. senator with whom Ford has become more than friendly. Her car pulls up, she starts to get out—and the unthinkable happens: an abduction attempt right before Ford’s eyes. Ford engages, managing to save the senator, but the companion in her car is not so lucky. A fourteen- year-old Minnesota boy, in New York as the prize for an essay-writing contest, he is snatched and vanishes—dead, authorities fear, until they receive the kidnappers’ ultimatum. Ford goes on the hunt, an odyssey that brings him first to Long Island, then to Florida, but if what happened before was unthinkable, it’s nothing compared with what he discovers. The boy’s captors have a definite agenda, and to make sure he isn’t rescued before their thirty-six-hour deadline is up, they’ve put him someplace they’re sure no one will find him: they’ve buried him alive. But there’s something about the boy his captors do not know. He has a past, as do Doc Ford and many of the other key players in these extraordinary events. And before those thirty-six hours are over, all those pasts will catch up to the present—with catastrophic results. Randy Wayne White’s novels have always won praise for their remarkable imagination, intrigue, and some of the best characters in suspense fiction. Nothing, however, will prepare his readers for the remarkable twists and revelations of Dead Silence.
Deep Shadow book cover
#17

Deep Shadow

2010

Doc Ford wrestles more than one kind of demon, in the stunning novel from the New York Times -bestselling author. Many dangers lurk in the deep-the worst of them are human. Thirty minutes into what should have been an easy, beginner-level dive in a remote Florida lake, the rim of a cave collapses, trapping two of Doc Ford's friends. Ford himself manages to escape and quickly surfaces to find help-but that's when his troubles only begin. Two men are waiting for him on the shore, and they are not the kind of men you want to meet at any time. Murderers and ex-cons, they're intent on diving to the bottom of the very deep lake and uncovering the remains of a legendary plane wreck there, supposedly loaded with Cuban treasury gold. Ford's ex­pertise is just what they need. And if he doesn't want to help? He can die. His friends? They can die, too. In fact, they can die right now... As the hours tick away, two mortal struggles unfold simulta­neously, one above and one below. Neither outcome is certain, no man is safe . . . and in the deep shadow, only death awaits.
Night Vision book cover
#18

Night Vision

2011

Doc Ford is on a collision course with death in this extraordinary new novel from the New York Times bestselling author. Alot is going on in the trailer park known as Little Guadalajara, inhabited principally by illegal laborers. The park manager is the hired gun of a financial syndicate that wants to develop the property, and he's prepared to do whatever it takes-but he can't figure out what to do about the teenage girl, the one the laborers believe has some sort of gift. When she witnesses him killing a man, though, and runs, there's nothing left to figure: He's got to find her fast and shut her up good. Her only hope for survival: a marine biologist (and sometimes more) named Doc Ford, who along with his friend Tomlinson, must undertake a search through an underground, invisible nation...and just hope he reaches her first.
Chasing Midnight book cover
#19

Chasing Midnight

2012

It began peacefully enough, on one of Florida's private islands. At a reception hosted by a notorious Russian black marketeer, Doc Ford uses darkness, and his friend Tomlinson, as cover to get an underwater look at the billionaire's yacht. By the time Ford surfaces, everything has changed. Environmental extremists have taken control of the island. Or are they thugs hired by the Russian's competitors? Whatever the motive, they have herded everyone together and threatened to kill one hostage every hour until midnight unless their demands are met-at which point they will just blow everybody up. Electronic jammers make communications with the outside world impossible. The only hope of avoiding terrible consequences: The militants do not know Ford's capabilities, or that he is still on the loose. But that situation won't last for long . . . and the clock is ticking.
Night Moves book cover
#20

Night Moves

2013

The stunning new thriller—the twentieth Doc Ford novel—from the New York Times–bestselling author. Both Doc Ford and his friend Tomlinson have buried secrets. Now one of those secrets is about to come alive—with a vengeance. While trying to solve one of Florida’s most profound secrets, Doc Ford is the target of a murder attempt by someone who wants to make it look like an accident. Or is the target actually Tomlinson? Whatever the answer, the liveaboards and fishing guides at Dinkin’s Bay on Sanibel Island are becoming increasingly nervous—and wary—after a near-poisoning, a plane crash, and an explosion make it apparent that Ford and Tomlinson are dangerous companions. What their small family of friends don’t know is that their secret pasts make it impossible for the two of them to go to the law for help. There is an assassin on the loose, and it is up to them to find the killer—before he (or she) finishes the job.
Bone Deep book cover
#21

Bone Deep

2014

The stunning new thriller from the New York Times–bestselling author. When a Crow Indian acquaintance of Tomlinson’s asks him to help recover a relic stolen from his tribe, Doc Ford is happy to tag along—but neither Doc nor Tomlinson realize what they’ve let themselves in for. Their search takes them to the part of Central Florida known as Bone Valley, famous 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 they walk on. Neither enterprise tolerates nosy outsiders. For each, public exposure equals big financial losses—and in a region built on a million-year accumulation of bones, there is no shortage of spots in which to hide a corpse. Or two.
Cuba Straits book cover
#22

Cuba Straits

2015

The remarkable new novel in the Doc Ford series by New York Times–bestselling author Randy Wayne White. Doc Ford’s old friend, General Juan Garcia, has gone into the lucrative business of smuggling Cuban baseball players into the U.S. He is also feasting on profits made by buying historical treasures for pennies on the dollar. He prefers what dealers call HPC items—high-profile collectibles—but when he manages to obtain a collection of letters written by Fidel Castro between 1960–62 to a secret girlfriend, it’s not a matter of money anymore. Garcia has stumbled way out of his depth. First Garcia disappears, and then the man to whom he sold the letters. When Doc Ford begins to investigate, he soon becomes convinced that those letters contain a secret that someone, or some powerful agency, cannot allow to be made public. A lot happened between Cuba and the United States from 1960–62. Many men died. A few more will hardly be noticed.
Deep Blue book cover
#23

Deep Blue

2016

The remarkable, stellar new entry in the Doc Ford series from New York Times–bestselling author Randy Wayne White. Half-eaten dolphins are washing ashore on Sanibel Island, and it’s a nightmare. There’s a predator out there, and whatever it is, tourists are staying away and businesses are hurting badly. Doc Ford has a theory about that, but he hopes he’s wrong. Because if he’s not, there’s a predator out there, all right, but it’s nothing like anyone supposes. It’s human, and very determined—and it’s on a collision course with everyone on the island.
Mangrove Lightning book cover
#24

Mangrove Lightning

2017

The ghosts of a 1925 multiple murder stalk Doc Ford in this electrifying novel in the New York Times –bestselling series. Doc Ford has been involved in many strange cases. This may be one of the strangest. A legendary charter captain and guide named Tootsie Barlow has come to him, muttering about a curse. The members of his extended family have suffered a bizarre series of attacks, and Barlow is convinced it has something to do with a multiple murder in 1925, in which his family had a shameful part. Ford doesn’t believe in curses, but as he and his friend Tomlinson begin to investigate, following the trail of the attacks from Key Largo to Tallahassee, they, too, suffer a series of near-fatal mishaps. Is it really a curse? Or just a crime spree? The answer lies in solving a near-hundred-year-old murder...and probing the mind of a madman.
Caribbean Rim book cover
#25

Caribbean Rim

2018

Murder, sunken treasure, and pirates both ancient and modern send Doc Ford on a nightmare quest in this New York Times bestseller in Randy Wayne White's thrilling series. Marine biologist Doc Ford has been known to help his friends out of jams occasionally, but he's never faced a situation like this. His old pal Carl Fitzpatrick has been chasing sunken wrecks most of his life, but now he's run afoul of the Florida Division of Historical Resources. Its director, Leonard Nickelby, despises amateur archaeologists, which is bad enough, but now he and his young "assistant" have disappeared—along with Fitzpatrick's impounded cache of rare Spanish coins and the list of uncharted wreck sites Fitz spent decades putting together. Some of Fitz's own explorations have been a little...dicey, so he can't go to the authorities. Doc is his only hope. But greed makes people do terrible rob, cheat, even kill. With stakes this high, there's no way the thieves will go quietly—and Doc's just put himself in their crosshairs.
Salt River book cover
#26

Salt River

2020

The sins of the past come back to haunt Doc Ford and his old friend Tomlinson in this thrilling new novel from New York Times-bestselling author Randy Wayne White. Marine biologist and former government agent Doc Ford is sure he's beyond the point of being surprised by his longtime pal Tomlinson's madcap tales of his misspent youth. But he's stunned anew when avowed bachelor Tomlinson reveals that as a younger man strapped for cash, he'd unwittingly fathered multiple children via for-profit sperm bank donations. Thanks to genealogy websites, Tomlinson's now-grown offspring have tracked him down, seeking answers about their roots. . . but Doc quickly grows suspicious that one of them might be planning something far more nefarious than a family reunion. With recent history on his mind, Doc is unsurprised when his own dicey past is called into question. Months ago, he'd quietly "liberated" a cache of precious Spanish coins from a felonious treasure hunter, and now a number of unsavory individuals, including a disgraced IRS investigator and a corrupt Bahamian customs agent, are after their cut. Caught between watching his own back and Tomlinson's, Doc has no choice but to get creative—before rash past decisions escalate to deadly present-day dangers.
One Deadly Eye book cover
#27

One Deadly Eye

A Doc Ford Novel

2024

After the deadliest hurricane to hit Sanibel Island in a century, Doc Ford must stop a gang of thieves—and worse—during the twelve hours of chaos that follow the passing of a storm’s eye. A month before a killer hurricane hits Florida, Doc Ford gets a heads-up from a state department pal that during recent natural disasters, a group of paramilitary contractors have used the poststorm chaos as a license to steal—and kill. Doc doesn’t give the warning much thought until the night the big storm hits. He’s alone. The marina is a ghost town. Doc would have evacuated too but had to work a last-minute deal with the owner of the marina and some other stubborn liveaboards. They know the odds of being robbed after a storm spike. On barrier islands, there’s about a twelve-hour window before help of any type arrives. No law enforcement, no first responders. And very few residents to deal with because most have evacuated. So, Doc stays. He isn’t worried about himself. But he does wonder about a new a British physician, inventor and possibly an MI-6 asset. The man lives in one of the expensive houses on Millionaires Row. In fact, it’s just down the shoreline from the retired N.S.A. Director’s home. This is no coincidence, and it begs the Will the storm bring out other new visitors to the island?

Author

Randy Wayne White
Randy Wayne White
Author · 47 books

aka Carl Ramm, Randy Striker Randy Wayne White (born 1950) is an American writer of crime fiction and non-fiction adventure tales. He has written best-selling novels and has received awards for his fiction and a television documentary. He is best known for his series of crime novels featuring the retired NSA agent Doc Ford, a marine biologist living on the Gulf Coast of southern Florida. White has contributed material on a variety of topics to numerous magazines and has lectured across the United States. A resident of Southwest Florida since 1972, he currently lives on Pine Island, Florida, where he is active in South Florida civic affairs and with the restaurant Doc Ford's Sanibel Rum Bar & Grill on nearby Sanibel Island. Series: * Doc Ford Mystery

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