MAY 2011 - AudioFile
White’s eighteenth Doc Ford mystery involves Latino gangs, drugs, human trafficking, and violence—all coming up against a latter-day Joan of Arc. But then the quietly violent Doc Ford has to come to her rescue. George Guidall portrays Doc appropriately as a macho softie and adopts a bad-ass persona with perfect Latin accents to render the gangbangers. Guidall moves the action along while keeping the heroine above the fray. His pacing and timing are, as always, expertly matched to the author’s narrative style. For followers of Doc Ford and lovers of the growing body of mysteries set in Florida. M.C. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
In White's intelligent, fast-paced 18th Doc Ford thriller (after Deep Shadow), Doc's hipster friend, Tomlinson, persuades Doc to help an extraordinary 13-year-old girl, Tula Choimha, recently arrived at a Florida trailer park from Guatemala. Tula, who speaks with God and whose patron saint is Joan of Arc, is determined to find her mother and brother, who came to America months earlier but have disappeared. People who get to know Tula believe she is special, blessed, even a saint—except for the sleazy, steroid-infused trailer park landlord, Harris Squires. Fearful that the discovery of some human remains inside an alligator carcass will implicate him in a crime witnessed by Tula, the paranoid Harris kidnaps Tula and takes off. Doc sets out to rescue Tula, but standing in his way is a menacing gangbanger, Victorino, and Harris's vicious girlfriend, Frankie. White balances the sordid criminal activities with plenty of intriguing wildlife lore. The bond that Tula forms with her captor adds poignancy. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Night Vision
“Intelligent, fast-paced...White balances the sordid criminal activities with plenty of intriguing wildlife lore. The bond that Tula forms with her captor adds poignancy.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“White draws on his strength at putting Doc and his hippie friend, Tomlinson, into tense situations that require his skill at dealing with danger....Harris and Frankie may be White’s most believable—and frightening—villains.”—South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“This is a well-written, suspenseful tale that introduces us to some irresistible new characters.”—Associated Press
“As always, White handles the action scenes superbly, writing with both precision and dramatic fl air...A must for series fans.”—Booklist
“Authentic bad guys juxtaposed with the innocent Tula create a story Doc Ford fans and adventure readers will enjoy.”—Library Journal
“White delivers his patented slam-bang action and southwest Florida atmosphere, and Ford is still the kind of guy who can handle half a dozen heavily armed gangbangers, figure out a work-around for doing a bootlegger’s turn in a car with antilock brakes—and pick up a hot biologist at an alligator autopsy and romance her until she hollers for mercy.”—St. Petersburg Times
Library Journal
The 18th Doc Ford thriller (after Deep Shadow) mixes street-gang grittiness with eerie spirituality as a 13-year-old Guatemalan child searches for relatives in Florida. The community of undocumented Guatemalans is vulnerable, fearful of authorities. The manager of the trailer park where the immigrants live is a bodybuilder, manufacturing illegal steroids and using the women in porn films, taking advantage of their silence. He is aided by his girlfriend and a local gang. Ford, a marine biologist by day, CIA-trained troubleshooter at other times, and his aging hippie friend, Tomlinson, arrive at the trailer park to meet young Tula just as an alligator snatches a resident. A typical Doc Ford scene unfolds, with Ford wrestling the alligator, infuriating the landlord, and unleashing more trouble when a human bone is found in the gator. Tula's mysticism injects spirituality into the story, adding an extra dimension to the plot.Verdict Explicit depictions of steroid use and gang behavior supply the action in a slightly predictable plot. Authentic bad guys juxtaposed with the innocent Tula create a story Doc Ford fans and adventure readers will enjoy. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/10; national tour.]—Sally Bickley, Del Mar Coll. Lib., Corpus Christi, TX
