Deep Blue by Randy Wayne White

Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on March 15, 2016

Deep Blue is a satisfying action novel. Deep Blue doesn’t provoke deep thought but it gives the reader a chance to hang out with some of the fun, offbeat characters who live in or around the marina where Doc Ford makes his home. The character (other than Doc) who plays the strongest role in the novel is kooky Tomlinson, a high-functioning burnout who believes in his ability to practice “remote viewing” and never met a mind-altering substance he didn’t like.

Doc Ford begins the novel on a mission that doesn’t go quite as he planned. When he returns to the marina, he’s plagued by a couple of high-tech drones. With the help of a dog that might be even more mindless than Tomlinson, Ford captures the drones and tries to keep their owner from recovering them. The drone owner turns out to be a wealthy technology master whose father has a history with Tomlinson.

The characters (especially the dog) are amusing. Most of them are more focused on the month-long marina Christmas party than the threat that they eventually encounter. Ford, the most sober of the bunch, flies around causing and resolving trouble, leading to some reasonably innovative action scenes. I particularly enjoyed the ones that take place underwater.

The novel moves briskly without short-changing the interaction of characters or the creation of atmosphere. At two or three points, Randy Wayne White plants chapter-ending cliffhangers that are supposed to produce “Oh No!” responses, but the eventual outcome is predictable. Probably series fans wouldn’t want it to be any other way. In short, this is a breezy, entertaining novel that delivers what fans of the series expect but not much more.

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