Philip Fibiger

I just finished reading the newest in Randy Wayne White’s series of mysteries about Doc Ford, the marine biologist, former spook, and occasional detective. They’re generally fun to read, drawing pretty heavily on the old Travis McGee books..but I have to say, he’s getting pretty formulaic. Ford’s shady background comes into play, he travels to a South American Country, and in the end, his love interest is killed off, leaving him hardened and alone. That seems to be how it plays out in most of the books. The first couple in the series (Sanibel Flats and Captiva in particular) were wonderful, but maybe White doesn’t have what it takes to keep a franchise fresh (like Robert Parker has managed to do with his Spenser novels).