Tampa Burn

TAMPA BURN
By Randy Wayne White
G. P. Putnam's Sons
$24.95, hardcover, 372 pages; ISBN 0-399-15181-8 (2004).

This is Randy Wayne White's tenth "Doc" Ford novel and if you haven't read any of his previous books, this one is a good place to start. Ford is a nerdy looking marine biologist who lives on Sanibel Island, Florida. A freak named Praxedes, whose face is a network of burns and who enjoys nothing better than using fire to maim and kill others, kidnaps Ford's estranged son, Lake. A Central American beauty, Pilar, is the boy's mother and she seeks out Ford's help in finding and rescuing Lake.

Ford had been passionately in love with Pilar and had an affair with her while she was married to political aristocrat and brutal thug Balserio many years ago. When Balserio found out about his wife's indiscretions, Ford was forced to flee the county with a bounty on his head. To some extent, Ford has been running from his past ever since. Pilar sought Ford's help because there's much more to Ford than meets the eye. He's a past covert operative who worked for the U.S. as an assassin and spy.

As much as Ford tries to leave that lifestyle behind, it always resurfaces – to the enjoyment of his readers. The abduction of his son is more than enough reason for Ford to revert to his previous skills. When seeing his long-lost love Pilar for the first time in years, Ford has a typical male reaction.

I was walking toward her as she spoke, arms outstretched, but she surprised me by giving me the briefest of hugs and pulling away. Then she seemed to study me for a moment before adding, "it's been so long since I've seen you, I realize that maybe I'd always imagined it. Our son. That I could see him so clearly in your face."

There may have been a touch of nostalgia in her voice. But there also seemed to be an undertone of cool reserve. Or was I imagining it?

Even so, I didn't trust myself to speak. I felt too big and clumsy and inarticulate to have someone like her even briefly in my arms. Like I might stumble, fall, and break one of her ribs or something.

As soon as Pilar arrives, Ford quickly manages to get caught in a compromising situation with her by his current girlfriend, Dewey. He goes through much introspection in figuring out where he stands with his ex-lover and with Dewey. While figuring out how to rescue his son, Ford also has to find a way to repair his relationship with Dewey and determine his own future.

Ford's ever present hippie friend Tomlinson helps Ford track down his son. With one plot twist after another, the suspense mounts until the ultimate confrontation at the end of the novel. Though filled with action, this book is much more about the various characters in Ford's life: his ex-lover Pilar, his son that he fears will be lost to him forever, his girlfriend Dewey, and his pal Tomlinson, who uncovers a darkness in his own past that goes to the very heart of his friendship with Ford.

White's writing skills are evident during the action sequences. At one point, Ford has to face Balserio and his bodyguards in a clearing in the swamp. He is unarmed and surrounded by the three of them while Balserio advances on him and the bodyguards cover him with their weapons. Balserio is looking for revenge and threatens to castrate Ford for having slept with his wife, Pilar. Ford is considering his options while backing away, until Balserio threatens his son.

"I'll do the same thing to that bastard son of yours, too, when I get the chance. He's next. On the day he was born, I should have had him drowned like the mongrel he is –"

That did it. Suddenly, I was moving, no longer in doubt.

I stopped backpedaling and dropped my hands. Surprised, Balserio froze for just an instant, In that instant, I lunged toward him, shooting in low on one knee, trusting instinct and muscle memory … just letting it happen … and I caught his left wrist clean with my right hand as he tried to drive the blade into my face.

I was already snapping his wrist and palm skyward as I stood, locking my fingers on his left elbow, which added lift and leverage. I could have broken his arm without much effort, which made it easy to spin Balserio so that his body shielded mine from the guards.

"Shoot him!"

The book is filled with White's usual cast of quirky characters, Florida's flora and fauna, compelling action, plot twists and inevitable coincidences. The overriding theme is discovery of his feelings about family and friendship. This meandering, character driven novel is pure summer entertainment.