Customer Reviews

North of Havana (Doc Ford)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

A little less than a year ago I was attending summer classes at the University of Florida and I had some extra time on my hands. I had never been a big reader, but one of my roomates gave me a copy of Sanibel Flats (White's first book) to read. Since then I have read all of the Doc Ford novels and have become a huge fan. North of Havana has become one of my favorite books of all time. I am a born and raised Floridian with a love of fishing. In fact it is only a short boat ride from my house to Sanibel Island. North of Havana captured me from the beginning. I am in awe of the "world in Cuba" so there was a natural attraction to the book. I have also followed Doc Ford's relationship with Dewey Nye through the previous books. In fact I would recomend reading his previous books to fully understand the special relationship between them. I also love the way White brought back Pilar, Doc's former lover, at the end of the book. White has revived me as a dedicated reader and I can not wait for more to come.

"No good deed goes unpunished." This about sums up the plot of Randy Wayne White's NORTH OF HAVANA, but by itself can't do justice to the story's twists and turns, its unusual characters, and its setting in Castro's decaying Cuba. "Doc" Ford goes to Cuba to spring his old hippy buddy Tomlinson, who (for reasons not immediately clear) sailed too near the island and had his sailboat impounded. "Doc" has good reasons not to go, mostly because of his previous activities in Cuba on behalf of shadowy Federal agencies, but including service as Fidel's Yanqui catcher for an exhibition baseball game (!) during which he had a serious dispute on the mound with "El Pitcher Maximo" which Castro - notorious for nursing grudges - is unlikely to forgive or forget. A complication is the appearance of another friend who needs his help: Dewey, a lesbian athlete on the rebound from a shattered love affair. But he and Dewey, posing as a tourist couple (and with $10,000 US stuffed in a mone

I'm a big RWW fan and enjoyed this book as well, but as stated by an earlier reviewer, I thought "North of Havana" lost a little steam midway through. It may have been the fact that Tomlinson, whose eccentricities are normally a source of mild consternation for Doc Ford, are the cause of some major problems, both to Ford and to his female companion. That those character flaws lead indirectly to several deaths makes Tomlinson less quirky and more downright irritating.

Otherwise, an action-focused entry in a great series of novels.

If you liked MacDonald's McGee series, you'll like Randy Wayne White. And this is the best of them. Very readable, well plotted and fun.

Randy Wayne White is an outstanding writer and his novels are usually quick reading page turners. North of Havana is a little different because it is set in Cuba and the character dynamics are different. Tomlinson seems laregly insane and Dewey Nye (who accompanies Doc to Cuba against his wishes) does not seem to fit into this story very well. For some reason North of Havana bogs down a little. It's not a bad read but didn't pull me in the way Randy's books usually do. That being said, you need to read this one in sequence with the others if you want to fully understand the story of Doc Ford's relationship with Dewey, Pilar, and his son.

RWW is always excellent! I have read his 1st five books this last year-
normally I get bored with authors and will not read more than 2 a year.
Each story is very different from the previous yet is very much part of the series.
Each character seems authentic and with a voice unique from the others.
Most authors seem to have trouble doing this - their characters talk from the roughly the same voice or perspective.
This story might have been a little slow but RWW writes so well I don't mind. Plenty of suprises big & subtle. As always good characters, fast paced dialogue,action and emotion. Once again I'm dissappointed to be finished. On to book 6!

The book is in the condition as it was described. Very satisfactory. I would buy from this seller again. This Doc Ford series by Randy Wayne White is a very good series. Not too heavy as some mystery series tend to be. A fun read!

NORTH OF HAVANA by Randy Wayne White is Doc Ford's fifth adventure. I think it is a bounce back form the fourth and a great read. This one takes place in Cuba as Doc and love interest Dewey Nye boat to Cuba to get buddy Tomlinson and is boat realeased. Not as much a Florida story as normal but a good well paced book with the normal humor you go to expect from White. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

My husband and I spend the winters in Florida. Randy Wayne White writes these stories about places in Florida. THe character, Doc Ford is believable and so interesting. Great series. We had such fun ordering mostly used books from Amazon and they came from all over. It was fun to see where they came from. Now the reading is fun as well.

Like the rest of the Doc Ford novels, it's well worth the time.