One deadly eye

The twenty-seventh in White's Doc Ford series, following Salt River (2020), is an explosive combination of two threats, a Category 5 hurricane whirling toward the west coast of Florida and a Russian criminal gang already in place to loot the homes and businesses of the wealthy in the 12-hour window between hurricane landfall and the arrival of police and emergency response teams. On the scene in his fishing town on the coast is Doc Ford, an intriguing combination of brains and brawn. Ford is an ex-CIA agent and a marine biologist whose work collecting marine specimens all around the world gives him excellent cover for his continuing work for the government. This time, Ford is tagging great whites in South Africa when he is summoned back to Florida to try to head off post-storm mercenaries and a cadre of escaped Russian prisoners that includes a rapacious serial killer. Ford must also try to protect his fiancée and child and his best friend Tomlinson, adrift in the Gulf, and prepare the town for the onslaught. A nonstop thriller with stunning depictions of hurricane prep and the aftermath. Both longtime fans and new readers should revel in this.