Mangrove Coast

By: Randy Wayne White

Narrated by: Ron McLarty

Marine Biologist Doc Ford is hot on the trail of a dead friend’s wife. Apparently, the woman vanished into the steaming jungles of South America guided by a truly disgusting specimen of humanity. From Florida to Columbia and Panama, Doc traces their path, but a shadowy figure is following him - and the violence left in the wake of this individual is terrifying.

©1998 Randy Wayne White (P)2003 Recorded Books, LLC

Excellent narrator

I liked this narrator. It did the different voices of the characters. Guidall doesn’t do the different voices.

Love Doc Ford

What did you love best about Mangrove Coast?

Like the fact that the main character is based in Florida, and in my favorite part of the state.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I enjoyed how Doc Ford sees himself as a marine biologist first and a government operative second. Perhaps his way of keeping his humanity intact.

What about Ron McLarty’s performance did you like?

Ron McLarty gave each character a unique presence with his varying vocal styles. Especially with the characters Tomlinson and Ford's uncle.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The way the novel ended. But isn't that every authors objective, to get you to the climax and GET you with the ending.

Any additional comments?

A few of the locations were pronounced incorrectly. As a native of central Florida, this was very evident. However the quality of the story and the narrator made this not too big of an issue.

Interesting but Flawed Mystery/Adventure

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The recording has distracting pauses, long enough to make me wonder each time if there was a problem with the program and cease my work to go check. The story is interesting and the narration overall good, but the writing gave the feeling of a dime store novel, something cheap and overly dramatic.

Do you think Mangrove Coast needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I imagine there will be a follow-up to tie up some loose ends, but I will not be reading/listening to it.

Any additional comments?

This book probably appeals to a different type of reader, someone who enjoys crime/mystery magazine stories and odd detectives. That's the odd thing about this book. I liked the main character, I liked his voice, his phrasing, and his personality and backstory, but that liking did not translate into a true enjoyment of the story, though I was intrigued enough to finish listening to the story.

Solid Doc Ford well done

Not a thing. Enjoyed every minute. Ron McCarty did a fine job as well. I could do without Tomlinson in this one. Too much dopeyness.

I am sooooooo hooked on Doc Ford Novels

Would you consider the audio edition of Mangrove Coast to be better than the print version?

I have read a couple of the Doc Ford Series books and have listened to over half of the ones I have purchased. I find myself skipping over some of the technical stuff in the print versions, but I listen to all of it when I have the audio version. So I think I get more out of the audio versions.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Mangrove Coast?

When the boat explodes.

Have you listened to any of Ron McLarty’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I feel like Doc is actually telling me a story.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes I did have a reaction to the book and it made me both laugh and cry. Without giving too much away...............I'm just saying that Tucker was ALWAYS one of my favorite people in the books.

Any additional comments?

Try to read the series in order, it helps build the characters.

you'll never guess the ending

Randy Wayne White continues to weave historical information into a great mystery..... little tidbits about Florida... Columbia... modern society and the Panama canal... a pretty eclectic Read.... it was a good performance done by Ron McLarty it's always just so different to listen to an audiobook then reading the story I have deep appreciation for the skills needed for this type of performance.

Better the second time around

I had given up on Randy Wayne White's Doc Ford series. The later ones seemed to me to be more and more indistinguishable from any other action thriller, like Vince Flynn's. But I really liked the earlier ones. I was browsing through the titles in the series and thought this one looked unfamiliar, and it was early in the series. I looked at my list of books read and didn't see it. Huh. How did I miss this one, especially as it's done by one of my favorite narrators?

Well, 15 minutes into the book everything sounded real familiar. I checked my list again. There was no "Mangrove Coast" in the M section, but there sure was a "The Mangrove Coast" in the T section. I almost returned the book, but decided to listen a little bit more.

I'm really glad I did. Yeah, I knew the story line, but White's early Ford books were so darn well written that it was a pleasure to hear it all again. Especially as narrated by Ron McLarty. I presume Doc Ford is given McLarty's natural voice. If so it's almost made for the character that White has created. But better yet are McLarty's renderings of Tomlinson and Ford's uncle Tucker Gatrell. Tomlinson, a bit of a stoner, sounded like George Carlin's Hippy-Dippy Weatherman and Tucker was Foghorn Leghorn. Perfect characterizations.

Anyway, any book that can be enjoyed twice is usually a pretty good book, and this one is. Not much backstory required, so this one can be read out of order of the series.

Of all the Doc Ford stories...

I’ve read every one of the Doc Ford and Hannah Smith books, now I’m listening to them because my eyes aren’t what they were 10 years ago...

My favorite so far in my re-exposure! No offense to the latest narrator, but McLarty nails it, at least he comes much closer to my mind’s version of Doc and the other characters.

Because I am familiar with the characters, I need no introduction...I don’t know if this is absolutely the best first time forage into a Ford novel that you can get, but then which one is? Start at the beginning and run all the way through, I have not regretted one page, or one minute of the audios either!
- Jimmy

My first review of a Doc Ford book.

The best one I have read yet.

I started with Cuba Straights, several months ago, after discovering Doc Ford was more than just a restaurant... as we were leaving the eponymous eatery in Captiva, Florida. Little did I know the joyous rabbit hole I was peering, and would soon fall into.

We had been in Captiva less than 24 hours, there at the South Seas Resort for sailing school. After our first class, we stopped in for a late lunch and cocktails at DF’s, a place I presumed would be nothing more than a typical Florida eatery set on convincing Yankees that frozen seafood from Delaware was authentic Gulf seafood. As a New Orleans native and ambassador, food in other parts of the world usually disappoints and rarely amounts to more than sustenance. Let me tell you, nothing failed to measure less than perfect, and the four of us unanimously decided to return the next day before we had even asked for the check. Leaving our favorite South Florida restaurant the next day, equally satisfied, I stopped at the hostess station to marvel at the t-shirts and souvenirs offered... among them a library of paperbacks in every color. Writing a book myself about the Cuban Revolution, my eyes landed on Cuba Straights. A sack with a drink coozie and my next read accompanied me on the sailboat I would call home for the next week.

Little did I know the sailing instruction I would consume, along with copious rum and red wine at each South Florida sunset, left me in no shape to delve into a paperback before bed as intended. Cuba Straights would have to wait until the plane ride back to Louisiana. As a side note, Cabbage Key and it’s namesake culinary stop had provided me with one of my top five meals, ever. The dining experiences on our brief sojourn to the Captiva area had been an incredible and stunning surprise. I can’t say what a pleasant connection it is to share Marion Ford’s proclivity with this very real and excellent old Florida establishment.

I have to say that Cuba Straights started very slow, for me. Perhaps it was the baseball (not a devotee of the diamond) or the lack of knowledge of the Doc Ford universe. After several false starts, I finally got over my reader’s-block hump and finished the story. I was hooked on the writing and action, but also wanted to learn more about RWW’s obviously intimate knowledge of Cuba, for my own selfish reasons.

I researched RWW to discover two-plus decades of prolific storytelling, giddy with the prospects from which to choose my next journey. Deep Shadow was next and was finished in less than a day. Nothing short of a Stellar story with a light speed pace, I decided that evening I would start at the beginning, so I could learn more about Doc, Tomlinson, and the rest of the characters that live in a world I now yearned to live.

I plowed through the first four, relishing in every chapter the new world I was discovering. I felt like Columbus, and shared my experiences with my reader friends, several who are now on this same path.

The novel Captiva’s ending left me with chills and tears, literally. I cheered out loud at the final words, and could not wait to get my hands on the next book.

North of Havana was again so familiar, having paced Doc’s same steps in Havana. I felt like we were fraternity brothers.

It wasn’t until this afternoon that I finished The Mangrove Coast, this fine bit of storytelling that would certainly make an excellent Award winning season, in a vast Netflix series that should happen if there is a God.

Wonderful pacing, great villains you want to see die gruesome deaths, true introspection of Doc Ford’s merit and integrity, and an ending that gave a great finish that John Grisham has never seemed to grasp. I had goosebumps, tears, and let out a cheer my neighbor must have heard down the block. My favorite book so far, and I look forward to the next adventure with Doc Ford and Randy’s kick-ass story-telling. One day I hope to shake Mr. White’s hand and thank him for his gifts. You will feel the same if you take the first step of the Doc Ford path. You could end with this book, but why punish yourself?

Great plot and consistent character development

Great plot and consistent character development. Doc always comes out on top. Thanks for great read.