Bone Deep

By: Randy Wayne White

Narrated by: George Guidall

When a Crow Indian acquaintance of Tomlinson’s asks him to help recover relics stolen from his tribe, Doc Ford is happy to tag along—but neither Doc nor Tomlinson realize what they’ve let themselves in for. Their search takes them to the part of Central Florida known as Bone Valley, famous primarily for two things: a ruthless subculture of black-marketers who trade in illegal artifacts and fossils, and a multibillion-dollar phosphate industry whose strip mines compromise the very ground they walk on.

Neither enterprise tolerates nosy outsiders. For each, public exposure equals big financial losses—and in a region built on a million-year accumulation of bones, there is no shortage of spots in which to hide a corpse. Or two.

Critic reviews

Praise for Bone Deep

“Doc Ford is back for his twenty-first appearance, and it’s right to say that he’s as good as he ever was . . . With hidden treasures galore, secret agent Doc Ford retains his cover of marine biologist very well, while tracking down some truly crooked relic hunters!”—Suspense Magazine

“White keeps the action churning forward as Doc encounters both human and animal foes, but the real interest here is the archaeological backdrop. Masterfully seeding the plot with information on Florida’s ancient natural history—and its contemporary environmental challenges—White delivers a novel that perfectly blends story and landscape. We often say that fine nonfiction has the narrative drive of a good thriller, but we rarely have occasion to say that a fine thriller has all the mind-boggling fascination of compelling nonfiction.”––Booklist (starred review)

“A descent into the world of overzealous and unethical fossil collectors leads to a boat-napping, stolen artifacts, and increasingly dire threats . . . White does a fine job detailing Florida’s unique history and geography.”––Publishers Weekly

Praise for Night Moves

“White weaves in and out of two mysteries, telling the story with the same tight, vivid prose his fans have come to expect. Another strong addition to one of crime fiction’s most consistent series.” —Associated Press

“Randy Wayne White takes one of Florida’s most iconic mysteries and turns it into a tailor-made story for his own icon, Doc Ford. Night Moves illustrates why, after twenty novels, Ford’s double life and White’s attention to the Florida scenery continue to intrigue readers.” —South Florida Sun-Sentinel

So so good. Thank you Mr. White.

I love the ending. Ethereal. Great mix of fossil Lore, Action, psychological manipulation, phosphorus education, all things doc Ford — Tomlinson — Native American story — plus a sprinkle of Hannah. I write this during March 2022. Mr. White– I hope you are still Writing Doc Ford books. Your cast awaits. Me too.

As usual well written.

We get so absorbed in thes stories. Living in SWFL, the area is so familiar.

Bone deep was just average

Any additional comments?

I was happy to see Mr. Guidall remember how Tomlinson sounds again, but this book was pretty unremarkable. There was nothing riveting and it moved in a predictable path. The lunatic guy in the book was very unbelievable as a character, I found his character one-dimensional.

The last several books I have read by RWW, I've rallied against Doc dating Hannah Smith. But now that they sort of broke it off, I miss her. Doc is still my favorite character, but Ms. Smith is pretty remarkable too.

Tomlinson has become a third tier character now, I miss having his more cavalier moments in the books. While his demeanor remained the same, and several passages where classic Tomlinson, he became a bit of the side show in this one. I would love to see him and Doc go on a "vacation" together, or would love to see Doc get more involved with one of his kids and get the heck out of Florida for a change.

Horrible narrator

It takes a special lack of ability to ruin a Doc Ford novel, but this narrator has it in spades...

with RWW & Doc since Sanabel Flats this was BAD

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

no
bad compared to all other RWW and Doc books

What do you think your next listen will be?

Stone Cold

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

narrator was OK

Do you think Bone Deep needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

no
needs to get back to the old Doc