Spring thriller

Life's short. Read a mystery or thriller.

Well, that's my theory. I read lots of serious stuff: Histories, biographies, classics, literary fiction. So, I figure that I deserve a rather large serving of frothier stuff too.

In fact, on a rainy spring day, I like nothing better than settling down with a delicious thriller or mystery.

Here's one by a perennial favorite that's just out:

Dead Silence, by Randy Wayne White. Putnam's, $25.95 (352p) ISBN 978-0-399-15540-6

Best-seller White returns with his 16th Doc Ford mystery (following 2008's Black Widow).

Marine biologist and former government assassin Ford finds himself on the trail of kidnappers in this thriller set in a post-Fidel Castro future.

Castro is gone and his personal effects—including documents and loot—have been seized by the U.S. Various agencies including a Senate committee headed by Senator Barbara Hayes-Sorrento, an acquaintance of Ford's, are busy examining the documents. Lots of others, including a notorious Cuban interrogator who conducted experiments on American POWs, want to get their hands on the files.

The interrogator, Rene Navarro, a.k.a. Farfel, in league with two shadowy accomplishes—a New Yorker and a Venezuelan—set out to kidnap Senator Hayes-Sorrento and ransom her for Castro's files.

Doc Ford foils the kidnapping and rescues the senator, but the kidnappers don't get away empty-handed. The senator had a passenger in her limousine: Will Chaser, a 14-year-old Native American who was being honored for winning an essay contest.

The kid is tough and savvy and gives the kidnappers fits. But, they manage to bury him with just enough air for twenty-four hours and offer to exchange him for the files. That sets Ford up for a frantic race against time to track down the kidnappers and free the boy.

The kidnapping and burial theme echoes the real-life case of Floridian Barbara Mackle. Otherwise, much of the action here is wildly improbable and coincidental. That much said, Doc and his stable of friends and acquaintances are an intriguing bunch to spend a few hours with on a rainy spring day. And, the bad guys are truly nasty. The plot twists will keep you guessing and the action will keep you turning the pages.

QUOTABLE

"[Pensacola] is Key West without the cruise ships or bondage crowd."

"I didn't choose to be a beach bum . . . It's a calling."

"Farting was as close as he came to showing emotion."

"One of life's simple rules: never, ever lie to a cop."