White’s ‘Widow’ weaves a tangled web
If you’re familiar with White’s work you’re no doubt familiar with Ford, the shadowy (but never shady) marine biologist whose past might include a stint in the CIA, might include other your-government-will-deny-ever-knowing-you work. In the opening pages of “Black Widow,” Ford’s goddaughter and her friends are being blackmailed in the wake of her bachelorette party by a group of Caribbean would-be gigolos.
Ford rides to the rescue initially with a simple goal in mind — to confront the blackmailers, destroy the evidence and help ensure that his goddaughter’s upcoming wedding goes off with a hitch.
As he digs deeper into the blackmailers’ associates, however, Ford uncovers a far more sinister and wide-reaching web of criminals than he had anticipated. Along the way, he’s joined in his fight by a few unlikely but most effective allies.
For a best-selling author, Randy Wayne White remains woefully underappreciated. He’s a hell of a storyteller, as “Black Widow” makes abundantly clear.
