The Man Who Invented Florida

The Man Who Invented Florida (1993) Randy Wayne White

I found the 3rd Doc Ford book, The Man Who Invented Florida, to be a bit disappointing. Mostly it was because I didn’t particularly enjoy reading the point of view of Doc’s uncle, Tucker Gatrell. I’m not saying I disliked Tuck and his friend Joe, I’m just saying that I didn’t enjoy their viewpoint the way I normally do Doc’s.

Synopsis:
Doc’s uncle, who raised him after his parents died, is involved in another plot of some sort. Tuck is an older gentleman with a colorful history and a knack for inventing things and not getting the credit for them (or so he claims anyway).

His latest plot seems to involve some sort of miracle water, from a spring on his property–or what used to be his property. The spring is also in a Native American burial mound, so things get even more complicated very quickly.

Doc, who doesn’t want to deal with his uncle, tries to ignore him, but things just don’t work out that way. Add to that a grown up girl next door as a love interest for Doc, and you’ll see that thing get even more complicated even more quickly. (Also Tomlinson has his own issues to deal with, after certain events in the last book.)

As I said, I didn’t much care for Tuck’s point of view, and the story was complicated and convoluted. The history was fascinating, but I think it would have been better served as a separate story rather than as a Doc Ford mystery, because it really wasn’t. If I hadn’t been expecting something different from what I got, I might have enjoyed the book more.
Rating: 6/10

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