Hard to believe Doc Marion Ford has swum, fished, sailed and survived his way through twenty-five books. I can't claim to have read them all yet, but I've caught up with the unmarried, much travelled marine biologist in Florida and further afield from time to time. This novel explores the CARIBBEAN RIM with a look at treasure hunting, shipwrecks and some rather unpleasant people.

Tamara Constance is a Bahamian dive instructor, who benefited from a programme to train locals in swimming and diving. Ford hires her boat, to check out a site with wreck timbers, but he's not the first. We learn about sailing towing a magnet to spot anomalies, sudden deep trenches in the seafloor, plotting GPS points. But the traditional plot device of a stolen log book containing treasure locations is still part of the story. Tamara is strong, and nobody's fool, and she spots that Ford is more than he seems. He's tracking down a missing professor who ran off with a former student, Leonard Nickelby and Lydia Johnson, who are either going to make the find of their lives or to run into the worst kind of trouble.

Various sharks, land crabs, living side by side with indigenous people; the warming sea causing coral bleaching, and washed up ambergris. This tale of long distances between rocky islands is full of flavour. Doc Ford is on hand to make sense of it all, plus the archaeologist Nickelby. Be ready for some raw violence and strong language, in this unusual thriller that's just typical of Randy Wayne White, who started his career as a Florida fishing guide. The CARIBBEAN RIM seems to be somewhere you're far better to go with a reliable, resourceful guide, than alone. I enjoyed the read, but I think I'll stick to the tourist spots rather than risk the high seas. Grab a grouper sandwich and cold drink, pull up a cane chair, and enjoy the adventure.