Tomlinson's Wake is the 28th Doc Ford adventure thriller by Randy Wayne White. Released 26th Aug 2025 by Harlequin on their Hanover Square Press imprint, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The other books in the series are currently not available on KU, though they are available in ebook format.

This is a very very well written thriller with an impressively palpable sense of dread throughout which the author ratchets up to a white-knuckle crescendo. Doc is again trying to protect his (admittedly odd) friends including a drugged out hippie seeking higher consciousness and a ragtag bunch of indigenous children led by a charismatic boy who might be the last heir of the vanished Mayan empire.

Apart from saving his corner of the world from thugs and assassins, he's got loads of personal troubles in his personal life trying to reconcile his dichotomous careers as a fixer / spy and also a mild-mannered ecology minded professor of biology.

It's very well researched and the author does a fantastic job of scenery and settings, with hair-raising descriptions of the jungle wilderness and explosive violence of humans. There are distinct scenes of graphic violence and rough language. The way they explode on the page reminds me a lot of Lansdale's Hap & Leonard books (with less glib humor and more cerebral intelligence and ecology/biology content).

Four and a half stars. This would be a good choice for fans of mystery thrillers, for public library acquisition, or for a binge/buddy read. Very high quality fiction.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Over thirty years ago I got introduced to Doc Ford when my uncle lent me his well worn copy of Sanibel Flats. All these years later it still sits on my bookshelf…along with the rest of the series. And now author Randy Wayne White’s newest entry, Tomlinson’s Wake, will be joining that shelf. White doesn’t waste any time, merely throws us right into the action. Doc is in search of his buddy Tomlinson who was lost at sea after a hurricane. Tomlinson insists he was dead when his boat crashed off the coast of Honduras and that he was brought back to life by a young orphan that he also insists is a descendant of a Mayan king. Sounds absolutely wild, right? Well it is. And it’s not long before Doc is rushing into the jungle, tracking the youth while dealing with corrupt government officials, human traffickers, drug runners, and more. It’s a fast paced wild ride, with more than a touch of humor. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of this series. I’d like to thank Harlequin Trade Publishing / Hanover Square Press for an eARC of the novel. And as much as I enjoyed reading it earlier this year I have to say I enjoyed listening to it even more. Thanks so much to Harlequin Audio who provided me with an advanced copy of the audio version. George Guidall provides the audio narration and as always he does a spectacular job. Guidall is a bonafide legend and has been the voice of Doc Ford for quite a while now.

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What a twisting, thrilling and wild addition to the adventures of Doc Ford and Tomlinson! Dinkins Marina is in shambles after a devastating hurricane, and Tomlinson has disappeared. When his sailboat is found off the coast of Honduras, Doc Ford travels to the Mosquito Coast of Honduras to discover what has become of his friend. He finds Tomlinson living in a treehouse, claiming to have died and been brought back to life by a street orphan. Randy Wayne White brilliantly weaves the mystical stories of ancient tribes, human trafficking, corrupt officials, foreign thugs, hallucinatory drugs, and a shaman who hope to profit from it all. It is a page turning tale of survival against assaults of every kind on Ford, Tomlinson and the one-armed street urchin, Aleto, who is at the center of it all. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy. The opinions of this review are my own.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

Know up front that I've been a fan of this long running series. That said, this latest (which I think would be a bit of a struggle without the context of having read a few of the earlier ones) is so chaotic and raucous that it lost the charm of the characters. And a plot. Doc Ford armed with a diplomatic passport provided by the British government due to his earlier exploits has landed on the Mosquito Coast in search of his pal Tomlinson after a hurricane destroyed their home marina in Florida. What he finds is an injured man who is spouting a tale about a one armed boy (which is true), a guru, bad guys (lots of bad guys) and an actual doctor. Doc finds himself chasing then protecting the boy and his band of kids who escaped slave labor at resorts and on. Then there's the hallucinogenics. And the Iron Pig. About half way through I realized I only cared that Doc and Tomlinson would escape all of this and go home. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. This is all over the place and fans of the propulsive action thriller might enjoy it.

Tomlinson’s Wake
by Randy Wayne White
Doc Ford book 28
Whooee! What a wild ride. This is definitely not the place to start this series but for long time readers it was a great addition. We have the Honduran jungle, man eating critters, poisonings, giant snakes, some quasi-mysticism, relics, crooked politicians, and desperados of all kinds. Possibly even including our heroes. Also there was an edge of seat conclusion and maybe a bit of a cliff hanger. Even a mention of Hannah Smith, whose series I would like to see continued.

After the barn-burner that was "One Deadly Eye" -- a return to form for Randy Wayne White -- Doc Ford is back in this quasi-sequel. It both is a sequel to ODE because it picks up right where that book ends, but also not as it can be read as a standalone. However, I would not start there. This book continues to tightness that White brought back after a few years away from the characters, but it still feels like a chapter in a long-running series. The first chapter in particular can be very confusing if you have no idea who Tomlinson is. I don't feel like this book is a strong as ODE (hurricane pun intended?), but it's still solid. The beginning felt much like those meandering entries in the series published during the 2010s, but by the middle of the book, it's all hands on deck until the end. It's got all the hallmarks you come to expect from Doc Ford, and I hope he's back sooner rather than later. Sad about Mac, though...

I want to read badly but will not download to kindle x multiple attempts. If you will send me a real copy will gladly review

Randy Wayne White lives in a great place to write about the climate and eco changes. His character are so funny nad Doc is just a Florida boy

Doc Ford's friend, Tomlinson, was lost at sea in the hurricane that wiped Dinkin's Bay, their home away. His sailboat is found grounded on a shore in Honduras so Doc goes to search for him there. He finds him living in a treehouse Robinson Crusoe style bombed out of his head with a severe concussion high on weed and beer with a strange story to tell. He tells Doc about a guru, a one-armed boy, a crazy neurologist and the nyphomanic wife of the governor of the state and then he disappears again before Doc can convince him to go with him to a hospital. Thus begins a nonstop adventure with a gang of human traffickers, a band of orphaned children, a drug lord's army and being drugged with a zombie drug.
The book is a nail-biting adventure it will be hard to put down.
Having read most of the author's previous books, I found this book to be raw and more intense. The author has businesses on the islands of southwest Florida that were damaged in last year's hurricanes . I think this gives the book anger/rage more authenticity. I enjoyed reading this book.

Doc Ford books are a little darker than my usual choice of books, but they are so addictive! I love stepping into Ford's mind and seeing the world from an exotic and fearless perspective. This book was even better because I got to step into the intoxicating and wild mind of Tomlinson. A must read for all action adventure fans!