Deceived (A Hannah Smith Novel)

The Sunshine State has its share of excellent authors, which may be a surprise to some. In fact, editor Kevin McCarthy's now-dated 1992 title [[ASIN:1561640123 The Book Lover's Guide to Florida]] listed over 2,000 writers worth noting. Some could be classified as permanent residents and others as seasonal snowbirds, ranging from Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Robert Frost and Ernest Hemingway, to John D. MacDonald, Carl Hiassen, Elmore Leonard, and of course Randy Wayne White.

[[ASIN:0399162070 Deceived]] is the newest offering by this Florida author, outdoor columnist and recent restaurateur, and is the second title in his Hannah Smith series. My first encounter with this author was with his 1992 title, [[ASIN:0312929773 The Heat Islands]], the second of his Doc Ford novels, which immediately caused the purchase of [[ASIN:0312926022 Sanibel Flats]], the first of this series.

I had read [[ASIN:B007T8R8W4 Gone]], the first of White's Hannah Smith novel shortly after it was released, looking forward to how he would present a character change to a female protagonist. It was a good but unsettling 3-star read, as the character of Hannah seemed flat. Speaking subjectively, she seemed to be a solid and independent young woman, but in a two-dimensional sense.

But Hannah comes across better and more well rounded in this new book, a tale of a twenty-year-old unsolved homicide from one of the darker sides of the Sunshine State's history: pot trafficking. This gets Hannah's focus, but another situation looms and has a higher priority. A private museum has been announced, one that is planned to be a showpiece for Florida's early pioneers and settlers. Many of Hannah's fellow residents and friends in the village of Sulfur Wells are feeling the pressure to make contributions to this new facility.

However, the entire proposition is a scam, a fraud. Hannah attempts to discover who sets out to uncover whoever's behind the swindle, and finds that things are even worse than she might have thought. The museum is actually a front for a strategic real estate maneuver, and her town is in danger of being destroy completely. As might be guessed, those behind the scam are out to make sure nobody and nothing will stand in their way.

If this seems to be reminiscent of the late John D. MacDonald's 1977's lengthy potboiler [[ASIN:0449207374 Condominium]], it's no rehash. MacDonald was a long-time resident of Sarasota's Siesta Key, and he took a dim view of the proliferation of condos in Florida. Author Carl Hiassen has covered this topic a number of times, but Randy Wayne White's newest tale is an original spin on this all-too-familiar topic of avaricious real estate development in the Sunshine State.

The settings are good and will be familiar to readers of the Doc Ford novels, and it's good to see Hannah Smith evolving into a fascinating character in her own right. Speaking subjectively, she's not quite there yet, but getting much closer in this tale. This reader will be looking forward to the next one in this series.

[[ASIN:0399162070 Deceived]] is a good 4½-star tale, and though Doc Ford may be an incidental character here, this has all of the making for a good series. At 352 pages it's a fairly fast read that introduces more new characters. Without dropping spoilers, keep your eyes open for Hannah's friend Birdy, and let's hope that she appears again in the future. This is a good one from author Randy Wayne White, offering Florida real estate scams with a new spin.

8/22/2013

Book Info: Genre: Mystery
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of mysteries with strong women, set in Florida, fans of the author
Book Available: September 3, 2013 in Hardcover and Kindle editions
Trigger Warnings: pit bulls, sharks, murder, domestic violence, drug abuse, violence
Animal Abuse: pit bulls kept as watch dogs attack and Hannah has to hit them with a shovel to escape since they won't back off, then one is killed (by someone else); also the pit bulls had obviously been traumatized to become vicious

My Thoughts: I absolutely adored the first book in this series. The humor evinced by Hannah, and her true strength (as opposed to the often too-stupid-to-live stubbornness being pawned off as strength in too many modern works) really appealed to me, so I was incredibly psyched to have a chance to read this book!

I liked the story, don't misunderstand, but I was disappointed that it lacked the humor and warmth of the first story. Hannah exhibits compassion to a suicidal point when attacked and escapes by pushing her assailant into a fire-ant hill, only to come back and help said assailant instead of running away. She also really needs to stop with the negativity toward the gun; if you need protection, you better take a gun with you and be willing to use it.

On the other hand, I really liked Birdy. Hannah needed a female friend, and Birdy is a great foil to her deliberateness and straitlaced nature. I'm hoping Birdy will manage to loosen Hannah up a bit. I like her relationship with Doc Ford, but seem storm clouds on that horizon if she doesn't stop doubting herself all the time.

So, all-in-all, a disappointing second entry to this series, but not enough to keep me from continuing to follow the series for now. Fans of strong women characters, mysteries set in Florida, and of Randy Wayne White should check this book out. It'll be available in September.

Series Information: Hannah Smith series
Book 1: [[ASIN:0425261298 Gone (Hannah Smith Novels)]], read and reviewed February 2013.
Book 2: Deceived, scheduled for publication September 2013.
Additional books are being negotiated for. I shall certainly hope to see more!

Disclosure: I received an ARC copy of this book from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: A twenty-year-old unsolved murder from Florida's pothauling days gets Hannah Smith's attention, but so does a more immediate problem. A private museum devoted solely to the state's earliest settlers and pioneers has been announced, and many of Hannah's friends and neighbors in Sulfur Wells are being pressured to make contributions.

The problem is, the whole thing is a scam, and when Hannah sets out to uncover whoever's behind it, she discovers that things are even worse than she thought. The museum scam is a front for a real-estate power play, her entire village is in danger of being wiped out--and the forces behind it have no intention of letting anything, or anyone, stand in their way.

Randy Wayne White's second Hannah Smith novel is a fast-paced exciting story of murder, intimidation, and corruption on the southwest coast of Florida. Hannah is a fishing guide in the Sanibel Island area who has a private detective license made possible by her detective uncle Jake prior to his death. Although Hannah does not seek work as a detective, she gets involved in trouble frequently because of her family's long and checkered past living and working in the coastal area. In this adventure, the legacy of marijuana smuggling in the 1960's involving family and friends brings legal problems that interfere with Hannah's current fishing guide business. When she investigates these problems, it is like falling in a nest of fire ants. Swarming out of the past are characters beset by drug addiction, greed, murderous rage, sadism,pit bull ownership, and violence. Hannah develops some new potentially lasting friendships in law enforcement, a handsome special prosecutor Joel and a hyperactive deputy sheriff Bertie. Also, there are good connections in the story with characters from the first Hannah Smith novel [[ASIN:0425261298 Gone (Hannah Smith Novels)]]: Doc Ford a marine biologist/black ops agent and Tomlinson an aging hippy who carries on some of the 1960's marijuana traditions.

Hannah is an interesting character, young and attractive but somewhat reticent to get involved with male suitors. She has had two intimate dates with Doc Ford, but in this story Doc is out of the picture. He is in Venezuela involved in some black ops kidnapping action. While Doc Ford is gone, Joel puts a full courtship press on Hannah. She is dismissive of Joel's moves and is very tentative in her commitment to Doc Ford so we will see how those relationships turn out if there are future Hannah Smith novels. Mr. White still writes his Doc Ford series with twenty published adventures featuring Doc Ford. I like the Hannah Smith mini-series so far, and will read the novels if Randy Wayne White continues to write them.
(Full disclosure: This novel was given to me for an honest review as part of the Early Reviewers program at LibraryThing)

The fisherman keeps casting. Changing the look. OK, I took this hook. Better than the other Hannah stories. But has Doc really fallen? The good news is that super dog may be around for Doc's next adventure. Less struggle to create a female than before. Stayed away from over-worked fashion and stuck to an ok plot.

Deceived is the second book in the Hannah Smith series--apparently a spin off of a minor characters in White's Doc Ford books. When I knew I was getting this one to review, I actually went back and read the first one, Gone, so I would get the complete story, but this series does not work very well if you haven't read his Doc Ford books, which I haven't. It is very obviously assumed that we know who Marion Ford is and what he is like, because there is really no description of him at all in this book--and there are other characters like Tomlinson that it is assumed we know.

That is a minor annoyance, however. The real problems lie with the book's characters and story. Hannah Smith, the main character and narrator doesn't have any personality. The only thing that really stands out is her obsession with her own looks and her feeling that practially every man (and woman) who speaks to her wants to have her. As for the writing, the mystery reads like a Scooby Doo episode and the excessive use of exclamation points is almost comical.

Like I said, I haven't read White's Doc Ford books and maybe they're more well-written, but I was not at all impressed with the Hannah Smith series and would not recommend it.

I started reading Randy Wayne White when he created Doc Ford and for over two decades have loyally read all Doc Ford novels. Loved them. But when he started up with Hannah i knew it was over for me and White. I suppose White is trying for a broader demographic in making a woman the protagonist but as far as I am concerned this is just another step down the long, slippery, politically correct slope of his 'pussyfication'. I will not participate in any of this and I will avoid Randy Wayne White until he comes back from the dark side. It is a shame he has lost his compass.

Struggled with Hannah Smith as a protagonist. She has the emotional maturity of a twenty year old. Books at the beginning of this series were far more satisfying.

Wonderful sense of history and place. The south Florida locations really come alive. The characters are well drawn and it is always fun to follow a strong female lead in a well crafted mystery. Hope the series continues....

Deceived by Randy Wayne White

Deceived happens to be the second in the Hannah Smith series by author Randy Wayne White. The first was Gone which came out last year. I read it and enjoyed it just as I did this one.

Hannah Smith is down-to-earth and owns her own charter business along with being a private investigator on the side. She is brave, protective and a defender of justice.

There are many characters in this novel besides Hannah including her mother Loretta, her love interest Doc Ford, Tomlinson, Ranse and Birdie. Those are only the people. Some of the scariest characters in this book include gators, snakes, DOGS, and various evil versions of the 2-legged type that I would not want to see in a dark alley or if I needed a car part.

If you like a book to scare you, this is a good one for that. Sometimes I would have to catch my breath after certain parts or hold it the next. The last few chapters, I stayed up way to late because I had to see what happened or my imagination would have been much worse and I would have been thinking of it all night.

Nevada Barr has Ranger Anna Pigeon, CJ Box has Officer Cassie Drewell and Randy Wayne White has Private Investigator Hannah Smith. I just love a strong female protagonist and if you do too, get to know Hannah.

I won this ARC from a contest through Shelf-Awareness. Thank you!!!

Not his best writing