Randy Wayne White Books in Order: Complete List + Doc Ford

The Randy Wayne White books in order begin with the early thrillers he wrote as Randy Striker and Carl Ramm, but he is best known for the Doc Ford mysteries. Doc Ford is a marine biologist and former intelligence operative living on Florida’s Gulf Coast, where his past keeps pulling him into dangerous investigations.

White’s fiction also includes the Hannah Smith mysteries, the middle-grade Sharks Incorporated adventures, and two earlier action series. He has also published essay collections, travel writing, fishing books, and cookbooks. I recommend starting with Sanibel Flats for his signature series, Gone for Hannah Smith, or Fins for younger readers.

Jump to:

• Randy Wayne White Books by Series
• Randy Wayne White Short Fiction
• Randy Wayne White Nonfiction Books
• About Randy Wayne White

Randy Wayne White Books by Series

Dusky MacMorgan Books

Randy Wayne White wrote all seven Dusky MacMorgan novels under the Randy Striker pseudonym. The publisher originally planned to use Randy Striker as a shared name for several writers, but White became the sole author of the series after writing Key West Connection.

The books follow former Navy SEAL Dusky MacMorgan, who is trying to build a quieter life in Key West, Florida. Each thriller has a largely self-contained plot, but I recommend publication order because it gives MacMorgan’s story the most natural progression.

1. Key West Connection (1981)
2. The Deep Six (1981)
3. Cuban Death-Lift (1981)
4. The Deadlier Sex (1981)
5. Assassin’s Shadow (1981)
6. Everglades Assault (1982)
7. Grand Cayman Slam (1982)

Hawker Books

White originally published the 11 Hawker novels under the name Carl Ramm. They follow James Hawker, a disgraced Chicago police officer who becomes a private vigilante and wages a one-man war against organized crime across the United States.

The individual cases are mostly self-contained, so a reader can enter the series at different points. My advice is still to begin with Florida Firefight and follow publication order. The years below are the original publication years, not the dates of later reissues under White’s name.

1. Florida Firefight (1984)
2. L.A. Wars (1984)
3. Chicago Assault (1984)
4. Deadly in New York (1984)
5. Houston Attack (1985)
6. Vegas Vengeance (1985)
7. Detroit Combat (1985)
8. Terror in D.C. (1986)
9. Atlanta Extreme (1986)
10. Denver Strike (1986)
11. Operation Norfolk (1986)

Doc Ford Books

Sanibel Flats was Randy Wayne White’s first novel published under his own name after 18 earlier books appeared as Randy Striker and Carl Ramm. It introduced Marion “Doc” Ford, a marine biologist and former intelligence operative who has settled near Dinkin’s Bay on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

The mysteries are largely self-contained, but Doc Ford, Tomlinson, and their relationships develop throughout the series. I recommend beginning with Sanibel Flats and reading in publication order. For reading purposes, the chronological order is the same as the sequence below, so there isn’t a separate alternate list to follow. Tomlinson’s Wake is the 28th Doc Ford novel.

1. Sanibel Flats (1990)
2. The Heat Islands (1992)
3. The Man Who Invented Florida (1993)
4. Captiva (1996)
5. North of Havana (1997)
6. The Mangrove Coast (1998)
7. Ten Thousand Islands (2000)
8. Shark River (2001)
9. Twelve Mile Limit (2002)
10. Everglades (2003)
11. Tampa Burn (2004)
12. Dead of Night (2005)
13. Dark Light (2006)
14. Hunter’s Moon (2007)
15. Black Widow (2008)
16. Dead Silence (2009)
17. Deep Shadow (2010)
18. Night Vision (2011)
19. Chasing Midnight (2012)
20. Night Moves (2013)
21. Bone Deep (2014)
22. Cuba Straits (2015)
23. Deep Blue (2016)
24. Mangrove Lightning (2017)
25. Caribbean Rim (2018)
26. Salt River (2020)
27. One Deadly Eye (2024)
28. Tomlinson’s Wake (2025)

Hannah Smith Books

The Hannah Smith series contains four mysteries set in the same Florida world as the Doc Ford books. Hannah is a fishing guide and investigator with a strong sense of justice, and Doc Ford and Tomlinson also appear in the series.

I’d start with Gone and read the four books in publication order. You don’t need to alternate them with the Doc Ford novels. White drew the fictional family history from the real-life Florida sisters Hannah and Sarah Smith, with later generations continuing the Hannah name in honor of their famous aunt.

1. Gone (2012)
2. Deceived (2013)
3. Haunted (2014)
4. Seduced (2016)

Sharks Incorporated Books

Sharks Incorporated is a middle-grade Doc Ford spinoff written for readers ages 8 to 12. The series follows Lucas “Luke” O. Jones and sisters Maribel and Sabina Estéban as Doc Ford recruits them to help with marine research, including catching and tagging small sharks.

Familiar characters from the adult books appear, but younger readers can begin here without reading Doc Ford or Hannah Smith first. I recommend following Luke, Maribel, and Sabina from Fins through Megalops in publication order.

1. Fins (2020)
2. Stingers (2021)
3. Crocs (2022)
4. Megalops (2023)

Randy Wayne White Short Fiction

White contributed the following short story to a crime anthology. It doesn’t have a separate book edition, so the collection is the most useful way to find it.

1. House on the Mound (Short Story) (found in Blood Work) (2018)

Randy Wayne White Nonfiction Books

White’s nonfiction includes fishing and travel essays, cookbooks, and collections rooted in his years on the water and his connection to Florida. Two books were created with Carlene Fredericka Brennen, and Randy Wayne White’s Ultimate Tarpon Book is an edited anthology rather than a conventional solo-authored book.

1. Batfishing in the Rainforest (1991)
2. The Sharks of Lake Nicaragua (1999)
3. Last Flight Out (2002)
4. An American Traveler (2003)
5. A Fishing Guide’s Guide to Tropical Cooking (2003)
6. Randy Wayne White’s Gulf Coast Cookbook with Carlene Fredericka Brennen (2006)
7. Randy Wayne White’s Ultimate Tarpon Book edited with Carlene Fredericka Brennen (2010)
8. Doc Ford Country (2013)

Doc Ford Country overlaps substantially with Batfishing in the Rainforest, but it also contains six additional pieces connected to Doc Ford and his world. I’d keep both on the reading list for anyone interested in White’s nonfiction and the background behind the series.

About Randy Wayne White

Randy Wayne White was born in Ohio and settled in Southwest Florida in the early 1970s. After earning his captain’s license, he spent 13 years as a full-time fishing guide at Tarpon Bay Marina on Sanibel Island. His experience on the water and across Florida later became a major part of both his fiction and nonfiction.

White wrote seven Dusky MacMorgan novels as Randy Striker and 11 Hawker novels as Carl Ramm before publishing Sanibel Flats under his own name. When powerboat traffic was eliminated in Tarpon Bay and his guiding work changed, he placed greater pressure on his writing to support his family.

Sanibel Flats launched the Doc Ford series and established the combination of Florida settings, marine life, crime, and adventure that defines much of White’s work. He later expanded that world through Hannah Smith and Sharks Incorporated while continuing to write about fishing, travel, and the outdoors.

Looking for more books in order?

If you want more thriller authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Thriller Books in Order index.

• Books in Order (Full Index)
• Carl Hiaasen Books in Order
• Tim Dorsey Books in Order
• James Lee Burke Books in Order