Wood's Reef

Mac Travis Adventures #1

by Steven Becker

It’s easy to become invisible in the Florida Keys. Mac Travis was doing his best to keep a low profile: diving, fishing and enough salvage work to pay his bills. It’s a good life until he discovers something while spearfishing that could change the pristine Keys forever. His drunken crewman soon lets out the secret and his life is instantly changed.
A corrupt presidential candidate will do whatever it takes to hide his secret. An exiled coke dealing terrorist sees this as his opportunity to redeem himself. A local con man loyal only to himself is looking for a quick payoff.
When Mac’s friend and mentor is injured, his estranged daughter reluctantly comes to his aid. The two soon put aside their differences and join forces to bury the secret where it won’t be found.

Written in the tradition of Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt and John D McDonald’s Travis McGee.

Genres: Adventure, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Action, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller

278 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 15, 2013

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the fact that there are some blaring grammatical errors in this book, it is a fairly well written, exciting read. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, a pilot dropped a nuclear missile by mistake while dropping excess ordinance flying through the Florida Keys. Rather than report this, the pilot and those who also know, cover up the mistake. Years later, Mac Travis, a lobsterman, while cleaning his traps, discovers the ordinance. His friend Wood, who is retired, confirms that this is a missing nuclear bomb that was never reported as missing, mostly because he was present, then in the military, was present when the cover-up occurred. What happens now? To make matters worse, the then military pilot is now running as the Vice Presidential candidate on a ticket that is about to either win or lose the election. The pilot who dropped the bomb is now commander of the Key West Naval base. There is one more complication: terrorists eying the discovery and a con man all hoping to profit from the mistake. The plot unfolds quite well, with exciting twist and turns throughout. I enjoyed reading about sunny, warm Key West during this cold, frigid weather, and, though I am also in Florida, the warm sunny days the story evokes are not here right now and make me dream of what will be here shortly. This story is particularly noteworthy because it is the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, bringing more emphasis to the memory/history. At the same time, the book captures well the real essence of Key West and the Keys and what they are as well as pointing to an often forgotten historical event and some of the tawdry political machinations that occur. This book, though a bit too lengthy for me (could have been about 100 pages shorter), has great appeal for the reader who enjoys excitement and thrills. This is an author whose works I will be looking for in the future, as I see great promise of enjoyment in them. I received this from Library Thing to read and review.

[Kathryn Laing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mac Travis, a great character study. When Mac finds a nuclear bomb in the water when checking his lobster traps off the coast of the Florida Keys, he knows it has to be removed. Life gets very dangerous, with lots of action and everyone from the VP to terrorists getting involved.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book to read. The first in the Mac Travis series, the writing was jerky and it left me with a hurried ending. The author didn’t tie up all the loose ends like I would have preferred. Overall 3 stars for the writing and four stars for the plot and five stars for the character development.

[Don Bradshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely character driven story. I loved Wood and Mac. As a Florida resident, I knew most of the places in the book which made it all the better. The author got a bit too wrapped up in boat/diving terminology which interfered with the story's flow. Great start to a series.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple of nuclear weapons, dating back to the early 1960's, are found off the Florida Keys. Add an Islamic terrorist with grandiose plans, a former Navy pilot campaigning for President of the U. S., and a disgruntled Navy captain with 50 years of service. Enter Mac Travis and friends, and you have the ingredients for an intriguing story.

[Nancy Silk · Rating 4 out of 5]

"High Adventure In The Florida Keys"

In this second book of the series, Mack Travis and his deckhand, Trufante, haul up an old bomb dumped from a Navy plane in Key West, Florida in 1962. The bomb is a nuclear bomb. They move the bomb to the island where Wood lives a very private life. They cover it from view until they notify a Naval officer. But Trufante, who was always in love with alcohol, is at a bar revealing the find even though Mac told him not to reveal it. A corrupt presidential candidate will do anything to hide his secrets of the 1960s, while an exiled coke dealer seeks to redeem himself. This is an intense story. An adventure story to be enjoyed if better editing and proofing were done on this book 2.

[Jeff Benham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first Becker book, but there certainly will be others! Mac Travis does what most locals down in the Keys do; Fish and dive. he makes his living harvesting lobsters. This time he catches more than lobsters, he finds a bomb, jetted into the ocean during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He digs it up and takes it to his good friend, Woods, who was a engineer there back then. Woods confirms that this is not only a bomb, but it has a nuclear warhead. Surprise, there is another one just like it down there. The wrong bombs got jettisoned all those years ago, a fact just ripe for a cover up. The person that dropped those bombs is now VP of the United States and about to be elected head honcho. All the action you would expect given this scenario.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boats, bombs, babes, bait, badguys.
Sand, shoals, sharks, surf, surgeries.
Terrorists, traitors, politicians.
All in a story you won't want to put down. I didn't.

[Celia Buell (semi hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won't say that Wood's Reef was bad. It's probably a pretty good book, for people who enjoy this style and can follow the action. But it's the kind of book where you need a lot of background on the historical events leading up to the story, and more experience with the political thriller genre in general. For those reasons, it wasn't for me.

In the first few chapters, I found it hard to follow, but not impossibly so. I chalked it off to the fact that I was sick when I started reading this, hoping the book would make more sense as the antibiotics kicked in. A little before halfway, it did start to make sense. I could at least register people's motives and connections to one another. It was easy enough to tell that there were three distinct sides who had stakes in the bomb, and who was playing for each side, as well as the internal arguments from each side. But that was where it got tricky again.

If all the scenes in Wood's Reef were playing out on a movie screen, I might have had an easier time following them. Since I don't ever picture things in my mind when I read, however, it was a lot harder. My mind definitely glazed over quite a few things during the action, to the point that I had a hard time following even whose POV the story was under (which wasn't helped with the abrupt POV switches and introductions of new POVs who were never heard from again).

I will say that I liked the characters, or at least what I understood of them. All of them were multifaceted, and it made it easier to tell what the stakes were because of their personalities and characterization. If this had been a larger part of the story, I might have rated it higher.

I think I've grown too used to my cozy mysteries and psychological thrillers to enjoy or understand the political thriller genre. A book like Wood's Reef wouldn't be my first choice to pick up, even when looking for a mystery. I definitely don't plan to reread Wood's Reef, I don't think I'd get anything out of it, and would probably just be confused again. So the two stars rating I'm giving Wood's Reef is probably a lot more focused toward the genre than to the individual book itself.

[Victoria Anders · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book club read for me. Not my usual genre. As an author, I hate reviews that state that. But, had it been a normal genre, I may have given it less (or more) stars, so I think it's important to understand that, especially since it was a book club read.

This book suffers from what I call first-book-for-an-indie-author syndrome. It could've used a good developmental edit. I love the storyline and characters. However, I felt the story suffered from too many points of view. I would've enjoyed it more with fewer sides to the story. At times, the timing of the book was too perfect. The believability of how the events happened was a stretch for me, even with a fiction novel. At times, the descriptions of things that didn't move the plot forward were overwhelming (boating mechanics).

I do plan on giving this series another chance as I live in Florida and love to scuba dive. Also, the development of Mac was great in the first book and I want to continue on the journey with him.

[Joseph Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Characters Great Action

A page turning action thriller set in the Florida Keys inhabited by a well drawn cast of characters, each operating according to their own motivations.

[Dwight Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pair of nukes in the water near key west.

Nukes dropped in the 60's have surfaced. Terrorists and a pair of crooked navy men want them. How locals stopped all of them, including one nearly elected president.

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not know this was the second in a series. Maybe reading the first one would have helped a little but I can't imagine that much. Did not like the way the characters thought and acted with regards to the bomb, especially the culminating scene. There seemed to be some forced plot creation/story extension with really ridiculous mistakes like the bar fight scene and subsequent escape. I got annoyed and didn't care to read back to figure out things I missed. Just wanted to finish.

[Kyle Chaffee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a hard read at all. I thought it jumped around a lot which made it hard to follow all the characters involved. If you want to read an adventure book quick this would be it.

[Jo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't even finish it

I had a problem when Tru and Wood were caught absconding from the hospital and the nurse who caught them offered to go along to keep an eye on them. Then she told Mel that she could go back to the hospital the next day and get some antibiotics and pain meds for her dad. Not if she wanted to keep her license, she couldn't. That kind of unprofessionalism written by someone who obviously did no research gives the nursing profession a bad name. Then later, when Garrett reported Gillum's actions and Gillum's record was being discussed, the story says that he had been in the Navy for almost 50 years. Not happening. Not by a mere captain. Not bothering to finish this book and will not be reading any more by this writer.

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wood's Reef was an AWESOME, AWESOME READ!!

I actually read this book, many years ago! It was just as AWESOME as the first time!! Mac going after lobsters, when he finds a bomb nearby. He a Tru get it on his boat and take it to show Wood! Mayhem abouts, with different factors showing up! Including the Vice President looking to be elected President!
A MUST READ!
PS...I worked for many years bartending and when we turned up the lights at closing, we told the customers left, that it was "Hotel, No Tell time. We don't care where you go, as long as it's not here!! LOL

[D. E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

An SB. Florida Keys Thriller From Key West to Ismoralda

SB. has. penned the second novel (MTAB - 1) series. A military aircraft is loaded with military weapons and when the aircraft begins its return to base is when the action starts. The aircraft has difficulty and consumes to much fuel and has to dump part of the ordnance. They had two choice and dumped the conventional weapons on the forward side of Key West in the water. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS

[Lora · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It is not my usual genre but it totally kept my interest. I started it Saturday evening and I had to finish it before I slept so it is now 5:12 am on Sunday.

The author fleshes out the characters very well. There is a lot going on, and many characters all involved in the same issue. This builds the tension and kept me hooked. Lots of action, bad guys, and good guys (male and female).

There are some editing issues but it is still a great book.

[Bonnye Reed]

Author gifted

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mac Travis lives in the Florida Keys and runs fishing boat and lives an easy gong life. While out checking his lobster pots one day he comes upon a partially buried bomb and recovers it. It turns out it was a nuclear depth charge jettisoned by fighter pilot during the Cuban Missile era. Obviously this creates problems with what to do with it. Mac friend is an older man living on a small island by himself and it turns out he knows what the bomb is and how it got there. Bring in the current VP who is running for the presidency and was the pilot who jettisoned the bombs and never reported it. It also seems that doing well in the polls., he is not all that well liked. Add a mid eastern terrorist to the mix and things really start to hop. It will take a reading to put it all together in this first of a series.

[C.J. Schnier · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic and wile ride through the Florida Keys. I found myself absolutely incapable of putting down the book. Becker's ability to easily switch between viewpoints and his short chapter worked well for this high octane tale. There was no shortage of tension or conflict, and the pacing was superb.

My only gripe was that some areas were a bit choppy as others have mentioned, and some major plot points happen so fast that I nearly skipped over them in my haste to find out what happens next. Occasionally I had to go back to read a tiny section over again. A minor flaw in an otherwise very enjoyable read. I am told the later books in the series fix this issue. I'll certainly be finding out.

If you enjoy stories of Florida, The Keys, anything nautical, thrillers, or adventure, this is your book.

[Mark Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm so glad I read the four prequel novels first. Although not the first Mac Travis adventure, this was the first to be published, and it's a hot mess. I may well not have read the rest of the series if I had started here. Suspension of disbelief is the key here, where dozens of ludicrously implausible coincidences connect up two fifty-year-old Broken Arrow bombs from the Cuban Missile Crisis, a Presidential candidate, and a pair of mismatched Islamic terrorists, with cantankerous Wood, abrasive Mel, competent Mac, and untrustworthy Trufante. There's a lot of good stuff here, but a lot of officials act in totally implausible ways. The ending was an unpleasant shock for me, given the preceding tone.

[GW · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man is this a stinker. I can’t believe there are people who gave this a positive review. It was painful to read and I gave it two stars simply because I finished it. Here are my “notes to self” as I read this book:

Painfully lame and unrealistic. An offense to one's intelligence. Wait...let me add, it is offensively contrived and stupid! In case one can't tell, I really don't like this book. Can't count how many times I said, "this is stupid!"
It's clear that the author of this book never heard the phrase, "Less is more". If you read it you'll understand this comment.

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What goes around comes around. I used to scuba and snorkel and I never saw anything like that!!! I found myself holding my breath many times as I read this. I’m glad that I have both a good pulmonologist and cardiologist. I don’t think that I would have made it to the end without their help. Despite that, I enjoyed the story and highly recommend it to those with both a strong heart and strong lungs.

[Thomas James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great example of a plot being lost in the story.

In the beginning I was hooked. An Air force jet runs low on fuel and ditches two atomic bombs into the ocean. (As far as I know no atomic weapons were used or carried in the Vietnam conflict.) Then we get at least four other groups interested and the confusion begins amidst a load of unbelievable action. Anyway, I did not finish the book.

[Erinn · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.
Implausible components like a nurse assisting patients to leave the hospital, and the main character agreeing to go with the military for questioning was out of character and absurd.
I was struggling to read this and finally decided life is too short for bad fiction.
Oh, and after reading 25%, I’d realized I could have saved myself the effort as thus far, I hadn’t moved beyond what I’d already gleaned from the jacket description.

[Mami Bear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. I was hooked from the start and the various characters helped progress the story at a fast pace without detracting from the plot. The ending surprised me too which is rare in any book I read regardless of genre so that was a pleasant surprise.

The I my thing that stopped me giving a full 5 stars was the ending felt rushed and there were a few loose ends but hopefully they get cleared up in the next book which I will definitely be reading .

[Susan Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Love reading books involved in the area that I live in. But this one.. started out fairly interesting but just couldn't get me excited enough to keep reading. The book, to me, bounced all around and was somewhat confusing to keep up with who was what. Just was a little on the far fetched side for my reading pleasure. I got about a third of the way thru the book waiting for it to pick up and take off but it just didn't make it with me, so I never finished it.

[V. M. Lyton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish. This book plops you down into a couple different timelines and it’s hard to know who’s POV it is. I also just don’t enjoy books where the first chapter opens to action and dialogue without some explanation as to why all that is happening. Tons of aviation and nautical terms that threw me off. Basically I had no idea what was happening or who POV I was “seeing” through. The pacing was really fast. Lots of things going on in the first chapter and it just kinda overwhelmed me.

[Nick Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast-paced adventure in the the Keys

This book starts with a brilliant setup... no spoilers... but it’s really genius. The plot is intricate and fast-paced and the characters are nicely fleshed out, even some tiny ancillary ones. Mac, Mel, and Trufante are great characters and I look forward to more from them.