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Troy Bodean Tropical Thriller #7
Gator Wave
A mobster-chomping gator. A drifter on a rampage. One or both is coming for Troy!
Troy Bodean hopes that the picturesque Islamorada gives him the rest he desperately seeks.
But there’s a surly mama gator terrorizing the quirky island town. She’s killed a mafia boss’s son, a cross-dressing dancer from Key West, and a Fantasy Fest tourist all in one week. The feds and a nosy, local journalist think it’s the work of the infamous Cowboy Killer—wanted for a murderous rampage up and down the coast.
Leave it to Troy Bodean to get tangled up in this mangrove of a mess and become the scapegoat for all the dead bodies piling up. Yup, you guessed, it, everyone thinks he’s the notorious killer in the hat.
If the reporter catches him, he’ll be on the front page.
If the authorities catch him, he’ll go to jail.
If the Caparelli Mob catches him, he’ll be at the bottom of the gulf in a pair of concrete shoes.
But none of them will get him if the gator gets him first.
Troy Bodean hopes that the picturesque Islamorada gives him the rest he desperately seeks.
But there’s a surly mama gator terrorizing the quirky island town. She’s killed a mafia boss’s son, a cross-dressing dancer from Key West, and a Fantasy Fest tourist all in one week. The feds and a nosy, local journalist think it’s the work of the infamous Cowboy Killer—wanted for a murderous rampage up and down the coast.
Leave it to Troy Bodean to get tangled up in this mangrove of a mess and become the scapegoat for all the dead bodies piling up. Yup, you guessed, it, everyone thinks he’s the notorious killer in the hat.
If the reporter catches him, he’ll be on the front page.
If the authorities catch him, he’ll go to jail.
If the Caparelli Mob catches him, he’ll be at the bottom of the gulf in a pair of concrete shoes.
But none of them will get him if the gator gets him first.
484 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 31, 2020
316 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
June 5, 2020
I don't condone homosexuality.....
So I'm narrow minded? Insensitive? Biggeted? Maybe all the above but the underlying gay current running through this story wasn't necessary. I didn't finish this book and have scratched this author off my reading list.
So I'm narrow minded? Insensitive? Biggeted? Maybe all the above but the underlying gay current running through this story wasn't necessary. I didn't finish this book and have scratched this author off my reading list.
January 14, 2023
Non-stop zaniness. I loved the fact that the gator popped up and chowed down when he/she was least expected. I concur with a lot of what other reviewers have said. It was quite contrived. The gator had to keep popping up to remind us this was Florida, not California!
May 16, 2020
Gator Wave is the 9th Tropical Thrillers book featuring Troy Clint Bodean, and the most complex of the series. Fans of Troy have followed his exploits as the perennial jobless, penniless and down on his luck drifter has bumbled his way up and down the southern east coast from Pawley’s Island to Key West. This latest tale of catastrophe takes place in a few short miles along the Overseas Highway in Islamorada, Florida. To think that so much mayhem can take place in such a small area in such a short time is truly remarkable. First suspected of being Florida’s notorious Cowboy Killer because of his outback tea-stained straw hat, it soon becomes the least of his problems as a string of disappearances of some of the most outrageous characters you’ve ever heard of points his way, but is actually the work of a gigantic mama alligator protecting her nest. But not all the bizarre killings can be blamed on her huge snout. Follow the non-stop and zany action as the shootings, car chases and crashes, fires, and explosions add to the normal occurrences in Troy’s world.
Read
July 14, 2020I loved it...fast paced, good characters & very enjoyable read. While I like all of the Troy Bodean books in this series, this one seemed to be developed more, making for even a better reading experience.
May 28, 2020
The magnetic appeal of Troy Bodean and his hilarious misadventures make this an enticing read. If you like Carl Hiaassen, you’re going to love David Berens.
May 28, 2020
What a story. A killer gator, who would of thought this could happen. You just feel like reading to find out what happens at the end. Don’t miss out.
June 16, 2020
Troy bodean
A!says in trouble and as ever last to the bar b she but never ending I. His search for a fishing pole and hammock ciao from costa Rica
A!says in trouble and as ever last to the bar b she but never ending I. His search for a fishing pole and hammock ciao from costa Rica
June 18, 2020
Dang
Did not enjoy the book at all. Troy is not a fighter he s not a lover. He should have taken cinnamon with him where he was going.
Did not enjoy the book at all. Troy is not a fighter he s not a lover. He should have taken cinnamon with him where he was going.
June 23, 2020
Fun read
Troy certainly has his hands full in the installment. With a serial killer (person as well as alligator) . This book makes you turn pages. Great fun David!
Troy certainly has his hands full in the installment. With a serial killer (person as well as alligator) . This book makes you turn pages. Great fun David!
May 22, 2020
A mobster-chomping gator. A drifter on a rampage. One or both is coming for Troy!
Troy Bodean hopes that the picturesque Islamorada gives him the rest he desperately seeks.
But there’s a surly mama gator terrorizing the quirky island town. She’s killed a mafia boss’s son, a cross-dressing dancer from Key West, and a Fantasy Fest tourist all in one week. The feds and a nosy, local journalist think it’s the work of the infamous Cowboy Killer—wanted for a murderous rampage up and down the coast.
Leave it to Troy Bodean to get tangled up in this mangrove of a mess and become the scapegoat for all the dead bodies piling up. Yup, you guessed, it, everyone thinks he’s the notorious killer in the hat.
If the reporter catches him, he’ll be on the front page.
If the authorities catch him, he’ll go to jail.
If the Caparelli Mob catches him, he’ll be at the bottom of the gulf in a pair of concrete shoes.
But none of them will get him if the gator gets him first.
This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believeable.
Great suspense and action with wonderful world building.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
Troy Bodean hopes that the picturesque Islamorada gives him the rest he desperately seeks.
But there’s a surly mama gator terrorizing the quirky island town. She’s killed a mafia boss’s son, a cross-dressing dancer from Key West, and a Fantasy Fest tourist all in one week. The feds and a nosy, local journalist think it’s the work of the infamous Cowboy Killer—wanted for a murderous rampage up and down the coast.
Leave it to Troy Bodean to get tangled up in this mangrove of a mess and become the scapegoat for all the dead bodies piling up. Yup, you guessed, it, everyone thinks he’s the notorious killer in the hat.
If the reporter catches him, he’ll be on the front page.
If the authorities catch him, he’ll go to jail.
If the Caparelli Mob catches him, he’ll be at the bottom of the gulf in a pair of concrete shoes.
But none of them will get him if the gator gets him first.
This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believeable.
Great suspense and action with wonderful world building.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
February 16, 2024
I'm not certain that my first impressions of this book were fair. To be clear, having picked up a book entitled "Gator Bite" I was sort of expecting a bad Jaws plot or a Sharknado. I kept seeing in my mind's eye a giant gator strolling through a small Florida town, eating pets and people, and waiting in the hot tub for snacks to come out to it. You know, I was expecting a sort of super-gator monster adventure.
That is not what this book is. In fact, despite having the gator conveniently eat someone in the first chapter, you have to wait one third of the book for another attack to happen. Important parts of the plot are influenced, even instigated, by the gator attack, but it's not Gator-Godzilla trashing the town. What it is instead is a lot of basically dumb, mostly unlikeable people, causing trouble for the couple of basically likeable ones. The action keeps coming back to the gator, but it actually acts like a real animal. Its killing spree is more happenstance than Thunder-of-God, the Apocalypse-Is-Happening, monster-movie fare.
So, even though I was totally disappointed by the book, I think that is on me and not the author.
That is not what this book is. In fact, despite having the gator conveniently eat someone in the first chapter, you have to wait one third of the book for another attack to happen. Important parts of the plot are influenced, even instigated, by the gator attack, but it's not Gator-Godzilla trashing the town. What it is instead is a lot of basically dumb, mostly unlikeable people, causing trouble for the couple of basically likeable ones. The action keeps coming back to the gator, but it actually acts like a real animal. Its killing spree is more happenstance than Thunder-of-God, the Apocalypse-Is-Happening, monster-movie fare.
So, even though I was totally disappointed by the book, I think that is on me and not the author.
June 1, 2020
Wow, what an unusual start!
Berens' new book begins with a monster alligator on a killing spree, starting with Matteo Caparelli, the son of a mafia boss; Troy Bodean finds a new job; and then we find mafia boss Dante Caparelli somewhere in the middle. Before we know it, Troy is considered to be a serial killer named the Cowboy Killer, and not the gator: go figure.
In the meantime, Troy is being hunted by a number of disparate number of people as well as the Capareli mob family and an assassin they hired.
So hop on board to this unusual story until you reach the exciting end. Along the way, you'll find yourself either shaking your head or just suddenly laughing out loud! Regardless, you won't regret it.
Berens' new book begins with a monster alligator on a killing spree, starting with Matteo Caparelli, the son of a mafia boss; Troy Bodean finds a new job; and then we find mafia boss Dante Caparelli somewhere in the middle. Before we know it, Troy is considered to be a serial killer named the Cowboy Killer, and not the gator: go figure.
In the meantime, Troy is being hunted by a number of disparate number of people as well as the Capareli mob family and an assassin they hired.
So hop on board to this unusual story until you reach the exciting end. Along the way, you'll find yourself either shaking your head or just suddenly laughing out loud! Regardless, you won't regret it.
June 2, 2020
I received a free copy of this book but the my review was entirely voluntary. I've enjoyed all the Troy Bodean Tropical Thriller Books but this one may be my favorite. As if the killer alligator terrorizing a tiny town in the Florida Keys wasn't enough the town is also on the lookout for the Cowboy Killer and his signature cowboy hat. Of course, Troy and his hat have hit town at the same time. I love David Berens' writing style and humor that he mixes into a thrill ride of a mystery. The reader can always count a Troy for a great adventure but the weaving of so many elements that could have been separate plots into a cohesive story that keeps the pages turning makes Gator Wave stand out from the rest. I highly recommend this series to everyone.
June 6, 2020
A very long list of characters do a lot of very naughty (or worse!) things, and there is no safe haven
As David Berens informs us in the"Gator Wave" afterword, this is his longest and most complex Troy Bodean yarn to date. He goes on to say that he is very fond of Troy, yet he likes other characters a lot. That is obvious because there are a LOT of other characters! And some have complex, even convoluted roles.
I don't want to say anything that would spoil any of the surprised Berens has for you (or any of the surprised the characters gave him) so I won't mention plot or character activity or personality. Just bee prepared: this is a rollicking, zany yarn, and if you've ever read a Troy Bodean yarn, you have a hint–but this one is worse … you'll see what I mean!
As David Berens informs us in the"Gator Wave" afterword, this is his longest and most complex Troy Bodean yarn to date. He goes on to say that he is very fond of Troy, yet he likes other characters a lot. That is obvious because there are a LOT of other characters! And some have complex, even convoluted roles.
I don't want to say anything that would spoil any of the surprised Berens has for you (or any of the surprised the characters gave him) so I won't mention plot or character activity or personality. Just bee prepared: this is a rollicking, zany yarn, and if you've ever read a Troy Bodean yarn, you have a hint–but this one is worse … you'll see what I mean!
June 28, 2020
Hungry Gators
Troy Bodean has an internal compass that is pointing to disaster and ramblings to somewhere he hasn't been, searching for whatever. Very much a raggedy man in a straw cowboy hat, bath optional, alcoholic sirens beckoning him , pretty much describes this lovable disaster on two feet. That is if his bum knee behaves. Working at a failed tennis club, flirting with a stripper, he meets a calamitous series of people who are mired in the swamp owned by Mama Gator. Twisted ties to each other in a blindma n's bluff just keeps packing more than good deeds. Hilarious read leaving the reader to ask "What else can go wrong" and a sigh of defeat as the odds go higher.
Troy Bodean has an internal compass that is pointing to disaster and ramblings to somewhere he hasn't been, searching for whatever. Very much a raggedy man in a straw cowboy hat, bath optional, alcoholic sirens beckoning him , pretty much describes this lovable disaster on two feet. That is if his bum knee behaves. Working at a failed tennis club, flirting with a stripper, he meets a calamitous series of people who are mired in the swamp owned by Mama Gator. Twisted ties to each other in a blindma n's bluff just keeps packing more than good deeds. Hilarious read leaving the reader to ask "What else can go wrong" and a sigh of defeat as the odds go higher.
October 28, 2023
That there must be the best fed gator in Florida and it's a tough old bird as well, surely animal control would get wind of a man eater and do something about it. Troy drifts into town and mayhem, for which he is soon blamed, follows close on his heels. Cinnamon is a bit of a distraction for him and he drops on accommodation and a job to tide him over, what more could he want ? Probably not to be threatened by mafia, chased by alligators and accused of being the cowboy killer would be nice but you can't have everything. Fun read with good characters and well plotted once you get the drift of what is happening.
May 17, 2020
Gator Wave takes Troy to his limits as the story progresses. As usual, this story is filled with a number of quirky characters who are in many cases very likable, and in others not so much. To say this episode of the Troy Bedean saga is action packed might be an understatement, it’s more like nonstop action on several fronts. Having read all the Troy Boden stories, I have to say this is my favorite to date because of the various story lines woven throughout the overall story arc. I received an advance reader copy and chose to provide this review.
May 27, 2020
Gator Wave (Troy Bodean Tropical Thriller #7) by David F. Berens started out slowly and was sort of sad and depressing, unless you like ne'er do well drifters who drink way too much when they can scrounge a drink or twenty. But, all of a sudden, things got a whole lot crazier, ridiculous, and just plain hilarious! Made me think of the Keystone Cops!
If you follow the Troy Bodean series, you'll love this crazy story. If you haven't read any of them, read this over the top gem!
I was given an ARC of this book by the author and am voluntarily posting an honest review.
If you follow the Troy Bodean series, you'll love this crazy story. If you haven't read any of them, read this over the top gem!
I was given an ARC of this book by the author and am voluntarily posting an honest review.
June 10, 2020
Every time I think that David Berens has outdone himself, he surprises me with an even better book. Troy Broden is a (to me) a version of Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt except that Troy is always in the Florida Keys. David is maybe the best writer I have read in a long long time. Gator Wave is full of suspense and a lot of thrills. This really is a great book. Actually all of David's Rouge series are all great reads. Everything you want in a book is in Gator Wave.
October 8, 2023
It was OK for awhile but then I thought it just got silly. The guy (Chad) looking for his red kayak was put on the side of the road by the 2 women with a broken wrist and a busted arm after his shoe lace was caught in the chain, but then he is back on his bike riding down the road and his shoe lace again gets caught in the chain and falls into the swamp. Whoever proof read this book didn't read it. A major blunder.
Also why did the 2 women not notice he was hurt?
Also why did the 2 women not notice he was hurt?
May 17, 2020
Troy Bodean is on the move again. He ends up in Islamorada in the Florida Keys. There is a killer on the loose labeled the Cowboy Killer because he wears a cowboy hat. Troy is also wearing the same style hat. A stolen kayak, missing persons, a killer and a mama alligator brings another thriller. There is a lot going on, but still a page turner and a wild conclusion.
June 14, 2022
Who is following who, Troy or trouble?
It's been a while since I last read a Troy Bodean book, too long in fact. it wasn't long before the comic relief and wield happenings had me hooked once again. Troy as usual finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and all heck breaks out.
It's been a while since I last read a Troy Bodean book, too long in fact. it wasn't long before the comic relief and wield happenings had me hooked once again. Troy as usual finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and all heck breaks out.
October 3, 2023
Probably ain’t worth the paper it’s printed on!
We’ll, it’s colorful, and imaginative, but it doesn’t really make any sense and doesn’t work for me. Too many cliches, not enough character building, even though there certainly are a bunch of “characters”. Like it says itself at the end “probably ain’t worth the paper it’s printed on”…even though it was read digitally.
We’ll, it’s colorful, and imaginative, but it doesn’t really make any sense and doesn’t work for me. Too many cliches, not enough character building, even though there certainly are a bunch of “characters”. Like it says itself at the end “probably ain’t worth the paper it’s printed on”…even though it was read digitally.
October 18, 2023
The gator from hell!
I always enjoy Bergen’s writing and this book was no exception! I guess about a gator chomping on people shouldn’t be funny, but this was such a convoluted story about four different groups of people that I was constantly laughing out loud at their antics. This was the best free book I’ve read in a long time!
I always enjoy Bergen’s writing and this book was no exception! I guess about a gator chomping on people shouldn’t be funny, but this was such a convoluted story about four different groups of people that I was constantly laughing out loud at their antics. This was the best free book I’ve read in a long time!
May 27, 2025
Crazy
Crazy it was… The start of the book was like throwing a bunch of different books together just to see how they would turn out. But it finally came together as one big shit show never go to Isadora cause she might get eaten by that female alligator. Well let’s see where Troy goes next.
Crazy it was… The start of the book was like throwing a bunch of different books together just to see how they would turn out. But it finally came together as one big shit show never go to Isadora cause she might get eaten by that female alligator. Well let’s see where Troy goes next.
May 31, 2020
Trouble just follows Troy Bodean!! This is such an entertaining series. There’s plenty of action and suspense and some comedy. Something for everyone! This series is highly recommended. I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving this review
September 14, 2020
Totally engaging
Wild, wacky, exciting and always delivering. Have just finished reading all the books in this series and thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend. Once I started I was hooked and had to keep reading and look forward to the next adventure with anticipation.
Wild, wacky, exciting and always delivering. Have just finished reading all the books in this series and thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend. Once I started I was hooked and had to keep reading and look forward to the next adventure with anticipation.
August 18, 2021
Onward!!!!
Just finished the complete Troy Adventure. Witty, amusing, and entertaining are inadequate in describing how enjoyable his story is. Sad to leave Troy's World but anxious to move on with his btother Ryan's adventures
Just finished the complete Troy Adventure. Witty, amusing, and entertaining are inadequate in describing how enjoyable his story is. Sad to leave Troy's World but anxious to move on with his btother Ryan's adventures
September 21, 2023
marvelous
Loved his writing style as author has a wonderful voice. The characters are Zooey enough to make you laugh aloud. Just a sly giggle at the hilarious antics of these people. Really enjoyed this book a lot.
Loved his writing style as author has a wonderful voice. The characters are Zooey enough to make you laugh aloud. Just a sly giggle at the hilarious antics of these people. Really enjoyed this book a lot.
September 28, 2023
interesting.
I found this book to be a bit disjointed, but it was enjoyable. Troy should never have borrowed the kayak. That’s where all his problems stemmed from. I loved the character of Cinnamon.
I found this book to be a bit disjointed, but it was enjoyable. Troy should never have borrowed the kayak. That’s where all his problems stemmed from. I loved the character of Cinnamon.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews