BEACH READING

Lost and Found
By Tom Williams (Archebooks. $27.99)

Tom Williams' debut novel, "Lost and Found," is a really well done adventure story that begins in Goodland, Fla. (near Marco Island) but quickly moves to Texas. There the protagonists, Brian Pauliss and Peter Clopec, two brilliant scientists, have traveled to attend a meeting of Odessa Petroleum Consultants. They are there to explain the technology of a newly developed oil mining satellite. Flash forward a year and Pauliss and Clopec are in deep defecation because the satellite hasn't done the job. They have until Monday to produce results and it's already Friday night.

Desperation often breeds inspiration and it does so in their case. They realize they can reprogram the telemetry and realign the radar to locate gold, which is a superconductor and will be readily discernible to the microwaves. They do this feeling sure their genius will be rewarded. However, Monday morning they report to the office only to discover their personal effects have been boxed and, not only have they been fired, they are being charged with gross negligence of corporate policy, failure to uphold a contract, damage to company assets, and inappropriate behavior in the workplace. Not only that, Alex Haggly- Ford, the CEO, informs them that criminal charges will be lodged against them.

From there the story takes off as the two realize Haggly- Ford was never actually looking for oil and that, in order

to save themselves,

they must find out what he's really up to and thwart his plans.

The pace never flags. The characters are quirky and well drawn. And certainly Mr. Williams knows the world of scam artists, wealthy boaters and the hard-bitten Florida crackers who serve them, not to mention a deliciously evil understanding of corporate backstabbing. As a result, "Lost and Found" is well plotted. And this is one of those times when the author is as interesting as his story. Mr. Williams has lived on Marco Island for years and is a columnist for a number of Scripps newspapers on Florida's west coast. However, for 23 years he has also been a Master Merchant Marine officer licensed by the U. S. Coast Guard. In addition to his writing, he's a veteran scuba diver specializing in shipwreck sites and has a fascination with deep-sea archeology.