Here is my succinct review: Fascinating look into an alligator poaching ring and the man who helped bring them down.

Gator Country by Rebecca Renner had all the makings of a wild ride through the swamp, but it didn’t quite hit home for me. 🐊 The premise is cool, and I was excited to dive into the Florida wilderness with all the gator drama, but the pacing was a little... sluggish. Some parts of the story really grabbed my attention, but other sections felt like they were just kind of treading water.

The narrator did a solid job, though. They brought some much-needed life to the slower moments, but even they couldn't fully rescue the pacing issues. If you’re into detailed nature stories and don’t mind a slower burn, this might still be worth a listen. Just be ready to wade through some slower sections!

This is about an undercover cop who is trying to bust alligator poachers.

I was excited to read this book because ever since i was little, I have loved alligators. BUT to me this book was a bit slow and i didnt care for the writing. Maybe someday i will reread it just to see if i still feel the same. 2.5/5

Thank you Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read and review Gator Country -- Deception, Danger, and Alligators in the Everglades on NetGalley.

Published: 11/14/23

Narrator: John Pirhalla

Stars: 2.5

This was okay. I didn't know what to expect and was surprised. This reads like more like a novel and less like a text book or true crime. The facts are there. I was naive and shown the inner workings of poaching.

I'm not certain who is the intended audience. Basically this didn't work for me. I'm at a loss for words.

Jeff Babauta goes undercover into a ring of alligator poachers. His fascinating story is about nature and humanity and what it takes to truly protect the environment. It was an interesting look into the world of alligator farming and poaching.

This one didn’t work for me. I gave it a few chapters but I didn’t like the writing writing and the book was too slow for me.

Gator Country is a fascinating look at the life of an undercover wildlife protection officer. It also gives a glimpse into the lives of poachers, and the reason they they take animals illegally.

Jeff Babauta, now retired, was a spit and polish wildlife protection officer nearing retirement when he was assigned to an alligator poaching case. He spent the next several years as a ponytailed, whiskey-drinking alligator farmer, meticulously building a case against those who illegally take alligators and their eggs to sell for profit.

This is a fascinating book, and I would highly recommend it to all true crime lovers

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a free digital copy of this title from Net Galley.

#GatorCountry#RebeccaRenner#NetGalley

A classic Florida story about a undercover cop exploring the dark side of the Everglade culture. This one unfortunatlely did not work for me, it was a bit gruff but I know many people who would love it.

It’s a bit ironic that I learned almost nothing about alligators from GATOR COUNTRY, but maybe I shouldn’t have made assumptions. After finishing, I actually think the publishers did a really good job capturing GATOR COUNTRY in the book blurb - at its heart, this is about an undercover operation by Florida’s Fish and Wildlife service to catch alligator egg poachers. But layered amongst this is the story of the author’s personal search for one of Florida’s most famous poachers, Peg Brown, as well as her own commentary on Florida’s misconceptions, its inherent natural beauty, and the nuances of poaching (spoiler - is it always as bad as it seems?).

I really enjoy Renner’s writing (very lyrical and descriptive), and I appreciated how much she emphasized that that are complex humans behind every crime. But there’s a little bit of an I’m-one-of-the-boys vibe that Renner gave off, which I found a bit off putting. I also think the relatively slow pacing (and what ultimately felt like pretty low stakes) of the main poaching storyline was brought even slower by diversions into other topics - in particular, I found the author’s investigation into Peg Brown quite dull.

I got my audio ARC from #netgalley! Thanks to the author and publisher.

3.5/5 stars

I was excited for this one, and while it was good, it wasn't quite what I was hoping for. Personally I found the story a bit slow and the narrator wasn't my favourite. It was also, in my opinion, longer than it needed to be, though some of the additional information was interesting, I think some areas could have been cut down a bit. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to listen to this audiobook.

3.75 stars

I enjoyed this journalistic deep-dive into Florida's alligator (etc.) poaching world. It's longer than a lot of what I typically read in the genre, so it took me awhile to get through, but the additional sections with regional history and the author's personal anecdotes give the book some uniqueness... and credibility, maybe? It creates a full picture of the circumstances, players, and context.

I came to appreciate this framing of the narrative. At times in the audiobook, I lost track of whose story we were in the middle of, though. This is almost certainly because the book uses the same narrator throughout, which I thought was a strange choice, but it makes more sense when reading sections that include multiple perspectives.

This book is about an undercover cop who is trying to bust alligator poachers.

Some of it was very interesting, but then it would get bogged down a little with extrenous details. The middle especially could have been trimmed a little.

The cop tried to understand why the poachers were doing what they were doing which threw in some good morality questions.

This book hit me harder than I initially expected it to. From remembering my own experiences with poaching (in 2004 a poacher shot my dog) to the constant battle natives of the North Carolina High Country seem be waging against invading "Floridiots," I can respect the work of people like Jeff Babauta. He's one of the true good guys. If the whole world were like him, we wouldn't need him. It's not, but having even just the one Jeff Babauta helps. Many, many thanks to Rebecca Renner for putting this story out there. As time wears on, I hope the book gains the level of recognition that it deserves. The sections regarding Peg Brown seem a little out of place, but I'm glad they were included. They're an EP to the Babauta LP; we'll call it a bonus that you get both in one package. Speaking of bonus, everyone needs to read the audiobook so that you get the bonus conversation between Rebecca Renner and Officer Jeff Babauta. I would like to thank Macmillan Audio for allowing me to experience this NetGalley audiobook.

‘Gator Country: Deception, Danger and Alligators in the Everglades,’ written by Rebecca Renner and narrated by John Pirhalla, is a true crime, non-fiction book. Renner does an excellent job of telling a story about catching alligator poachers. It is clear that she did her research and took the time to embed herself in the culture to write this book.

The structure of the book going back and forth between story lines was easy to follow and I appreciated how easily the book flowed. Renner does an amazing job at flipping between the research and her experiences with the story of Officer Jeff Babauta. It kept the reader captivated.

Learning more about Officer Jeff Babauta’s experience of immersing himself into the Everglades and changing his life to fit into the area through the concluding interview is a great touch as an ending. I’d love to hear more and could have easily listened to more about his experience.

I enjoyed the introduction written and read by Renner. I almost wish that she would have continued to read on. Her introduction read like a conversation and a true story telling experience. I think if she would have continued reading the story it would have delivered an even larger impact. This is not to take anything away from Pirhalla, he did a wonderful job of narrating and easily transitioned throughout the story between a change in perspective with every other chapter. He truly did an excellent job!

Great job Rebecca Renner!!

Thank you #NetGalley and #Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this early audio version in exchange for a review. All opinions and thoughts are those of my own.

🐊 Audiobook Rec 🐊

Guys, this high-steaks & action-packed, nonfiction book seriously had me forgetting I was listening to nonfiction on a regular basis.

Rebecca Renner wrote a captivating account of Officer Jeff Babauta’s journey deep into the Everglades and the shady world of alligator poaching. Written in a first-person account, and filled with mystery, intrigue, & danger I was constantly reminding myself Jeff was around to tell the tales 😮‍💨

I went into this book coming off of reading Swamp Story and needed another Florida Everglades fix… I came out with a newfound appreciation for Gators and those who try to make a profit off of them.

The audiobook was awesome, John did an excellent job taking me on the journey, and the author's interview with Babauta was a special way to wrap things up.

I highly recommend it!

Thank you @macmillan.audio for the gifted copy!

3.5 stars, rounded upward.

Rebecca Renner is a journalist who has written for National Geographic and a host of other prestigious newspapers and magazines. Gator Country is her first book. Lucky me, I read it free and early. My thanks go to Macmillan Audio and Net Galley for the review copy. This book is for sale now.

Gator Country is the true story of wildlife officer Jeff Babouta and the sting that brought in a number of poachers and slowed the ravaging of the alligator population in the Florida Everglades. Babouta is coasting toward retirement when he is approached, and although he is reluctant, he is eventually convinced that he is the best qualified officer to carry out this assignment. To do it, he has to live away from his family for years, posing as a newbie gator farmer. This is a legal profession, but it’s also one that is rife with poachers. In order to bring the poachers in, he must first convince them to mentor him and befriend him in his farming operation. He spends years gaining their trust and learning from them, but then has to turn them in.

I thought hard about whether to read this book, because generally speaking, I don’t have warm feelings toward cops, and the past ten years have intensified that sentiment. But rangers and other wildlife cops are a bit more ambiguous; some of them do more good than harm. So it is with Babouta.

There are, Renner tells us, basically two types of poachers. Some are the small, independent people that she says are just trying to feed their families, and some are the large scale despoilers, those working on a large scale to provide gator parts to buyers from China, where they are prized for their medicinal properties and folk cures. Renner is sympathetic toward the former but not the latter.

In following Babouta’s story I pick up odd bits of knowledge. I have never been to the Everglades, nor do I plan to, and so had I not read this book, I would probably never have known that there are bottlenose dolphins there. Who knew? There are a number of such tidbits that I pick up along the way, and this is one of the best things about reading—or listening to—nonfiction.

That said, the audio becomes a complicated read for two reasons. One is that the narrative skips around a great deal. The main part is Babouta’s, but we also hear about Peg Brown, a legendary poacher whose name keeps coming up as Babouta converses with his new colleagues. I have no idea why I or any reader needs to know so much about the guy; from where I sit, Brown hasn’t earned his place in this book, but then it’s not my book. The story is needlessly complicated by Brown as well as a handful of other bits that are woven into the narrative, such as the journalist following along, and we would be better off without these.

The other issue with the audio is that when we shift the point of view, the person whose story we’re hearing has exactly the same voice as Babouta. Now and then I would have to pause and run it back, just to figure out who we’re talking about, or hearing from.

Even though the synopsis makes it crystal clear that the book is about wildlife poaching, rather than an alligator version of Jaws, I expected to hear of some close calls, some scary moments. But the scary moments are mostly about humans.

At the beginning, this book was such a snooze that in order to force myself to keep listening, I found other things to do with my hands. About a third of the way in, however, the story woke up, and after that I was mostly interested, apart from the occasional divergence of topic and point of view. For those that are sufficiently interested to want to read this book, I recommend that you either stick to the print version, or if you strongly favor the audio, get the print version to help you stay oriented and follow along. I would also try to get it free or cheap, unless you have an endless amount of cash to burn.

I love a good Florida book and this one is exceptional. I really have no fault with this book; it is certainly written well, seems to be well-researched, and introduces controversial topics in an approachable way. The description doesn't mention a kind of dual timeline, one being the story of Officer Jeff Babauta's undercover work to take down alligator poachers, and the other Renner's search for famed poacher from decades past, Peg Brown. I'd eagerly recommend this book to anyone interested in Florida, true crime, or alligators. Or if you're just looking for a great non-fiction read. I listened to the audiobook and while the narrator was just fine, it was weird that it was a male because much of it was written from the first person POV of the author, who is female. And after the author read the intro and did such a great job, I was kind of bummed it wasn't her reading the whole book. Hopefully for her next one!

In 2017 the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission arrested several people as a result of an undercover investigation called “Operation Alligator Thief”. Rebecca Renner, a native Floridian, was fascinated by the story and decided to track down the lead investigator. This book delves into both “Operation Alligator Thief” and alligator farming in general as well as the author’s own experiences while researching for the book. I really appreciated her perspective and the way she endeavored to humanize poachers without excusing them for their decisions. I learned a lot from this book.

The audiobook is narrated by John Pirhalla with an introduction read by the author Rebecca Renner. There’s also a bonus conversation between the author and Jeff Babauta, the lead undercover officer for Operation Alligator Thief. The book itself switches between a third person narrative of Officer Babauta’s experiences during the operation and Rebecca Renner’s own journalistic investigations into gator country. I understand why a male voice was brought in to record Officer Babauta’s chapters, but I wish Rebecca herself had narrated the rest of the book. She did a great job with the introduction and hearing her perspective through a male voice felt very jarring to me.

Very interesting piece of nonfiction! I learned so much about gators and the black market for them and their eggs. But I also a lot about environmental conservatism, climate change and many other factors that are involved in saving wildlife.

Thank you Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of this audio book. I thought John Pirhalla did a fantastic job at narrating this audio book. I am looking forward to listening to more audiobooks by him.

As a Florida native, an environmentalist and a former marine biologist, I very much enjoyed this book and learned so much about Florida history, wildlife law and life in the everglades. I once had a very negative opinion on poachers until I worked with sea turtles in Costa Rica. There, I learned that the local poachers were not really the problem. They were just trying to feed their families, and sea turtles are a traditional food sources for them. The real threat to sea turtles is commercial fishing and habitat loss. I really apricate that this book discussed the issue of poaching for food vs. large-scale habit destruction and the over harvesting of eggs.

I really liked the duel point of view and the bonus story of Peg Brown. My only critique for the audio book is that there was no clear distinction between Jeff's story and the author's present day story, and it would get confusing at times which story I was listening to.

This is a must read for all Floridians, and espcially those moving to the state. Thank you for writing such an important book. I am seeing the author at Tombolo books next week, and I cannot wait!