Customer Reviews

A Blind Eye

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Reporter Frank Corso fell from grace when he was accused of making up a crime story. However, Frank is resourceful and easily reinvented himself into a true-crime writer who claims to have insider information on a Texas high-society murder. Rather than face the results of a subpoena demanding he talk, Frank does what comes naturally; he goes on the run. Accompanying Frank into hiding in wintry Wisconsin is his photographer, Meg Dougherty.

Following an accident caused by blizzard like weather, Frank and Meg take shelter on an abandoned farm in Avalon. In the shed, they discover the remains of the male members of the Holmes family, whom everyone thought, simply left town fifteen years ago. The local sheriff cuts a deal with Frank that he won't be handed over to Texas if he investigates the murders. Already fascinated by the grisly scene, Frank accepts the terms. He starts his inquiries by looking into the mother of the brood who's not part of the skeletal remains. He soon traces her bloody trail to other homicides, but the culprit has plans to add the writer to the pile of deaths.

The suspense is at the usual high level expected in a G.M Ford novel starring the likable antihero Frank who is accompanied by a support cast that adds exaggerated regional eccentricities. Yet with all that the tale seems off slightly because whenever Frank hits a dead end he finds this incredible Ziggy like source that moves him further along on the case. Still fans will continue reading because the rapid pace, the chilling suspense, and the quaint cast make for a strong entertaining read.

Harriet Klausner

Setting your mysteries in Seattle (one of my favourite cities) is not the way to keep me as a reader, but it will certainly help get me started. Thankfully, G.M. Ford has a way with writing that will always keep me around. His Leo Waterman mysteries were first-rate, and his Frank Corso books have kept his string of winning novels alive. A Blind Eye continues this, as Ford creates a page-turner that will keep any hard-boiled detective fan glued to the text.

True Crime author and disgraced newspaper reporter Frank Corso is having a bad day. He's stuck in Chicago's O'Hare airport, snowed in and stranded, with an irate Meg Dougherty (former lover and one real friend) along for the ride. Why is Meg irate? Because Frank never bothered to tell her that the reason for the "story" they are pursuing is really because two Texas rangers have a warrant for his arrest. Stuck in an airport, his picture showing up on CNN and security starting to look at him strangely, Corso drags Meg on an ill-considered car ride into Wisconsin, where icy roads send them to the bottom of a ravine. What they discover there will bring more than just Texas law enforcement down on his head. It will involve them in a cross-country trip on the trail of a serial killer uncaught for over 30 years. It also, of course, makes him a target.

A Blind Eye takes Corso out of his familiar Seattle, and I think it stretched Ford's writing talent as well. Seattle and western Washington has always been a cozy location for him in which to write, with familiar territory and landmarks making identification easier. This one starts out in Chicago, goes to southern Wisconsin, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and the wilds of the New Jersey mountains. Removed from his familiar environs, Ford has to work a little bit harder, and he does a great job. Some of it is a bit stereotypical (I'm from Iowa, and he captures it decently, but not wonderfully), but overall it shows that he did some research on his locales. Removing Corso and Dougherty from the northwest also allows him to broaden their characters as well. Seeing them on the run presents a different side of them, how they react when desperation hits. Usually, we see our heroes chasing the bad guys, not the other way around.

The relationship between Dougherty and Corso crackles with energy. They used to be lovers and have now become the best of friends. Dougherty is extremely annoyed with Corso, but she goes along with him anyway. She obviously still loves him to put up with all that he puts her through. In fact, their relationship goes through an even more pronounced change in A Blind Eye, evolving as they are forced together by circumstances. That's one thing I love about Ford's writing: the characters are always open to change and growth. While it certainly is not necessary to read the books in order, things change enough that you are rewarded for doing so. This makes both of them even deeper characters then most genre detectives.

The minor characters are given just enough depth to be believable while not overshadowing the protagonists. The sheriff of the Wisconsin town is predictably overwhelmed by having all of the media attention centered on her, along with a gloryhound deputy who's gunning for her job. This situation actually ends up being important, driving some of the action despite the fact that it's not center-stage. This is a bit distracting from the main plot, but it's not critical. Most of the rest get little, if any, development, but their suitably quirky and/or malevolent to serve their roles. The one exception to this isn't obvious until the end, however. In between some of the chapters are entries from a journal whose author is unrevealed. As the book goes on, it becomes clearer and actually adds to the horror of what is happening, as we realize that the cycle of violence may not be ending like we thought it would.

There are only a couple of faults with this book. The first is the fact that there are some superfluous scenes in the book that seem to be included just to show us how tough Corso is. Regular readers already know how tough he is, and subsequent events in the book show this to new readers. Unless Ford is just trying to show us what our rights are during a traffic stop, I see no point to them. While this is forgivable, the second problem is far more damning.

The book posits the existence of a super-secret organization that journalists and others can use to get information that is otherwise unobtainable (at least in a timely manner). This organization is so secret that they will not accept any new queries from a phone number they don't have on file, and any such calls require that the phone be disposed of as soon as the call is completed. The presentation of this organization screams PLOT DEVELOPMENT every time Corso uses it, bringing me out of the narrative. It results in a couple of funny scenes (especially when Corso has to use Meg's phone for a question), but overall it's just distracting.

Overall, A Blind Eye is a wonderful page-turner. It's not a taxing read, in fact it's perfect for Sunday afternoons or beach reading. If you like your mysteries with great characters who grow and change, the Frank Corso books are definitely for you. You don't even have very many to catch up on. Whatever you do, though, check this one out.

David Roy

I have all of the Leo Waterman and Frank Corso books. Was Blind Eye one of the best? Doesn't even come close to Black River, but I don't regret having made the purchase and would still recommend. No, it wasn't always believable (hey, it's fiction), but the trip across country and the weaving in of past events kept me interested. Frank and Meg once again make it out alive which for me made up for the rather creepy ending.

All he has to do is stay away from the Texas Rangers for a few more days--until the Grand Jury term expires and he can go home. But a freak snowstorm strands writer Frank Corso, along with sometime-girlfriend and photographer Meg Dougherty in an airport and Frank decides to brave the blizzard rather than wait to be arrested. Stuck in the blizzard, Frank and Meg discover evidence of a seventeen-year-old murder. As part of a bargain to keep him away from the Rangers, Frank agrees to look into the old murder and Meg reluctantly goes along.

What they find is a story of abuse, incest, and a girl's attempts to control her environment at any cost. As they get closer, they wonder whether this girl, now a woman, might kill again--and whether they can stay alive themselves. Of course, getting closer depends on staying ahead of the Rangers, the FBI, and the local Sheriff who has her own issues.
Author G. M. Ford writes a page-turning and compelling story. Frank, with his little problem with the truth, makes an intriguing character--bad enough to be sympathetic but heroic enough to make him admirable as well. Ford's writing grabs the reader by the throat and pulls them through an exciting adventure.

Readers who enjoy action, a bit of psychological analysis, wise-talking heros, and a quirky bit of romance will definitely want to get their hands on A BLIND EYE.

G.M. Ford's third Frank Corso novel, "A Blind Eye" is an intense, dark, fast paced mystery thriller.

Two Texas marshals have a material witness warrant that Corso (a true crime writer) is eager to avoid.

On the lam with his amazonish photojournalist, Meg Dougherty---a blinding snowstorm drives them to an abandoned Wisconsin farmhouse for shelter. Buried in shed, they discover the skeletons of the Holmes family---murdered fifteen years ago.

The small town sheriff makes a deal with Corso. He investigates this coldest of cases---she misleads the Texas marshals.

The harrowing search for the family serial killer leads to Pennsylvania, the Ramapo Mountains of New Jersey and Michigan.

The journey to uncover the elusive and shadowy criminals is fascinating and filled with brilliant surprises.

The supporting cast---an isolated, inbred group known as the White Jacksons, the Texas marshals, the sheriff and the surprisingly cooperative New Jersey FBI SAIC---is strong and inventive.

The wisecracking Corso is positively enigmatic, with his own sense of honor---always striving to unearth the truth, no matter the roadblocks.

The ending is absolutely chilling.

A willing suspension of disbelief is the perfect supplement to Mr. Ford's agile plot and tough situation resolutions.

"A Blind Eye," by G. M. Ford, features the tough and taciturn Frank Corso, a true crime writer who is on the lam. Corso is wanted in Texas as a material witness, and he decides to lie low until the warrant for his arrest expires. Along with his former lover, photojournalist Meg Dougherty, Frank gets into an accident on a Wisconsin highway during a heavy blizzard. When Dougherty and Corso take shelter in an abandoned house, they discover the grisly remains of a murdered family.

Corso is manipulated by the local sheriff into investigating this crime, which leads him to several states in his pursuit of a very unusual serial killer. "A Blind Eye" explores the pathological side of human nature, especially the way in which horribly abused children sometimes grow into deeply disturbed and violent adults.

Corso is a terrific character. He is strong, courageous, and eerily intuitive, and his girlfriend, Meg Dougherty, is gutsy and tenacious. The secondary characters are also well-drawn. G. M. Ford's plot is intricate and engrossing, and he ratchets up the tension to an agonizing level prior to the hair-raising and electrifying finale. "A Blind Eye" is a powerful and unsettling thriller that may give you nightmares.

I've read every one of G.M Ford's books. This book covers similar territory to his second book "Cast in Stone". "A Blind Eye" is more tightly plotted and moves faster than CIS but it feels less inventive to me. There's some ok dialogue and some interesting material on isolated hill communities in the eastern US but there's some incredibly weak dialogue as well, e.g. the banter between Corso and his ex-lover Dougherty at the beginning. After three books, the Frank Corso character just doesn't interest me that much. My response to the grim subject matter tells me that it is time to read more uplifting stuff. Addicts to the genre will be not be too disappointed but for me it's really time to move on, i.e. I'll probably read the next book. Go figure.

After finishing Black River (without a doubt, a 5-star book), I rushed out to pick up A Blind Eye. Corso is a fantastic character as usual, the new setting is a nice change of pace (rural and wintry rather than urban and rainy), and the dialogue is spot-on.

However, the plot is not nearly as tight and fast-paced as the earlier book. There are a number of segways and subplots that slow it down, and are really unnecessary. Whereas Black River had its moments off the main plot (e.g. the Cambodian man's story), it never seemed to detract from the core story.

ABE was still an entertaining read. But the plot felt a little watered-down by the constant side trips.

(Quick note--the Melissa-D thing was implausible, yes, but it's *fiction*, people. A couple of speculative elements don't hurt.)

I won't go into all the details, but this a wonderful series. I hope he keeps up the good work.

I liked it. I am new to the G. M. Ford genre and I look forward to the highly touted "Fury" and "Black River." This novel, "A Blind Eye," was fairly magnetic. While I could 'put it down,' I kept picking it up throughout the weekend. It was a very exciting read.

Ford is an excellent scene painter and I found myself nodding appreciatively over descriptions of cold, icy roads, soot, smell and the like. If they make a movie out of some of his novels, that's where the organ music would come in. Steve Hamilton does this well in his novels about Michigan and Michigan winters but with Ford it's darker and even a little scary. He has that 'hackles rising on the back of your neck' style of the early King.

Corso, the hard guy, and Dougherty, 'The Illustrated Lady,' embark on a mission of investifgation over the accidental discovery of several decade old bones. The bones are accounted for except for one missing girl, Sissy Warwick, a teenager. They identify what is initially the missing corpse and work from there.

What happens is that with each successive identity, the anonymous corpse keeps killing more, almost like a series of Stalinist purges, wiping out an entire family. As Corso and Dougherty get closer, they end up turning the heat up on themselves.

There are a couple of things that didn't fit 'seamlessly' with the pursuit od Sissy Warwick. There are some scenes that seem to be purposeless. The whole reason why Frank is on the run to begin with and the impact of what happens when the Texas Grand Jury's term expires isn't really explained. While some scenes could have been excised, this was one that needed more information. When they're stuck in O'Hare in a snowstrome and Dougherty is higly irritated, you want to know why in greater detail. The whole thing with Sheriff Trask and her Deputy, unnecessary. None of us mind going off in the wrong direction but misdirection from the author just to fill in pages seems pointless.

Then there's the characters Sheriff Trask, Professor Rosen and Warren from the FBI that might have been more significant if time was taken. Either that or ignore them entirely. They become cameo appearances with no script.

The plot, the investigation, the macabre villains, and the energy between Corso and Dougherty is all excellent. 4 stars. Larry Scantlebury