Customer Reviews

Blown Away: A Novel of Suspense

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

If I were to give the ending the full review rating, it would be one star, but I decided on 2 since up to that point the book was an interesting read. There were some flaws with the characterizations and plotting, such as the behavior of the hero's associate and that of the town's residents, particularly the sheriff, but generally the plot and dialogue were fast-moving and held your interest.

The ending: SIMPLY HORRIBLE! The last scene/word left the reader totally hanging in a jaw-dropping way, and eliminated this as a stand-alone book - the 'cliffhanger,' necessarily resolved in another book, made it impossible for closure for those who would not read a sequel, and screwed those who would by having to wait a year or more to find out what happens. That is insulting to the readers, and totally unworthy of a good author. Shame.

G.M.Ford`s latest Frank Corso novel left me shocked and resentful. After discovering this series a couple years ago, I have read all the Corso books. This one began with great promise as I wondered where Frank was going with his investigation and who might be behind the cover up and the violence directed at Corso. It was headed in an intriguing direction.

But the middle third of the book slows down into a procedural mainly noteworthy for the way Corso loses control of the direction of the investigation and becomes a spectator in an interagency taskforce. During this whole section of the book, all the interest generated by the opening of the book is not only lost...but not even pursued or revisited until the last 40 pages.

And without going into detail, the real "ending" occurs or should have occurred earlier in the Sacramento scene. The last 30 pages or so represent an extension of the plot that ultimately leads to one of the poorest, lamest, and personally unfulfilling endings I have ever read. As another reviewer stated on this book, I feel so strongly, I may never read another Ford novel---at the very least, I will never "trust" his perspective of his readers again.

G. M. Ford's "Blown Away" brings back Frank Corso, a former journalist who has branched out into a career as a successful author. In fact, his picture has just appeared on the cover of "People." Corso is relatively content; he enjoys relaxing on the yacht that he has moored in Seattle. However, Corso's aggressive new publisher has his own agenda, and he sends Corso to Edgewater, Pennsylvania to write about a bizarre and still unsolved crime that occurred a year earlier. It seems that a thirty-nine year old loner named Nathan Marino robbed a bank with a bomb strapped to his body. The bomb exploded and Marino was killed instantly.

Although no one in town wants to talk about this tragic event, many questions remain. Why would Marino, a quiet and law-abiding man, try such a stunt? Were there others involved, and if so, who? Why did it take so long for the bomb squad to arrive? Why was the investigation abruptly shut down? Corso could not care less about any of this, and he is not interested in pursuing this case. However, when unknown assailants subsequently attack and attempt to kidnap Corso, he decides to stick around. It seems that there is something big going on, and Corso's curiosity, as well as his anger, have been aroused. Journalist Carl Letzo, who witnessed the Marino incident, approaches Frank and expresses his opinion that there was a police cover-up and that "the town's kinda closed ranks around the incident."

One night, someone forces Corso's SVU off an ice-slicked road; both he and his car plunge into deep, freezing water and he nearly dies. There can be no doubt now that someone wants Corso out of the way, but he stubbornly refuses to back down. Assisting him with his inquiries is freelancer Chris Andriatta, who has just returned from an assignment in Afghanistan. Soon, the federal authorities shanghai both Corso and Andriatta and hold them as material witnesses. The reason? There have recently been a series of bank robberies on the West Coast, all eerily similar to the one that took Nathan Marino's life. Innocent civilians have been kidnapped, bombs have been strapped to their bodies, and they have been ordered by their captors to collect large amounts of cash from designated banks. If the masterminds' instructions are not followed to the letter, the bombs are detonated. The FBI joins forces with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms to find the perpretrators and they hope that Corso can shed some light on who is behind these tragic events.

Frank Corso is a protagonist with guts, intelligence, and a no-nonsense way of communicating. He has compassion for others, but he doesn't let his feelings get in the way of his search for the truth. Another notable character is wheelchair-bound Paul Short, a explosives consultant for the Bureau of Alchohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Short is a decorated veteran who was horribly maimed when a bomb went off in his face during the Gulf War. For the most part, "Blown Away" is a taut and suspenseful thriller about a violent and widespread conspiracy to exact revenge. By the time Corso figures out what is really going on, a number of lives have been lost and he, too, has been targeted for death. Unfortunately, the author makes several missteps, including his failure to plug a number of obvious plot holes, and his insertion of a gimmicky ending that, I suspect, will prove to be a bit too harrowing for the average reader. Although Ford's book did not blow me away, it did hold my interest throughout.

G. M. Ford and his Frank Corso character have been entertaining in the past. Corso, a "disgraced" journalist and now a multi-millionaire crime author, is told to go some small town and investigate the story of a bank robber with a bomb around his neck. Many may remember this story that made national news several years ago. A man with no criminal past entered a bank, gave a teller a note saying he had a bomb around his neck, said he would be blown up if he didn't get money - and not very long afterward was indeed blown up in the parking lot of the bank.

Ford typically writes enjoyable potboilers. The characters are thin, but passable, and the plots have more holes in them than a moth-eaten sweater. But Ford has a good style, writing crisp dialog with more than a bit of noir.

Corso's face, unfortunately, happens to be on the cover of People magazine the day he rolls into town and no one wants to talk to him. You know, the town that has a secret routine. Corso is threatened by the local police chief; the victim of an attempted abduction; the target of a snowplow wielding assasin. His publisher sends him a tough, hard-bitten woman investigative reporter to help out. Her cynical character adds a bit of flavor until one of the clumsiest "sex" scenes I can recall. However, that's a minor distraction that really has nothing to do with the story.

Ford and Chris Andriatta are taken into the care of the FBI because a rash of similar bank robberies by unwilling actors with bombs around their necks has broken out in California.

At this point, the story becomes more and more unbelievable, but as I said, Ford writes well enough to keep it interesting. A rainy day kind of book.

The ATF has employed a bomb expert, Paul Short, who lost limbs to a bomb. His antics are heroic and laughable. The plot starts getting stretched thinner and thinner.

On top of what is increasingly a mess, Ford starts weaving in his political views on world events over the past 20 years. Uh huh. Things go downhill fast.

The big conspiracy is uncovered. Corso, of course, asks all the right questions that a battalion of FBI, ATF and other law enforcement officers don't appear to be bright enough to ask. Like I said, this is a rainy day kind of book, Ford writes well and you accept it.

The book should have ended at this point, but for some reason, Ford keeps it rolling - downhill.

I don't like spilling too much of the story in a review. If you want to read the book, go ahead. But the ending is entirely bogus. Ford has obviously been seduced into that camp of authors who think that if they leave you hanging at the end of one book, that you will automatically go and buy the next one.

Nope. The ending here is so rotten that it is much easier to simply say "never again". Ford betrays his readers with the ending here, robbing "Blown Away" of the little entertainment value it had in the first place.

Jerry

G.M. Ford has written some really fine Corso novels in the past (Fury and Red Tide) come to mind. This is the worst. I read suspense novels for a good read and a good ending. It's a typical writer's technique to end a chapter with suspense, begging the reader to keep going to find out what happens next and how the tension will be resolved. Ford and his publisher have apparently lost their collective minds by ending the book on such a note. As a reader he's lost me for good. There's too many good writers and good books out there to waste hours on a writer who's too gutless to deliver an ending.

Since this is now 2009 and there is no new Corso book out, does the ending now make sense? It's what I thought it was when I read the book in 2006.

If you enjoy reading a thriller that is 45% completed, then you might like this. To me it is shamefully BAD.

R-

I agree with TM Styles. A reader who has read the other Corso books might well read this for completeness' sake, but I DON'T recommend it for a new Corso reader. Iread it from the local library - glad I didn't buy it!

leaving an ending like this is disappointing.....a letdown. frank corso would never have left himself open like that.....done with that series......I want a book to end....good,bad,or indifferent......this was an unappetizing and unfulfilling meal

Well structured and good book that reads quickly and you want to get back to. I like the personality development and realitvely good avoidance of stereotypes. The events are fairly chilling and not for the faint of heart. However, the last 20 pages or so destroy this book, not only are there illogical inconsistencies, out of charachter actions and plot twists that push the extent by which i am willing to suspend realism; the ending has no closure and leaves me feeling hugely cheated. Until the last 20 pages I was happy because i felt i had found a new thriller writer and a new charachter I would enjoy reading, but now i would have trouble ever buyig another one of his books.