Customer Reviews

Fury

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sometimes my loyalties get in the way of good sense. When I think G. M. Ford, I think Leo Waterman, the slightly haphazard private investigator and the crew of alcoholics that act as his assistants. A little noir, often funny, these have been one of my secret delights for many years. All of a sudden, when I wasn't looking, Ford has started a new series with a totally different main character. My first reaction is 'who the heck is this Frank Corso, and what is he doing where Leo Waterman used to be?'

Corso, a newspaper writer nearly ruined by a reporting scandal, has made a new start in Seattle, writing columns and true crime books. Now a three-year-old story about a serial killer has come back to haunt him in the form of Leanne Samples, who was the main source of testimony against Walter Leroy Himes, and who now claims she lied. Himes is six days from execution and Corso wants nothing to do with the case, but fate has a way of playing tricks, and Corso finds himself digging through ancient history with the aid of Meg Dougherty, a tough lady photographer with a major tattoo problem.

Everyone wants Himes dead. He is an utterly irredeemable psychotic who, if he is innocent, is only so by accident. Corso finds himself at war with all of the Seattle police department and most of city hall. Everyone has something to hide. The only way to stop Himes execution is for Corso to find the killer himself. And that is likely to make Corso as dead as the eight victims.

Like a master, Ford picks you up on the first page, shakes you around until your brains rattle, slaps you into a rollercoaster seat and disconnects the brakes. Waterman fans will find that Ford has created a completely new character, fiercely private and attitude ridden. To make the break with the past complete, the pacing and style are different enough to make the reader feel that he has discovered an entirely new author. One who has no qualms about the occasional use of a two-by-four to get the reader's attention.

However, this isn't a simple tough guy noir story. There is as much solid detection as there is stomach churning. Plus some fine interior views of the dirty side of Seattle and the city's not so finest. Whether you are an old fan or someone considering making the first dip, you will find this a rewarding read.

Reclusive Frank Corso, disgraced ex N.Y. Times journalist, is working as a freelance syndicated columnist for the lowly Seattle Sun. He is the only person at the newspaper Leanne Samples, star witness for the prosecution in the Walter Himes 'Trashman' serial killer case, will talk to. Leanne is now saying she lied at the trial and the police won't listen to her. She thinks if Corso writes her story, it will stop Himes's execution, which is in 6 days. At the time of the trial, Corso was widely ostracized for voicing doubts about Himes guilt.

Leo Waterman makes a cameo appearance as the detective that locates Corso for Seattle Sun publisher, Natalie Van Der Horn; who pulls out her 'marker' and convinces him to write the story. He is paired with freelance photographer Meg Dougherty, who has a bizarre past of her own.

The subsequent investigaion by Corso and Daugherty make for a fast and furious storyline. In order for the governor to stop the execution, they have to find the real killer; and the clock is ticking...... The are twists and turns as the story moves at breakneck speed. I couldn't read fast enough.

Terrific plot, great characters. Buy it NOW!!

Theres lots of anger in this book, nicely diffused by the authors deft sense of humor. He gives us a brooding sense of place in a Seattle that has seemingly skipped summer this year in favor of rain, fog and more rainliving in Seattle is like being married to a beautiful woman who is sick all the time.

Frank Corso, failed journalist and best selling true-crime writer, is obsessively private with an implacable sense of justice. (When did God die, and leave HIM in charge?) He is coerced into investigative reporting when a witness recants her charge of rape against a convicted serial killer facing execution in seven days. As her testimony was key to the prosecution, it is more than likely he is not The Trashman, a particularly hideous killer.

Sounds like a slam-dunk for a white knight to ride to the rescue, doesnt it? Well, not quite. Walter Lee Himes, the man on death row, is about the sorriest, despicable rag of humanity the author could conjure. Hes ugly, slovenly, a child molester, has a petty crime record as long as your arm with a trash mouth that would even dismay the ACLU. The City of Seattle comprising the Mayor, politicians, police and general public; plus the victims families are overjoyed that Walter Lee will breathe his last in six days. It isnt enough that Frank prove Walter Lee innocent; he must find the real serial killer. We are off on a breakneck, twist & turn yarn.

Mr. Ford draws some interesting characters, first and foremost sidekick Meg, a photojournalist, Goth lady, and victim of a terrible crime. Megs sadistic ex-boyfriend turned stalker captured her and tattooed her entire body including her face. For some reason, this chilled and horrified me more than any mayhem ever could. It says much for the authors skill that you become far more interested in Meg than her tattoos. Robert Boyd aka Fury, the tagger (graffiti artist) who saw something he shouldnt, is perfectly rendered as a kid in the hood who is the despair of his hard-working mother. The cops and politicians are a little over the top, sometimes their motives and truculence hard to understand.

This is a twist and turn brilliantly plotted book, guaranteed to rivet you to your chair. I thought the last twist was one too many, and a few characters that were uncomfortably close to their real-life counterparts (the newspaper owner a la Katherine Graham), but overall a fine read. Ill look for more of Mr. Fords stories.

I love the Leo Waterman series. That said, it's often very difficult for a writer to break away to begin a new series. Difficult but in many cases a wise decision. Series writing is exceedingly difficult, in no small part because it's hard to maintain authorial interest in characters you've come to know--sometimes too well.

So this first of the new Frank Corso series is not only a good move on Ford's part, it's a particularly fine move. Corso is a fine creation, principled, funny, reticent, intelligent and dogged. When paired up with Meg Doughery, one of the most refreshingly engaging women to appear in print in recent times, these two make for splendid entertainment.

There is a good, solid story here, with multiple viewpoints all offered in a fashion that never detracts from the plot; the characters-both primary and secondary-are all fully developed and completely believable; there is much humor and a satisfying conclusion. This is a fine effort and I'll be waiting eagerly for the next Frank Corso book. Top marks and highly recommended.

This is an excellent example of the great stuff that awaits readers of any genre by non-mainstream authors. Mr. Ford, author of the Leo Waterman series, branches out to new and uncharted territory.

Ironically, a book by the same title, 'Fury,' was just released by Robert Tannenbaum (Ford's is a 2002 release) and it must be the 244th Butch Karp novel. OK, I'm joking but I swear I was reading Butch Karp stuff in High School. Hey, they didn't have seat belts in high school so that was quite awhile ago.

Anyhow, Ford breaks away in the tradition of Lehane and Parker and Crais, and kudos to him for not staying with a sure thing.

I think Frank Corso is a great character. Ford is extremely descriptive to the point that you feel the fog and hear the crunching of Corso's shoes as he walks down an alley littered with human detritus.

He gets involved with Meg Dougherty, more on that later, when a favor owed to his employer is called in after a star witness to the trial and eventual sentencing of the despicable Walter Leroy Himes . . . recants.

Himes purportedly murdered a number of Seattle's young women and is sentenced to die in 6 days. So, old plot with some interesting twists.

Dougherty was drugged by a jilted lover and has been tatooed over most of her body. So the two, the Stephen Segal-like Corso and the attractive "Illustrated-man"-like Dougherty plunge into a chasm where they are ridiculed by the police and the public for 'not letting Himes take the Kervorkian Cocktail whether he's guilty or not.'

Good magnetic read. Lot's of twists. Good series.5 stars. Larry Scantlebury

G.M. Ford's "Fury" is an attention getting noirish ticking clock mystery---from page one I was hooked.

Newspaperman/true crime author Frank Corso is the protagonist in Mr. Ford's second series. He's a hard boiled, cynical anti-hero who prefers his solitude.

He is a clever, resourceful and relentless archangel type---undaunted in his quest for justice as defined by his sense of right and wrong. Fiercely loyal to his friends, he is a commanding presence.

Mr. Ford's atmospheric writing places the reader right in Seattle as Corso and his allies have six days to clear a venal death row inmate.

It is a riveting plot that moves at a breakneck pace, told from multiple points of view.

Mr. Ford has created another series peopled with characters you care about. "Fury" is the initial entry---highly recommended.

FURY
by
G. M. Ford

For six books I have read and enjoyed G. M. Ford's exploits of Seattle private investigator, Leo Waterman. Leo wasn't your ordinary breed of PI; he was unique and totally original. And so were his adventures. When FURY was released, I probably put off reading it because I felt Ford had abandoned one of my fictional heroes by creating a new character. Boy, was I wrong! This first book of a new series is even better than Ford's first six books.

Actually, Leo Waterman hasn't been abandoned totally; he makes a cameo appearance at the beginning of this book. He's been hired by the publisher of the Seattle Sun to locate the recluse best selling author, "defrocked" journalist and occasional syndicated columnist for the tabloid, Frank Corso. Something has come up and the paper needs him now.

That "something" just happens to the pending execution of Walter Leroy Himes, the convicted "trashman" serial killer. Six days before he's scheduled to get the needle, the prosecution's key witness it trying to tell everyone that she lied at the trial. Unfortunately, no one wants to listen to her; it seems as if everyone from the victims' families to most of the citizens of Seattle, the police and even the mayor would rather have Himes dead. Corso is the only person who thinks Himes is innocent, but he has less than six days to prove it and find the real "trashman" killer.

With the help of his highly "illustrated" assistant and photographer Meg Dougherty, Corso begins racing against the clock only to discover more lies, cover-ups, corruption and even murder. FURY is a virtual race to the deadline that will leave you breathless, because in this case deadline really does mean DEAD!

Ford has created a great new pair of crime solvers, as well as an outstanding new series. I can't wait for the next book in the series that is now in the works. I'll bet you won't be able to wait either.

Was this just the right book at the right time? I don't think so, but it was an enjoyable page-turner for me. The intriguing Frank Corso has enough mystery, cynicism, and dry wit to make him a delight for several books to come. The plot, dialogue, and especially the interesting cast of supporting characters are all top notch. A disaffected "tagger," a truly despicable red-neck vagrant with a nasty mouth (pun intended), and a sidekick who is tattooed from head to toe (and some very interesting places in between) make a wonderfully entertaining and compelling read. (There's a particularly memorable scene involving Frank's former fiancé and a ship's anchor that made me laugh-out-loud.)
I tried Ford's Leo Waterman series and quit after the first. Why I bought "Fury" is beyond me, but I'm very glad I did. Now that I know what Leo looks like, I may go back and give that series another try. Elvis Cole he ain't, but Leo shows more promise now.

I have been a fan of Ford's Leo Waterman books since way back. They captured some essential nuances of Seattle and went below the synthetic chic of Nordstroms and Starbucks. In this latest book, Ford introduces a new protagonist, Frank Corso.

Corso shows much promise, but I am left with the feeling that Ford could have done more with the story. The female interest in the shape of Meg Dougherty, a free-lance photographer and a former paralegal, is portrayed well. The cameo appearance by Leo Waterman was a bit contrived - now we learn what Leo looks like physically and we find out that he has broken up with Rebecca, his main squeeze for the past 20 years or so. I look forward to seeing how this plays out in the next Leo Waterman book.

The story itself is well written and the premises are pretty apt given the fascination America has for serial murderers and the death penalty. Corso is a flawed hero with a lot of angst in his background, but the first book in what promises to be a fascinating series leads me to anticipate the second book which is said to be in the works, according to the cover blurb.

Now, if only someone would put J.P. Beaumont, Leo Waterman and Frank Corso into the same book - that would be really something!

Things I like about G.M. Ford:

Like the best mystery writers, the sense of place he creates is fine. People who live in Seattle and the Puget Sound will actually recognize the place he sets his stories in. He also paints a view of the Puget Sound area that comes off as grotesque. I believe this is more accurate than the cool, vibrant, hip place that we often see in the media.

His sense of humor is great. I laugh a lot reading his stuff. Although the situations he writes about are gruesome he softens it with a few laughs.

Things that put me off:

The Leo Waterman character in the books before this one spoke with Ford's voice - an east coast voice. For someone who is supposed to be a son of the Northwest - he doesn't resemble anyone I know here. However many supporting characters in the books I do recognize. This is a small nit - once I get going into one of his stories I usually forget it and it actually supports the grotesque view of the region.

In Fury, Ford gives us a new character, Tom Corso, a journalist who is actually a New York refugee and Steven Seagal look-alike. The story starts in a September following a spring and summer that produced no sunshine. Any Puget Sounder will remember years like this. Leo Waterman makes a brief but intriguing appearance in a small scene.

Again the situations are gruesome, punctuated with laughs. It starts off moving pretty good and it's very funny. It loses some steam towards the end but a twist keeps it going. Some of the gruesome depictions and metaphors are a little over the top. Seattle is sent up in a way that is subtle enough for deniability and un-subtle enough to be annoying to the powers that be. All in all, I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next Tom Corso story.

For the movie, I see the Coen Brothers casting Steven Seagal. If only they could get the guy to act.