Customer Reviews

Red Tide (Frank Corso)

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

 

 

After roaming the Midwest in A Blind Eye, G.M. Ford brings his intrepid and nosy reporter, Frank Corso, back to the Pacific Northwest in Red Tide. In this one, Ford tackles international terrorism but in his own, unique way. Ford ignores the stereotypical "Let's make the Arabs the culprits." Instead, he does something much more interesting, all along commenting on the state of affairs in today's United States. He reminds us that horrible things have happened in other parts of the world, and maybe one of those will come back and bite us as just as Middle East policy has. The book is extremely tight and well-plotted, with twists and turns that will make your head spin. The ending, however, leaves a lot to be desired. I don't mean the ending of the story, but the ending of the book itself.

The book starts at the photo exhibition of Meg Dougherty, sometimes lover of Frank Corso. It's going extremely well, but it's interrupted by the police coming in and saying that everyone has to evacuate. They won't say why, which is Frank's signal to stick his nose into the situation. He discovers that somebody has released a deadly disease in a Seattle bus tunnel, killing over 100 people. Meanwhile, Meg heads home but stumbles upon a man from her past. She follows him, loses him, but then finds him again, dead on her kitchen floor. Are these two occurrences linked? Who would do something so horrible to the citizens of Seattle? And worse, will they strike again? Corso, Dougherty, and the Seattle police race to find out what happened, constantly interrupted by the Feds, who have their own agenda and thoughts on the situation, as they usually do.

Red Tide benefits from using the current political climate to add a lot of tension to an already interesting plot. At first, I thought Ford was making his political point much too blatantly, with the Feds coming in and trying to use the Patriot Act to intimidate everybody. The message is a bit strong, but I realized that this is what the Feds in these books always do, just more so. They always butt into the situation like they know everything and the hero has to avoid them and solve the crime despite them. Sometimes they help at the end, sometimes they don't. In this case, they just serve to get in the way. Corso makes some comments against the war in Iraq, especially referencing weapons of mass destruction, but much of that can be attributed to the fact that Corso is a pretty liberal guy anyway.

When you look at the situation like that, it becomes a lot more bearable. The rest of the book is extremely interesting. It's also very tight, taking place over two days, except the last few pages. It's nice to see that, for once, Corso isn't on the outs with everybody, and the cooperation between Corso and the cops was a great change of pace. The description of the victims of the disease is horrifying, even more so when you see the reactions of the experts to the situation. The plot is intricate and red herrings abound. This is actually tough considering, for the first time I can remember in a Corso novel, Ford actually presents us with the viewpoint of the villain(s). Anybody with a good memory of the last twenty to thirty years will be able to guess what's going on before Ford actually reveals it, but that's not a bad thing. Even better, when you do figure it out you still won't know exactly what's going to be done about it.

As always, the characterization is what really makes the book. Ford presents us with a lot of them, some more fleshed out then others. Usually, Dougherty and Corso are the only ones with a lot of meat to them, but Ford gives us three cops who are vividly drawn, as well as a few others (some of whom may be villains). He gives us a lot of information on the police chief, making him three-dimensional, as he does with the cops who go around with Corso and Dougherty. Corso is a winner too, and Dougherty has a lot done with her. My only disappointment was that Dougherty disappears about two-thirds of the way through the book.

Then, there's the ending. Once everything is settled, Ford does something with Dougherty that I really hate. I don't know what Ford plans for the next Corso novel (and the cover jacket says that he's writing it, so it looks like he's not abandoning Corso as he did Leo Waterman), but it better resolve this issue with Dougherty. Otherwise, it's exactly what happened with the last Waterman book, and it annoyed me then, too. The ending of the story drags a little too, but it's more understandable as we have to wait along with the characters to know exactly how things are going to settle and how many deaths there will be at the end. It's interesting, but it's slow.

Overall, Red Tide is another winning Frank Corso book from a wonderful Seattle author. It's neat to see all the familiar Seattle landmarks, and it adds to the tension when all of this is happening to a city that you love. It's still well worth a read. Just don't let the ending get you down.

David Roy

I really enjoy G.M. Ford's writing. I love his characters, I love his sense of humor, and I love the underlying darkness that flows through his Corso series. I gotta tell you, though, I'm about 3/4 way through this book and I'm struggeling to finish.

Is it the massive number of characters? I didn't know I'd need to keep notes on this one. Each time a new chapter or sub-chapter starts, I have to read a line or two, then try to remember who that person is, where they fit in the story. Is it the fact that this is more "espianage" (sorry, spelling is not my strong point) and less "mystery"? Is it that there is just something tedious about the writing? Is it the mysterious woman who keeps showing up and disappearing (really tiring plot device after the first 4 to 6 times)?

I knew in the beginning of the book, when two characters from his first Corso book came back......but shouldn't have. One had been shot in the head and killed in Fury, but in this book, he had been shanked in prison. The other had shot is own jaw off in Fury, but that wasn't even alluded to. So maybe I've just had an attitude about this since the first chapter. I hate it when something in a book takes me out of the "reality" of the story.

So, I'm back to trying to slog my way through the rest of it, because I hate to leave it unfinished, but frankly, after I finish, I plan on thinking of this book like the "it was all a dream" episode in Dallas. I'll pretend it never happened, and enjoy the rest of the Corso series in full.

It was nice to see Corso working with the police, for a change. And there were a couple other very good characters in the policeman Hart and reporter Sexton. The pace is tense and fast and keeps you turning the pages late into the night. Although I was disappointed with the very end of the book, I shall certainly be first in line for his next one.

GM Ford has NOTHING to do with cars - great book in great condition and the price is right - too bad we can't get Kindle on the same page

I am a big fan of this author's books. He's written two series, the first featuring Leo Waterman, an up and coming private eye in Seattle, Washington. The Waterman series is light, i.e. not a whole lot of violence, humorous and with a "unique" set of secondary characters. The second features Frank Corso, a discredited NY journalist now working as an investigative reporter for a third tier paper in Seattle. These mysteries and Corso are darker than their predecessors with Frank investigating - sometimes with the police and sometimes not - grisly crimes. And again even with this darker turn I've enjoyed the Corso series - up until now. Unfortunately Red Tide is a complete dud.

The book opens with a bang - a bio-terrorist attack on a major Seattle bus terminal. The next 200 pages consist of Frank, Seattle's finest and federal authorities getting ready to get ready to investigate. If this sounds like torturous reading - it is - and would even make for a bad TV disaster movie. The culprits and their motives, although an interesting plot twist, never have a chance to grab the reader's attention because they're lost in the repetition and "suspense building". And the "chase" and the supporting cast are both dull and routine.

Pass on this one.

The theme is hardly new but Ford can't decide if this is a one man crusade, a police procedural or a disaster story. The narrative and plot feel totally confused. As a result it's difficult to follow and really rather boring.

This is my first GM Ford book and I will read more. It is well written and as any mystery-adventure-thriller needs to be, it is exciting and well paced.

Frank Corso, the angry but brilliant center of other Ford endeavors, get's drawn into the horrific bio-terrorism scene when more than 100 of Seattle's commuters are killed in the Pioneer bus tunnel. The book travels quickly mixing sufficient portions of fear, outrage, police procedures and science to keep most readers interested. There are three areas that I found tedious.

I don't think that the fictional novel genre is the right place for personal political commentary. Whether you're Oliver North or GM Ford, I think (at least for me) that what you want to do by reading fiction is to spend a few hours in the theater of your mind, not being yelled at by the author's and his/her personal vendetta on given subjects. Corso's outrage maybe appropriate but if you want that you need to go over to the NON FICTION section of Borders. I'm not interested in it in a novel and I find it bordering on pandering.

Secondly, it is the anger. An outburst here, an outburst there is OK. Constant mecurial explosions remind me of a family member you are fearful of inviting to a child's birthday party because you just don't want to hear (again) how 'the cops are pigs and we're all being crushed under the thumb of George Bush.' Again, that's in a different section of Borders. It's right next to the Michael Moore insightful text on life in America.

Finally, too much of the book makes new readers dependant upon previous personal facts and history of the main characters.

I'll read Ford again but I had difficulty with some of these passages. 3 stars. Larry Scantlebury

Frank Corso isn't comfortable out in public attending social events but that is exactly what he is doing as this recent release opens. He is attending a showing and sale of his friend Meg Dougherty's photographic work at the Cecil Taylor Gallery in Seattle. Though surrounded by people, Frank Corso stands out and she knows he isn't happy.

"Dougherty heaved another sigh. `I shouldn't have badgered him into coming,' she said. "He hates this kind of thing." (Page 10)

The showing is going well and should be a success and vindication of a lifetime of work until it is interrupted by the Police who order a mandatory evacuation for unspecified reasons. They won't say why and as Frank and Meg walk the area towards a fleet of busses waiting to take evacuees away, it becomes clear that something very bad has happened. Frank, never known for being able to leave things alone, can't this time and sends an annoyed Meg on her way home in a cab, before going literally underground in downtown Seattle to find out what is going on. Before long, he finds himself undercover in a hazmat suit looking at a scene of carnage and death in the wake of the release of an airborne weapon of mass destruction. Terrorists have struck again, this time in Seattle, and this attack is the first of several planned on the city as a group of experts meet for an international symposium on chemical and biological weapons.

Meanwhile, across town, Meg goes to her home angry about the show, Frank and life in general, only to find the man who disfigured her years ago loitering by the door of her home/studio. He leaves and she urges the cabby to follow his car because with the police tied up with whatever the emergency is as well as how they treated her in the past, she knows she won't get any help. She has dreamed of this day for years and now with him in her sights, she isn't about to back down for a second.

G. M. Ford quickly weaves both compelling storylines together in this griping read. As Frank and Meg both pursue the terrorists across the city with the aid of local law enforcement, the rift that has been growing between them over the last couple of novels in this series begins to widen. Frank is as reclusive as ever, despite being thrust into the limelight and Meg is growing weary of her life and Frank's hard-nosed ways. But beyond all that, the author creates a gripping tale along with some very relevant social commentary about the specter of terrorism and our ability to defend the country and ourselves. Not only is this novel worth reading because it is a well written and suspenseful mystery, "Red Tide" is worth reading for his very astute political observations about freedom in America and the reality of our modern world.


Book Facts:

Red Tide
By G. M. Ford
www.authortracker.com
William Morrow
www.harpercollins.com
2004
ISBN # 0-06-055480-0
Hardback
313 Pages
$23.95 US
$36.95 Canada


This review previously appeared online at the Blue Iris Journal Blog.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2005

In Seattle, Frank Corso comes out of his reclusive writing lifestyle only for his former lover Meg Dougherty. She invited and he attended her photography exhibition that is so successful an Arts Commission member looking at the red dots symbolizing sold called it the measles. However, at the height of Meg's triumph, the police arrive to evacuate the building due to a toxic chemical spill.

Unable to ignore the journalistic tendencies that seem to make up much of his brain matter, Frank sneaks his way onto the investigation. He quickly learns of a terrorist strike using an Ebola strand that has killed several people inside a bus tunnel. The timing of these killers is impeccable as the city is about to host a symposium on chemical and biological weapons. However, the law uncovers Frank's hazmat suit masquerade making him the prime suspect and turning the case personal.

The fourth Corso tale is an exciting typically havoc that readers expect from the disgraced former reporter who can never resist the lure of an inquiry. The story line moves forward at an incredible pace as Corso, dodging the cops, believes that a greater statement is coming in which more than a busload of innocent passengers are killed. Fans of the series or anyone who appreciate a wild antiterrorist tale will want to ride alongside Corso, one of the better brooding champions.

Harriet Klausner

This book describes the non-stop surprises in the attempt of a team of terrorists to create bubonic mayhem, and the attempt of Frank Corso and 100 or so friends, police, secret agents, and Seattle workers to stop them.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Aside from Ford's inability to draw women as well as he does men, and the numerous holes in the plot, the story line was pure adrenaline, with a few severe plot twists left for the end that mostly seemed right.

Seattle is described with fidelity and affection as the backdrop, doubling the pleasure for us natives.

Not for the squeamish, but I highly recommend it for the rest of us.