Last Ditch: A Leo Waterman Mystery

I've been looking for new authors recently, and decided to give Ford a try. I am happy that I did. His main character Leo Waterman is in the same vein as Robert Crais' Elvis Cole, only perhaps not quite as funny. In Last Ditch, Leo, in the course of doing some renovations to his property, comes across a buried body. The body turns out to be that of his late politician fathers biggest enemy, and has been missing for some 30 years. Obviously Leo's father is the number one suspect, so Leo sets out to find the truth. Leo is a great character in the genre, tough, but not unbelievably so, very human, and of course wisecracking. There are lots of twists and turns and misdirections in this well plotted novel. The writing is also above the quality often found in the genre, Ford really puts the reader into the scene. If you like a good mystery, Last Ditch is a good place to look.

Leo Waterman is a very likeable wisecracking P.I. much like the one created by Robert Crais. If you like Crais, you will like this series. Ford writes hardboiled action scenes without them becoming to "dark". The book had an interesting plot and the characters were believable. After reading this book I immediately went out and got three more Ford books. Ford's humor is not politically correct. When he is illustrating the unlikeliness of something happening he muses, "Sure and if Mama Cass had given Karen Carpenter her ham sandwich, they'd both be alive today." When describing an elderly matron who was no stranger to the plastic surgeon's knife, he writes " if they stretched her skin any tighter, her eyes would be looking to the sides." It is difficult to write humorous mysteries with a good plot, but Ford does it.

I discovered this author at the new listings section at the library and found this book so amusing I raced through it and went right back for a second. His characters are richly developed, comical and earthy. Leo and his crew are real people with real life problems (OK, a dead body in the old greenhouse is more literary than real life but it's still good stuff). I always appreciate a sense of humor and Leo and G.M. certainly get theirs across. I believe an author has done his job well when I wish I could meet the principals. Rather reminds me of Richard Russo in that respect--also very funny although not a mystery writer. I would recommend this book to others and am in fact here purchasing it for a friend. I would read it again--and THAT's saying something!

This may be the best in the series, though I'm still partial to Cast in Stone, and I missed Jed James. Ford is in a class with James Lee Burke, Robert Crais, Dennis Lehane, etc - a cut above the rest. This one has social commentary a la Travis McGee, too. As a former resident of Seattle, Ford makes me feel like I'm back there everytime. Can't wait for the next one.

It's dark, it's twisted, it's sharp- and like everything Ford writes, it's funny. Rumpled Seattle PI, Leo Waterman and his Boys are back in fine form. Last Ditch is another great addition to a top-notch series.