Red Tide. G.M. Ford

When you start buying books in hard cover rather than waiting for the paperback, you know you're hooked. GM Ford has grown from his comic-mysteries, featuring the lovable bums, to more noirish and grimmer productions, featuring Corso and his tattooed lady. Well written, hold your attention, scare the bejeezus out of you sometimes. I wait with anticipation for each new model.

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 © 20

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.

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