I have read every speck of fiction written by the man who calls himself GM Ford. Part of it is that he sets a good deal of his work in Seattle, and I was stunned to find him (in one or another of the Leo Waterman books) chasing a villain into my neighborhood, down my street, and when he turned and I read the description of the house in which the body was found, I thought...MY STARS! I KNOW WHICH HOUSE HE MEANS!Okay. That won't happen for most of you. But if you can track down the old Leo Waterman books (Ford's earliest series), they are both riveting in their own right, and absolutely hysterical in places. I have always liked books that feature working class heroes. Some of Waterman's friends are homeless men, and when he gets money, he takes them things. It's sort of sweet, at the same time that the mystery is compelling, at the same time that it is, in a wry, clever way, very VERY funny!I was heartbroken when he ended this series. Consider this a generic endorsement of all of the Waterman books. His next series, with Frank Corso as protagonist, is well written, but not meant to be funny. It was good too, but now it's over. Imagine my joy in seeing Leo return this very year. If you love this series the way I do, get a copy of Chump Change. It's better than ever!
THE BUM'S RUSH - VGFord, G.M. - 3rd in Leo Waterman seriesThis time out, Leo has plenty on his plate: one of the "boys," the homeless cronies he often uses for legwork, has gone missing; he's hired to find a librarian who has scammed the city's automated acquisitions system out of 200 grand; and he's on the trail of a record producer who may have arranged the overdose of a grunge rock star.what makes these books unique and special is Leo's pals. There are layers to Ford's writing that make him wonderful to read. He has an ear from dialogue I really appreciate. He's on my 'auto buy' list.
Do You like book The Bum's Rush (1998)?
The Bum's Rush, a Leo Waterman mystery, did not disappoint. Very satisfactory. Leo is asked by a lawyer friend to find a missing librarian who appears to have embezzled two hundred grand from the Seattle public library system. However, Leo isn't very good at letting sleeping dogs lie, and soon he is also trying to figure out if the overdose death of an upcoming music star was really murder. Somehow during these investigations, he's made someone very unhappy as a grey van keeps trying to run him down. Author Ford keeps the story moving right along, and the secondary characters are a treat. His style leans toward the hard-boiled but without the world-weary cynicism of noir, instead employing smart dialog and humor to get Leo through his day. Highly recommended.
—Brenda Mengeling
