Red Tide

Following is what happens when a writer uses a book of fiction to try to get his political views heard by a large audience:

1. The book is usually crap - this one is no exception.

2. Your audience shrinks.

Now that we all know how you will be voting in November Mr. Ford, how about getting back to writing good books again. Thanks!

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 did finish the book. I then put it carefully in the recycle bin. I hope it does some good someday. This was just awful. The tone was angry (well, let's face it, the topic lends itself to righteous anger), but it felt like a personal axe was being ground with the edgy relationships, the nauseating violence and descriptions of the results of terrorism, the cliched terrorists - although not from the expected anguished corner of the world. I hope, if Mr. Ford is experiencing some life difficulties, he got his ya yas out with this one and can go on to writing in his usual thoughtful, thought-provoking, and humorous style once more.

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

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.

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.

I love Ford's Leo Waterman series and the first 2 Frank Corso's, but he starting losing me on the 3rd book and I had to start skipping through Red Tide. It isn't that I don't believe bio-terrorism is possible and maybe that really isn't why I didn't like the book, but that topic is just not what I thought I would be reading about picking up a G. M. Ford. Isn't it enough we have to hear/read about this every day, I wish the mystery writers would leave it alone. I had a hard time keeping all of the officials straight until almost the end of the book and Frank Corso seemed like just another character. The whole book just felt like an author's break from writing a series and attempting a stand alone.

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

[...]

William Morrow

[...]

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

I really like G. M. Ford, and I liked this book like I have liked his other books. This book scared me, though, as the situation presented is all too real in today's world.

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.