Ford Reviews

Symone not only told her story. She allowed us to know her mother Dolores. Although Dolores did not provide Symone with a stable home-life, we were able to understand Dolores as a woman placed in chaos and desperation. We were able to travel with Symone through her present and past life with her adopted family the Hustons. We came to know each of them.

Darnella has told a story which is rarely heard, but oh so desperately needs to be read. With her poetic background and great storytelling style, she allows the character to take you through her present and past life. You feel Symone's heartache; you feel her pain, confusion, rage, self-battles and battles with others, as well as her desperation.

Darnella did an excellent job with her freshman novel. This was truly a very different read. The plot was very well put together. I think everything she placed into the story was needed, because in reality there are many women out here who has and is going through what all of these characters faced and dealt with. The characterization was great!!! It was very apparent Darnella did her research before penning this unbelievable novel filled with psychological and sociological scarring. If you have not purchased your copy, you need to do so today. A very sad story, but again it really needs to be read and heard. You will find yourself happy, sad, crying, angry, feeling everything each of these characters is going through. What I loved the most was she was able to show tremendous growth in the characters. But, in the end you will understand how one is able to survive the cards life has dealt him/her.

~Tonya Howard

I read a lot of books. I wish there were more writers like G. M. Ford, who take real people and put them into ambiguous situations and let them struggle with the consequences of their decisions and behavior.

Frank Corso is one of those flawed characters who finds himself in the middle of a huge jigsaw puzzle involving corrupt contractors, inspectors, jurors and more than enough bad guys to fill out the mix.

Corso's a Seattle-based writer with some mistakes in his past, a huge financial settlement in his bank account, and a reclusive lifestyle.

Corso is the only invited guest to the murder trial of Nicholas Balagula, a bad-to-the-bone mobster who is responsible for the deaths of 63 people when the hospital he built collapses. This is Balagula's third trial and the prosecution is looking pretty secure. Corso is taking notes and gathering material for his new book when his world is rocked by the savage attack on his former girlfriend, a photojournalist who believes there's a link between the seemingly insignificant death of a school district's maintenance man and the Balagula trial.

After the assault, Corso's thrown into a whirlwind of plot twists, bad guys, and paper trails. There's even some Cambodian culture thrown in for good measure (maybe the beginnings of a new book?).

I like Frank Corso and found myself drawn into the plot lines, even though the tidy Hollywood-like ending was a bit too predictable.

Enjoy!

In 'Black River' the government is trying for the third time to nail known criminal and pedophile Nicholas Belagula for bribery. Witnesses and inspectors keep turning up dead.

After Corso connects seemingly unrelated events (murders) including one that strikes close to home---everything circumstantially points to Belagula.

Corso unearths a paper trail that verifies the connection. Turning an insider is all that's needed to convict Belagula.

G.M. Ford, an excellent storyteller, gives you a nonstop, rapidly moving plot with well-developed characters. Once I got all the players clearly identified, it was impossible to put the book down.

A couple of the bad guys are Elmore Leonardish, and the primary villains are absolutely loathsome.

The appearance of the US Attorney General was a bit much and the ending too neat and tidy---but the ride to the conclusion was thrilling. Do not miss this one.

In this story, the sequel to Fury, we again meet up with Frank Corso, a journalist who lost his cachet when he wrote a story based on falsified evidence. Since that time he has moved to Seattle where his determination has found him a new job and let him reestablish himself as a newsman and a writer. He has been allowed to sit in on the trial of Nicholas Balagula, a ruthless crime boss who has never been brought to justice. But when photojournalist Meg Dougherty, Corso's closest friend is suddenly attacked and very nearly killed a different kind of trial emerges, with Corso sitting in the judge's seat.

A tangled web of loose connections sends Corso down the dark side of the city, tracking down hired killers, builders, and janitors to find what Meg saw that put her in a hospital. Corso isn't a genius, but a determined seeker who can eventually work his was through the toughest knot. Although this time what he doesn't know very nearly kills him.

As always, Ford's characters a gem-like. While the bad guys are 'bad,' the good guys aren't angels, and individual idiosyncrasies bring them all to life. The main characters do develop, but slowly. It has taken Corso two novels to move from his initial bitterness to a dark cynicism. For all that Meg is unconscious for most of the book, she has changed the most, which brings out the best and the worst of Corso's character.

Like a typical shallow fan, I wasn't all that comfortable when Ford switched from Leo Waterman. I had gotten used to the humorous antics of the alcoholic bums who made up Waterman's investigatory team. But Corso is a compelling character, and this new series may very well be closer to what Ford really wanted to accomplish. In any case, I think you will find Black River great entertainment.

If you'd appreciate the relief of taking yourself less seriously while learning an immense amount about how to navigate through life's twists and turns, THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU!

I would also like to note the author is very commanding, elegant speaker and if you have a chance to see her...do so!

The concept is intriguing, and through most of it just the enigma of Mrs. Charbuque kept me reading. I felt that the "subplot" (the mysterious disease that causes ppl to bleed from the eyes) was too sporadic and hamhandedly dealt with, and i felt the entire ending to be a bit of a tidied-up cop-out. I wish that the author had taken another 50-100 pages to flesh out the mystery-disease subplot and to wind up the story in a way that didn't feel so slam-bang. For something that purported to challenge gender and identity, it felt a bit rote.

She tells him unbelievable stories of her life from behind that screen as he sketches, spinning stories within stories as his work progresses. Then people start dying mysteriously in the city seemingly by illness, but he can't help thinking that Mrs. Charburque is somehow connected.

"The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque" is a novel that will keep your imagination working overtime and one you won't soon forget. I know, because it's been a couple months since I've read it and I'm still thinking about it. This book made me laugh and it scared me a little too, plus there was that little revenge bit. I do so love a story about revenge.

Reviewed by Stephanie Sane

The updated version of the book has a "section" from Squeaky herself. The majority of the book, though, was written without her cooperation. Some "members" of the family gave input into this book as well, including Sandra Good, and RuthAnn Morehouse.

A great book to read not only if you want to learn more about Lynette Fromme, but also to get a grasp on the turbulant times of the 60's and 70's.

Doc Ford is a marine biologist who formerly held a somewhat shadowy position in US Intelligence. This installment of the series finds Doc & his burn-out hippie friend Tomlinson investigating the death of explosion victim Jimmy Darroux. This leads them to Jimmy's delectable widow Hannah and a feud between sport fisherman and net fishermen over a pending netting ban. As the violence escalates, noone is safe & Doc's moral compunctions are challenged and then shattered.

If you haven't discovered this great writer & wonderful series yet, I urge you to give them a read. The cover blurbs comparing him to John D. MacDonald, Carl Hiassen & Elmore Leonard are well deserved.

GRADE: A