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FURY
by G. M. Ford
Pan, March 2004
352 pages
6.99GBP
ISBN: 0330492632


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

I thought I'd read every permutation possible of dysfunctional crime fiction characters. So the thought of a burned-out old hack and his tattooed sidekick didn't exactly fill me with joy unlimited. But boy, was I wrong!

G. M. Ford's FURY is a stunning book and reminds me of Dennis Lehane and George Pelecanos at their very best. It's very dark, very compelling and will be one of my books of the year come Christmas.

I worried that Ford had simply rehashed the old 'tenacious hack clears guilty man' plotline, and was a tad nervous coming to it so soon after I'd read Andrew Klavan's TRUE CRIME. Klavan's book is impressive, with its borderline unlikable hero and race against the clock, but Ford is in a different class.

Frank Corso is a journalist who has disgraced himself in style. He is now a recluse, sending columns to the struggling Seattle Sun newspaper, but determined never to return to mainstream journalism. He is forced to rethink, though, when Leanne Samples admits she lied at the trial of Walter Leroy Himes, a serial killer who's just about to go to the electric chair. Leanne will only talk to Frank.

Frank has his bluff called by his old mentor Natalie van der Hoven, editor of the Seattle Sun. He owes her a favour, and she's now calling that marker in. So Frank takes on the task of finding out whether there's still a serial killer stalking Seattle if the thoroughly repulsive Himes does turn out to be innocent. And he finds himself with a fairly unorthodox sidekick -- photographer Meg Dougherty. She's known as the tattoo girl after waking up to find she'd been tattooed from head to toe by a ex-boyfriend with a grudge and a half.

It's the mark of a confident writer that Ford gives a heck of a lot away in the prologue. But I guarantee you'll have forgotten what happened by the time you are 100 pages into the book. The tension and sheer pace of writing is electric, and Ford has created characters who will stay with you long after you've finished FURY.

Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, March 2004

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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