Fury (Frank Corso, #1) by G.M. Ford

Fury (Frank Corso, #1) Reviews

• 
  Rob Kitchin

  Fury is a perfectly competent crime thriller, well written and structured, and it passes a pleasant few hours. The plot is tight, the characters well drawn, and the dialogue and relationships realistic. But there is little to make it stand out from the pack. The story did carry a certain amount of tension, but is fairly predictable and the characters familiar. And, for the most part, the investigative and police procedures seem credible, though there were a few points at which I had to suspend belief. In a crowded market I guess it’s difficult to find a niche and produce something truly original. That said, Corso is a fairly interesting lead character, as the tired, jaded, cynical former journalist who lives a loner life on a boat. Overall, an enjoyable read that runs with the pack.
• 
  Leather

  This first installment of Frank Corso's adventures almost delighted me:
  - It's very pleasant to read.
  - The main characters who lead the investigation have a beautiful depth and are rather original.
  - The pace of the book is very nice, especially at the beginning.
  - The plot is very well worked, and solid.
  - It's rather intelligent, and there are hints of humor well done.
  - The conclusion is rather well found.
  However, some aspects of the book did not please me:
  - The suspense is relatively low for a book of this type, especially in its last third.
  - Some minor points of view do not have much interest, especially that of Fury.
  - The dialogues in slang or in spoken language are too present and sometimes become painful.
  - The book is centered on a serial killer story that is not very original.
  - The construction of the book is based on the countdown of a capital execution, but the process is a little wobbly, and already seen.
  
  In the end: it is an atypical thriller that suffers from unusual defects for the genre (lack of suspense) but which also has rare qualities (solid and credible plot, interesting characters).
  I will read the following one.
• 
  Alan

  I don’t know about this guy being the Raymond Chandler of Seattle, as he is billed in a review from the San Antonio Express-News (from the hard cover edition) but he is a very capable writer. And this is a pretty entertaining read compared to many books receiving good reviews in Goodreads these days (alas). Although I enjoyed Mr. Ford’s “Leo Waterman, #6” offering more, mainly because it was funnier, I think I’ll read another in the Frank Corso series, and that is the best endorsement an unbiased, not a “having received an advance copy for an honest review” (bah) reader can give, lol.
• 
  Deb Mj

  I really enjoyed this, and will look for the next in the Corso series. I already have the Waterman series on my "to read" list. Like the Corso character a great deal, but loved the Dougherty character. I usually don't share info about the books I'm reading with my husband, but when I read what makes Dougherty so unique, I had to tell my husband about it. So imaginative!
• 
  Jim Thomsen

  I'm not a fan of "one man stands alone as a force of moral and physical righteousness" stories, but I know I'm in a minority there. But Frank Corso, the maverick superstar reporter who's the voice of this debut in a new Seattle-set series by private-eye writer G.M. Ford, is so frontloaded with bristling perfection as to fail any possible test of suspended disbelief. He's not only a man's man, he's a woman's man, a man of the people, a victim, a force of moral fury, and he somehow has the stones and the support behind his lone-wolf crusade to reduce every authority figure — police captains, FBI agents, newspaper executives, et cetera — to quivering heaps of surrender. in his ticking-clock quest to stop a wrongly convicted murderer's execution.
  
  It's fun if your goal as a reader is to put yourself in Frank's shoes as a way to mainline-channeling your own impotence with authority or gravitas. And it's less fun if, like me, you look for a semi-realistic reflection of the ills of the world, and semi-realistic people to carry that weight, in your crime fiction as a way of making sense of the world.
  
  Either way, G.M. Ford writes with brisk skill and brusque outrage in the best tough-guy, knight-errant tradition, and the pages fly with ... well, fury. And, to be fair, more than a little hardboiled heart: "The way Corso saw it, if you had the nerve to insert yourself into such moments of personal tragedy, the least you could do was not watch from the bleachers."
• 
  Jon

  I read the second Frank Corso novel a few weeks ago, and it was good enough to make me want to start at the beginning. This one is similarly a near-perfect thriller, with a six-day race against time to find the real serial killer before the wrongly convicted man is executed. Sounds like the standard ginned-up suspense, but in this case it doesn't quite work out that way. Vivid characters, convincing dialogue, and a Seattle that is even darker and wetter than I remember.
• 
  Gregoire

  Quel autre commentaire que 'j'ai lu d'une traite " pour qualifier ce 1er opus des enquêtes de Corso ?
  à déguster comme un menu de Grand Chef avec des caractères bien trempés, un style riche et efficace, et une intrigue complexe qui vous tient en haleine jusqu'au bout
  
  
• 
  ReneE

  I thought this was an outstanding, well-written start to a new series. I have read all of the Leo Waterman books, which put Mr. Ford on my must-read list. I was very happy to see this book and will certainly read the rest in the series. While some people might think the title (Fury) was strange because it was such a minor character (although it was, of course, not the boy's name, just his "tag"), I think they missed the point that it also epitomizes the rage that drives some people, especially serial killers, to do what they do.
  
  The author has a real knack for turning a phrase and great insight into the human condition. The characters, to me, are not cliches at all. I found them very life-like and believable. For me, this was one of those 'unputdownable' books, and kept me up late reading. Great story, great characters and great writing. What more can you ask for in a book?
• 
  LJ

  FURY - Ex
  Ford, G.M.- 1st in new series
  
  Frank Corso was a rising New York Times journalist until a libel suit ended his career. These days he's covering stories for the third-rate Seattle Sun. He owes the owner, Natalie Van Der Hove, and now she's calling in her marker.
  
  A killer on death row might be innocent. If that's the truth, Natalie wants the story-before the guy fries in six days. Corso won't stop until he's got all the facts. And when he goes to press, Seattle's going to rumble with fury.
  
  2001 TOP 10 - 6 days from execution, primary witness says she lied. This was an exciting, race-again-time read. Corso is an interesting protagonist but Meg, the photographer who helps him, is the character about whom I really found myself wanting to know more.
• 
  Larry

  Good mystery with many twists. I will have to get used to a Hero that is not the police, in fact Fords police characters are probably closer to truth than fiction.
  I will be looking for #2 in the series.
• 
  Faouzia

  this is the first book by G.M Ford that i read and i liked it. The plot is interesting and i liked the final twist which is the best thing in the book.
  
• 
  Maura Heaphy Dutton

  Readable enough, but neither as funny nor as clever as the author seems to think it is.
  
  This passed the time, but I think the head-scratcher choices -- stylistic, narrative, character -- left me cold. Not sure why the author thought that humor was an appropriate tone for such a grim subject (the murder of 10+ young woman. Hilarious ...) And, trust me, it wasn't that funny. And I was put off at an early stage by the author's shameless pitch for Steven Seagal to get the part of Frank Corso in the made-for-TV movie. But that's just the tip of the iceberg of Ford's "central casting" approach to characterization.
  
  More seriously disappointing is Ford's narrative which, on reflection, is spinning out a small, over-heated plot as long as possible with implausibilities and melodrama. Just two examples (and here be Spoilers): First, I don't think a Death Row prisoner whose conviction had been cast under doubt would be released instantly -- I mean, straight from the execution chamber gurney to a news conference as a free man. Ford needs this to happen, so he can spin out some fake drama, but ... no. At the very least, I think, there would be appeals and retrials, however obviously innocent the condemned appeared to be -- and quite right too.
  
  Second: for some reason, it's important that the real murderer has had the clothing of his victims drycleaned before inclusion in his gallery of souvenirs. He has every single stitch of the young women's clothing, including underwear, drycleaned at a place around the corner from where he lives. In the first instance, eight very high-profile murders, in less than three months, where it's been widely publicized that the girls' clothing is missing -- and the drycleaner says nothing. That ... makes ... no ... sense ...
  
  There is, perhaps another clue to the tone that Ford was hoping to achieve here (besides Steven Seagal ... ), when he mentions Corso putting on "...his best Jim Rockford smile ..." Now I knew Jim Rockford, I loved Jim Rockford, and Corso, you're no Jim Rockford. The Rockford Files, of blessed memory, always managed to hit a sweet spot of droll humor and charm, combined with a reasonable if formulaic thriller/mystery. But The Rockford Files also knew when to adjust its tone, and dial down the goofy humor when its subject matter called for something more serious. And it had great characters. (And James Garner would have killed as Corso. Steven Seagal ... pfft ... )
• 
  Jay

  On the one hand, this book sucked. Seriously. It was awful. And it may be the first book in the series but it’s like the author’s FIFTH book or something like that. There is no excuse. Did anyone even read this book before publishing it? Has anyone but my mother and I read it since?
  
  On the other hand, I READ THIS BOOK. I have not read a book since I got out of inpatient last September. And believe me, I’ve tried. I just can’t focus, can’t let myself let go of my own thoughts and listen to somebody else’s long enough to finish a book. I’ve tried everything from kids’ books to Shakespeare. Then I checked this one out andI just started reading and I didn’t stop. And I had a good time! I barely noticed time passing, or how many pages I had read. That’s what reading is supposed to be like! So what if I had to stop every few minutes to send my wife updates on “look what awful writing the author has done this time!” So what? SOMETHING must have worked because I READ it and I ENJOYED reading it and I am so thankful that this book has broken my dry spell. As soon as I finished it I launched into another’s book and I’m enjoying this one too. Like magic.
• 
  Heather C.

  I've read all G.M. Ford's Leo Waterman books and, wanting more G.M. Ford, decided to give this series a try. Like the Leo Waterman series, Ford's Frank Corso series are set in Seattle, my home town. Fury was a great introduction to Corso, a reclusive journalist with more enemies than friends. Ford's writing style makes it easy to get sucked in; while Fury was written in a more serious style than the often sarcastic style of the wisecracking Waterman, it was nonetheless just as well-written. Speaking of Waterman, he does have a cameo in Fury, which made me happy.
  
  I have very little time to read between full-time graduate school, work, volunteer commitments, and family, but I zipped through this book because it was so easy to get sucked in. A very enjoyable read, and I am now making my way through the second in the series, Black River.
• 
  DG

  Another great book by GM Ford, author of the Leo Waterman PI series. This new main character is friends with Leo who makes a brief cameo appearance at the beginning of the book.
  
  The (anti) hero of this series is Frank Corso, a newspaper reporter unfairly disgraced by a powerful man he was investigating while at the heighth of his career in NY. Now rejected by all, moved to Seattle and working part time for a low level rag, he's called in on a bizarre case where the key witness to a serial murder recants her testimony days before the man is to be put to death.
  
  Many twists unfold while Frank pushes for the truth against a tight deadline. The book moves at a good clip, it's easy to like the protagonists and easy to feel disgust for the bumbling cops and other power brokers standing in the way of the truth.
  
  Liked it!
• 
  Effy Weasley

  how a book that misspells lynyrd skynyrd as 'lynnard skynnard' gets to print is beyond me. (i'm hoping that it's just in the german translation but chances for that are pretty much non-existent.)
  
  frank corso is funny, i liked him. the story was kinda good, a bit too many characters to keep track of.
  the romance was forced and weird and predictable as fuck - also very unnecessary.
  
  also, why the fuck 'fury'? he wasn't vital to the plot (his minor contribution could've been written differently) and i didn't really get why the book ended with him? am i missing something important?
• 
  Plum-crazy

  Great...yet another series for me to follow- as if there aren't already enough! - but at least for once I've come in at book one!
  Frank Corso is the sort of maverick character I love, only this time he's an ex-reporter rather than police & I also loved Meg Dougherty (the Picture Lady...ouch!!!) Will be adding this series to my TBR & look forward to meeting Frank & Meg again ;o)
  
• 
  Lee

  I really enjoyed his Leo Waterman series, with Leo's wisecracks and zany crew he used for stakeouts.
  In his next series, reporter Frank Corso is one cool kick-ass hero. With some great hilarious dialogue, and a great sense of place of taking the reader into the darker side of Seattle. Mr. Ford is a fav of mine.
• 
  Randy Dary

  I enjoyed the Frank Corso character and didn't even miss Leo Waterman. Have enjoyed all the G M Ford books I've read.
• 
  Russ Leavitt

  Good story line but the ending was too abrupt. And kinda left everything open.
• 
  Mays

  Pretty standard detective novel. Protagonist Frank Corso however fixates weirdly on the breasts of dead women.
• 
  Jennifer Gillis

  Good Daugherty and Corso crossover
• 
  Jackie Thurston

  A crime thriller that is about a miscarriage of justice really liked the character Frank Corso
• 
  Tracey

  Review to come