Rating: 
Summary: The Author's Worst Book
Review: Author Ford had me as a devoted fan and I read all of his other books with admiration and envy. But this book just had a lousey, contrived plot and way too much talk with too little action. The book had its amusing moments to be sure, but those are (or should be) sidelights in this genre. The plot and characters have to have some life and meaning; but not in this novel. No one is perfect every time out, though I was beginning to believe that this author was. He convinced me to the contrary. Read all his other books; skip this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Very funny and outrageous!
Review: Even though I figured out "who-dunnit" and why long before the ending of this book, it was still time well spent. I don't believe that I have ever read a book with a such a funny and vivid ending. I woke my husband up at 1:30am laughing while trying to finish this story (hubby, however, did not find it amusing to be woken up by a kackling wife armed with an itty-bitty-booklight :o).G.M. Ford has won over this reader with all of his Leo Waterman books. He paints Seattle's downtown life with humor, stinging wit and a big heart. Keep them coming!
Rating:
Summary: Very funny and outrageous!
Review: Even though I figured out "who-dunnit" and why long before the ending of this book, it was still time well spent. I don't believe that I have ever read a book with a such a funny and vivid ending. I woke my husband up at 1:30am laughing while trying to finish this story (hubby, however, did not find it amusing to be woken up by a kackling wife armed with an itty-bitty-booklight :o). G.M. Ford has won over this reader with all of his Leo Waterman books. He paints Seattle's downtown life with humor, stinging wit and a big heart. Keep them coming!
Rating:
Summary: Very funny and outrageous!
Review: Even though I figured out "who-dunnit" and why long before the ending of this book, it was still time well spent. I don't believe that I have ever read a book with a such a funny and vivid ending. I woke my husband up at 1:30am laughing while trying to finish this story (hubby, however, did not find it amusing to be woken up by a kackling wife armed with an itty-bitty-booklight :o). G.M. Ford has won over this reader with all of his Leo Waterman books. He paints Seattle's downtown life with humor, stinging wit and a big heart. Keep them coming!
Rating:
Summary: Too unbelievable for me
Review: I really enjoyed some of the other Waterman novels, but this one was just too unbelievable. The premise of the book of the rivalry between the two competing steak houses and what they had supposedly done in the past to each other was way beyond any willing suspension of disbelief on my part. This is more a comic novel than a mystery and that is not a genre I care for.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment!
Review: I started on this book with a great deal of anticipation. At the end, I was sorely disappointed. Ford seems to have lost the zest and zing that marked the 3 earlier Leo Waterman books - in "Slow Burn" I got the impression that he was just going through the motions. The highly improbable conclusion was hurriedly put through in the last few pages - it was though Ford was trying to wrap the book come what may. I hope the next instalment in the Leo Waterman saga will revert to Ford's previously high standards. A little more of the Seattle atmosphere wouldn't come amiss as too would a more detailed explanation of the Waterman-Duvall relationship - now that they have done the deed and moved in together.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but had such potential to be better
Review: I was told that this book was a disappointment. I have to agree and disagree. It is a good book - it really does approach the level of being a great farce of a detective novel. The client is outrageous and the people he investigates are larger than life throughout the story. At times, Waterman is the only sane man in the room. It makes it a fun ride - but I finished the book pleased but quite sure that it could have been even more if Ford had pushed a bit more. I would have liked for him to have met other bizarre personages that were attending the food show, but the climactic scene at the steakhouse with the helicopter and the barbecue was certainly odd and funny enough in its own right.
Like all of the Waterman novels, it may behoove the reader to jot down some notes as you go along because the author does little to remind the reader who the characters are as the story progresses. The murder victim is introduced and not mentioned again until he is killed about 100 pages later. I had to think hard about who this guy was and why it was important to the story that he was dead.
I would recommend reading the other Waterman books (Who In Hell is Wanda Fuca?, Cast in Stone, The Bum's Rush) before reading this one.
I give this book a "4 stars" - fun but I'm struck by the unrealized potential.
Rating:
Summary: laugh so hard I had tears running
Review: It isn't my usual fare. I like them dark and gritty. Leo does have moments like that. Harry Bosch, the "newer" Elvis Cole, Charlie Parker and their close relations in the book field are part of my usual fare along with a lot of even darker authors. Leo is a bit of that with a lot of Archie McNally and several other good 'laugh' series thrown in. Look close at the reality and it hurts. He comes across as someone who knows this and laugh is better than crying when faced with something that can hurt. Ford succeeds. The inherent gritty is what kept me reading along with the laughter. Other authors such Evanovich just doesn't take me there. Plum doesn't have that touch for me. Leo is having what I called one of those days [years or lifetimes] starting with the first line setting the stage for the entire book. Do good just doesn't get the reward but does in the end. "If I don't laugh, I'll cry and if I cry I am done for." was my mantra a lot of the time when I worked in law enforcement. The ending with good being rewarded seemed bittersweet because you get the feeling Leo knew it was the exception to the rule and indications of that is in the book. It isn't the usual funny detective fare, it isn't the usual gritty fare or bleakness but it all hangs in there. I bought it as a 'cheap when I get to it I'll read it for something to do' book and now I am looking for the rest of the series. If you want a serious hard reality book. Don't look here. If you want a once in a while it works and a laugh, it is worth the price. I woke the Other Half, the cats and my cockatiels at 2 am howling because I wanted to find out what happened next.
Rating:
Summary: laugh so hard I had tears running
Review: It isn't my usual fare. I like them dark and gritty. Leo does have moments like that. Harry Bosch, the "newer" Elvis Cole, Charlie Parker and their close relations in the book field are part of my usual fare along with a lot of even darker authors. Leo is a bit of that with a lot of Archie McNally and several other good 'laugh' series thrown in. Look close at the reality and it hurts. He comes across as someone who knows this and laugh is better than crying when faced with something that can hurt. Ford succeeds. The inherent gritty is what kept me reading along with the laughter. Other authors such Evanovich just doesn't take me there. Plum doesn't have that touch for me. Leo is having what I called one of those days [years or lifetimes] starting with the first line setting the stage for the entire book. Do good just doesn't get the reward but does in the end. "If I don't laugh, I'll cry and if I cry I am done for." was my mantra a lot of the time when I worked in law enforcement. The ending with good being rewarded seemed bittersweet because you get the feeling Leo knew it was the exception to the rule and indications of that is in the book. It isn't the usual funny detective fare, it isn't the usual gritty fare or bleakness but it all hangs in there. I bought it as a 'cheap when I get to it I'll read it for something to do' book and now I am looking for the rest of the series. If you want a serious hard reality book. Don't look here. If you want a once in a while it works and a laugh, it is worth the price. I woke the Other Half, the cats and my cockatiels at 2 am howling because I wanted to find out what happened next.
Rating:
Summary: Only in Seattle
Review: Leo Waterman is a P.I. with independent means who employs an odd assortment of associates. He discovered that the best people to use on a stakeout are the street people who are a normal part of the cityscape. He also gets help from his relatives scattered throughout the city's civil service thanks to the nepotism of his late father. Leo is hired to defuse a situation between two rival steakhouse chains whose actions might disrupt an international convention at one of Seattle's leading hotels. A side issue is saving Bunky (a prize bull) from being turned into pit roasted beef for the opening of a new steakhouse. Events start to explode when a food critic caught between the rivals gets a bullet in the head. The action is confined to about one week as events rapidly develop. Along the way, you will obtain some sidelights on Seattle and an overview of the homeless who live their own lifestyle. I won't reveal the ending, but it could only happen in Seattle. It would make a wild motion picture. The author is correct about the afternoon traffic jam developing at 2:30, as this reviewer discovered to his dismay during a recent visit. It extends from around Everett on the northside to Tacoma on the southern edge. Driving was easier before they built the freeways.
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