Rating: 
Summary: laugh so hard I had tears running
Review: Mr. Ford's excellent "Fury" led me to purchase this book, my introduction to Leo Waterman. It was a disappointment. Leo seems like a pale imitation of James Crumley's Milo Milodragovitch with a little of Robert Parker's Spencer thrown in for good measure.The plot is confusing and depends too much on visuals; nice in a movie but a strain in a book. Leo is hired to protect the good name of the La Cuisine International who are holding their first non-European convention in a five-star Seattle hotel. Employer Sir Geoffrey Miles feels some of the member/participants are in "mortal danger." Two competing magnates of chain steak houses are briskly skirmishing in the courts, a food critic of enormous influence is playing a ruthless game of "who gets the five-stars." Except for the fact that all the characters in "danger" seem uniformly disagreeable, it is difficult to see a compelling reason to kill them. Leo employs his Army of the Homeless for surveillance purposes, much chasing around ensues, great efforts are made to keep one of the steak house owners from having a giant barbeque in downtown Seattle and the food critic is knocked off. The reader solves the mystery about 100 pages ahead of Leo leaving not much but a series of anti-climaxes. There are some bright spots: Sir Geoffrey Miles is deftly characterized as a Nero Wolfe par excellence and is amusing and entertaining. Mr. Ford does Seattle very well, as I noted in "Fury." He makes it sound so attractive I have to keep repeating to myself "Remember the Rain, remember the rain!" The homeless characters and their lifestyles are interesting and handled with sensitivity. Perhaps Mr. Ford just had a bad outing. I will try another book, probably without Leo, and hope it rekindles my enthusiasm for Mr. Ford's books. Give "Slow Burn" a pass.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow Burn Never Catches
Review: Mr. Ford's excellent "Fury" led me to purchase this book, my introduction to Leo Waterman. It was a disappointment. Leo seems like a pale imitation of James Crumley's Milo Milodragovitch with a little of Robert Parker's Spencer thrown in for good measure. The plot is confusing and depends too much on visuals; nice in a movie but a strain in a book. Leo is hired to protect the good name of the La Cuisine International who are holding their first non-European convention in a five-star Seattle hotel. Employer Sir Geoffrey Miles feels some of the member/participants are in "mortal danger." Two competing magnates of chain steak houses are briskly skirmishing in the courts, a food critic of enormous influence is playing a ruthless game of "who gets the five-stars." Except for the fact that all the characters in "danger" seem uniformly disagreeable, it is difficult to see a compelling reason to kill them. Leo employs his Army of the Homeless for surveillance purposes, much chasing around ensues, great efforts are made to keep one of the steak house owners from having a giant barbeque in downtown Seattle and the food critic is knocked off. The reader solves the mystery about 100 pages ahead of Leo leaving not much but a series of anti-climaxes. There are some bright spots: Sir Geoffrey Miles is deftly characterized as a Nero Wolfe par excellence and is amusing and entertaining. Mr. Ford does Seattle very well, as I noted in "Fury." He makes it sound so attractive I have to keep repeating to myself "Remember the Rain, remember the rain!" The homeless characters and their lifestyles are interesting and handled with sensitivity. Perhaps Mr. Ford just had a bad outing. I will try another book, probably without Leo, and hope it rekindles my enthusiasm for Mr. Ford's books. Give "Slow Burn" a pass.
Rating: 
Summary: A very different very entertaining and stimulating mystery
Review: Seattle's Olympic Star Hotel is hosting the internationally renowned culinary convention. One of the attendees is Jack Del Fuego, whose steak houses are nearly bankrupt. Desperate, he decides to barbecue an extremely valuable steer at the convention in an effort to gain some needed publicity to save his steak house. Specifically, he hopes to gain five thumbs up from Mason Reese, an extremely influential food critic. Jack's plan upsets the culinary committee because they fear adverse public reaction to the slaughter of Bunky. They hire private investigator Leo Waterman to keep the peace and to thwart Jack's plan. However, instead of a steer being butchered, the food critic is killed. The police think Leo is the killer. Instead of sitting around waiting for to be served up as the culprit, Leo, with the help of the "boys", investigates the murder. Suspects are as plentiful as the various gourmet delights. Though the Waterman series usually requires a bit of a stretch, the novels are all wonderful reading experiences. Leo is an interesting sleuth, his support team (the drunken old-timers) are unique even if their presence in certain environments seem impossible, and Seattle has never been presented better. In SLOW BURN, all of those charming elements come together in an entertaining but weird who-done-it. This novel and the previous three Waterman books are worth reading by anyone who enjoys a different type of tale. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: The best yet
Review: This comic takeoff on the Nero Wolfe mysteries is the best Leo Waterman yet, and the climax with the bull has to be read to be appreciated.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Great Tough Guy Novel
Review: This was my favorite Waterman novel. It had a little bit of everything. A good whodunit, as well as great characters and incredible confrontations........you will really like this novel........his best yet
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Great Tough Guy Novel
Review: This was my favorite Waterman novel. It had a little bit of everything. A good whodunit, as well as great characters and incredible confrontations........you will really like this novel........his best yet
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