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BLOWN AWAY
by G. M. Ford
Macmillan, August 2007
291 pages
12.99 GBP
ISBN: 1405055448


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Frank Corso's in Buttsville, Pennsylvania, and he's not happy about it. He's a got a new publisher, a new publicist and they're both keen to recoup all that money they've paid him for his books.

Frank's not impressed either with the publisher's nose for a story. Four years previously a man had walked into a bank and said he was wired up with a bomb. He was then blown up in the car park waiting for the bomb disposal people to arrive. Corso's all for leaving town, until his lawyer tells him how much he'd have to shell out to the publishers to break the contract. And then attempts on his life make him change his mind.

Suddenly, though, it's all change, and Corso and his new sidekick Chris Andriatta are transported across the country to Los Angeles, where similar incidents have taken place. As the death toll mounts, Corso's side-by-side with the cops and the FBI trying to work out what's going on.

The criss-crossing the States seems to be a hallmark of Ford's books – and it's the weak link in BLOWN AWAY. Ford is a natural and confident storyteller, who can hook a reader from page one. And while this is a book worth reading, it's not the best in the series.

Despite the drama of the bombs, the book feels rather one-paced. And with the exception of Stone, the badly damaged bomb disposal man, none of the supporting cast stick in the mind.

And I can look smug when I say that I spotted one of the big plot twists relating to a character from quite some way off – I think Ford needed to do a little more work to be convincing there.

The book works best when it's in small-town Pennsylvania. And there's one hell of a shock at the end – one part breath-taking, and the other part made me debate whether or not Ford was cheating the reader. I still can't decide. You'll have to make your own mind up.

Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, April 2007

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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