Ford drives spring suspense REVIEWS BY BRUCE TIERNEY

One would be forgiven for thinking that an author named G. M. Ford might be an automotive journalist; in fact, Ford is one of the best of the new wave of suspense novelists. His Leo Waterman series has received wide acclaim, not to mention nominations for every major mystery award on the planet. Fury, his latest work, features a new hero, down-at-the-heels newsman Frank Corso. Expelled in disgrace from The New York Times for fabricating a story, Corso now works as a sometime stringer for the third rate Seattle Sun. The Sun's wealthy owner, Natalie van der Hoeven, took Corso in when no one else would touch him, and he owes her big time. And it appears that she's about to call in the loan: a woman has come to her with a startling story refuting the charges she had levied against one Walter Leroy Himes, charges that resulted in his conviction for murder and his subsequent death sentence -- a sentence that will be carried out in six short days unless Frank Corso can come up with independent corroboration of her story. Perfect pacing, clever dialogue and a slam-dunk conclusion; put G. M. Ford on your short list for spring suspense reading.


Three time zones to the east, 43 degrees to the south of Seattle, forensic photographer Alex Rutledge plies his trade in balmy Key West. Rutledge's calm Sunday morning is interrupted by the first of a series of killings. As time goes by and bodies pile up in the usually tranquil resort town, Alex begins to realize that there is a connection between the murders, and that he is the unwitting (and unwilling) common denominator. Bone Island Mambo is the third flamboyantly titled novel by former Key West resident Tom Corcoran (the others were The Mango Opera and Gumbo Limbo). His steamy depiction of the Keys and their colorful denizens will stir up ghosts for anyone who has spent time there and arouse a longing for a Florida migration in the hearts of those who haven't.


Tip of the ice pick

When author John D. MacDonald died in 1986, millions around the world mourned his passing, in no small part because of the forced retirement of his counter-culture hero, Travis McGee. In the intervening years, McGee-ophiles have searched for a spiritual heir, and to them I say, check out Doc Ford. Now several novels into his Doc Ford series, author Randy Wayne White has fleshed out the character of marine biologist Ford into one of the most complex and interesting characters in modern mystery fiction. With the able assistance of his herbally altered friend Tomlinson, Ford tilts against the windmills of environment, population and assorted crime. Like his ancestor McGee, Doc Ford lives adjacent to a marina in Florida, shares his adventures with an incredibly clever yet out-of-the-mainstream sidekick and finds much comfort in the arms of a stream of suntanned and nubile young females. White's latest, Shark River, introduces a new character into the mix, an attractive mulatto woman who claims to be Ford's sister, in search of a legacy left her by her ne'er-do-well father. Rich in atmosphere, populated with engaging characters and crackling with suspense, Shark River is the May Tip of the Ice Pick selection as mystery of the month.


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