Product Description

Seattle p.i. Leo Waterman knows the city like no one else. And he knows how to stretch the limits of the law, when necessary, to accomplish what needs to be done--a very useful talent Leo acquired from his late, larger-than-life father, once one of the region's most powerful and colorful political characters. But just how seriously Waterman senior transgressed during his time on Earth comes into question when one of "the Boys"--Leo's "residentially challenged" barfly allies--digs up a human skeleton in Dad's backyard.

The remains that remain belong to "Wild Bill" Waterman's staunchest foe--an ultra-conservative muckraking journalist who vanished mysteriously thirty years before. Leo has always struggled in his father's shadow--but he's convinced that his old man was much too savvy to have committed murder--let alone to have interred the victim in his own backyard. But in order to clear his father's damaged name, the dutiful son is going to have to start digging up a very dangerous past...and do his damnedest not to get buried beneath it.

 

Seattle p.i. Leo Waterman knows the city like no one else.And he knows how to stretch the limits of the law, when necessary, to accomplish what needs to be done--a very useful talent Leo acquired from his late, larger-than-life father, once one of the region's most powerful and colorful political characters. But just how seriously Waterman senior transgressed during his time on Earth comes into question when one of "the Boys"--Leo's "residentially challenged" barfly allies--digs up a human skeleton in Dad's backyard.

The remains that remain belong to "Wild Bill" Waterman's staunchest foe--an ultra-conservative muckraking journalist who vanished mysteriously thirty years before. Leo has always struggled in his father's shadow--but he's convinced that his old man was much too savvy to have committed murder--let alone to have interred the victim in his own backyard. But in order to clear his father's damaged name, the dutiful son is going to have to start digging up a very dangerous past...and do his damnedest not to get buried beneath it.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #500200 in Books
• Published on: 2000-02-01
• Released on: 2000-02-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 320 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780380793693
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
G.M. Ford's fifth book about Seattle private detective Leo Waterman begins with a backyard jolt: the Boys (a group of ancient alcoholics who Leo looks after) dig up the 30-year-old remains of a gay-bashing right-wing newspaper columnist named Peerless Price while doing some work on the grounds of the mansion belonging to Leo's late father, politician Wild Bill Waterman.

It looks very much as though Wild Bill did indeed shoot and bury his arch enemy. And precisely because both a starchy relative and the entire Seattle PD warn him against it, Leo proceeds to risk life, limb, and his ancient Fiat convertible to prove his father's innocence. What he finds out--from Wild Bill's old driver, an ex-cop called Bermuda Schwartz, and other assorted ghosts from the past--provides a wild and often touching story that combines recent headlines (about the smuggling of Chinese immigrants) with moments of personal pain. That same combination is present in Ford's other books about Waterman: Slow Burn, Who in Hell Is Wanda Fuca?, The Bum's Rush, and Cast in Stone. --Dick Adler

From Publishers Weekly
It's hard work trying to keep a series fresh, and in Ford's fifth novel about Seattle private detective Leo Waterman (Slow Burn, etc.) the strain shows. Most of the recurring jokes?about Leo's powerful family and their embarrassment about his work, about his dysfunctional Fiat and his animosity toward the police department?fall flat. Even the Boys, the band of homeless drunks Waterman supports and employs from time to time, aren't quite as engaging anymore. When the 30-year-old remains of a gay-bashing, right-wing newspaper columnist named Peerless Price turn up on the grounds of the mansion belonging to Leo's late father, politician Wild Bill Waterman, it begins to look as if Wild Bill had shot his arch enemy. Because both his starchy uncle Pat and the Seattle PD warn him against it, Leo risks life, limb and ancient convertible to prove his father's innocence. What he finds out?from Wild Bill's old driver and other ghosts from the past (including an earless Oriental phantom straight out of Sax Rohmer; see the review of The Revenge of Kali-Ra, below)?proves more bizarre than exciting.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Seattle private investigator Leo Waterman (Slow Burn, LJ 2/1/98), a caring but in-your-face kind of guy, discovers a skeleton in his own backyard. Since he lives in a house inherited from his father, police and press assume the worst: Leo's politically powerful father murdered "Peerless" Price, a local muck-slinging reporter of some repute who disappeared in 1969. Leo sets out to prove otherwise, despite opposition but with the aid of his pathologist girlfriend and humorous homeless sidekicks. Good plot, unlikely adventure, and sharp-edged prose; strongly recommended.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Customer Reviews

Solid Whodunnit
I've been looking for new authors recently, and decided to give Ford a try. I am happy that I did. His main character Leo Waterman is in the same vein as Robert Crais' Elvis Cole, only perhaps not quite as funny. In Last Ditch, Leo, in the course of doing some renovations to his property, comes across a buried body. The body turns out to be that of his late politician fathers biggest enemy, and has been missing for some 30 years. Obviously Leo's father is the number one suspect, so Leo sets out to find the truth. Leo is a great character in the genre, tough, but not unbelievably so, very human, and of course wisecracking. There are lots of twists and turns and misdirections in this well plotted novel. The writing is also above the quality often found in the genre, Ford really puts the reader into the scene. If you like a good mystery, Last Ditch is a good place to look.

Ford does much better than the Edsel
This is definitely a quality book. It is a very well developed story with interesting characters. The story builds very well and the conclusion is satisfying. I would recommend this book to any avid mystery reader. I am a big fan of Robert Parker, Robert Crais, and Harlan Coben. While Leo Waterman doesn't have the sidekick that the hero in those books does, he has much the same demeanor as Spenser, Elvis Cole, and Myron Bolitar. The wit isn't quite as snappy, but still enjoyable. These are only minor comments and what prevents me from giving the book 5 stars, don't let it prevent you from reading this book. I have a ton of books, but I am sure that I will pick up another one of Ford's novels sometime in the near future.

Good Read!
As always, G.M. Ford gives us what we want; great one liners and many bum antics! Leo Waterman is in form, and if you don't know what that means, you need to read this book!