Review #12The cast of characters: Seattle PI Leo Waterman and his "residentially challenged" cronies known as "the Boys".
Leo is hired to find a librarian who has scammed the city's automated acquisitions system out of 200 grand. He is also tracking a missing member of his group of homeless friends, Ralph. While searching for Ralph and the librarian, Leo stumbles into a battle for the riches of a young pop star, Lukkas Terry, who died of a seemingly accidental heroin overdose. Leo is given some help from Selena Dunlap, a skid row alcoholic who says she's Lukkas's long-lost mother. Leo checks out her story and believes it, especially when some hoods come looking for her. Who might want to deprive Selena of Lukkas's estate? His manager, music impresario Gregory Conover? Or his spacey girlfriend, Beth Goza, now pregnant with his child? Leo coaxes his homeless pals out of their boozy haze to help him find the answer and trap a killer.
The various plots and their joint resolution come together seamlessly--aided by some nifty online sleuthing. Waterman's supporting cast not only adds humor to the proceedings but also offers ironic commentary on the lead characters and their mainstream world, undercutting pretentiousness while displaying their own character flaws with a believable mixture of panache and melancholy.
Even though the characters are interesting, I don't know if G.M. Ford is destined to be one of my top favorites, but, I have a couple more of his books to read, so, I'll let you know later.
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