Red Tide

June 21, 2004
Ford hits the ground running with his fourth solid Frank Corso novel (Fury
; Black River
; etc.). Someone has sprayed a modified Ebola
virus into a Seattle bus tunnel, killing more than 100 people. Journalist Corso promptly descends into the deadly tunnels to see what's going on—because that's the kind of guy he is. The masterminds behind the plot have a pretty good reason for the destruction and are a welcome change from the genre's familiar wild-eyed Arab terrorists. It's all very straightforward, especially after a note warns that the next round of virus will become airborne in 30 hours and will live for 30 days—which makes the bus tunnel business look like child's play. Scientific modeling points to a doomsday scenario, with the death of virtually every human on the planet the probable result. From then on it's a race against the clock as Corso teams up with courageous Seattle cop Charly Hart to stop the terrorists. Ford creates likable characters, whom he has the nerve to subject to the worst, no matter how attached the reader has become to them. There's not a lot of flash, and the twists and turns are easily negotiated, which keeps the pace fast and the characters in the foreground, making this an entertaining read in a dependable series. Agent, Lisa Vance. (July)

FYI:
Ford also writes the successful Leo Waterman series
.