Leo Waterman
Created by G.M. Ford

Hapless, rumpled, heart-on-his-sleeve, middle-aged, intelligent, grumpy, funny, smart-ass, and true blue, Seattle private eye LEO WATERMAN stumbles from one bizarre case to another, in this highly-entertaining, sometimes laugh-out loud funny, critically-acclaimed series, by G.M. Ford. Aiding him in his escapades are "the boys," a gang of "residentially-challenged devotees of cheap alcohol." Yep, not to put too fine a point on it, Leo's sidekicks are a bunch of winos and bums .

Leo's partial to good beer and good music, and, of course, his long-time love, the lovely Rebecca Duvall, who is more than a match for Leo. But make no mistake--Leo's no cream puff. He's also hardheaded and opinionated, with deep roots in the city, and a ton of connections, thanks to his old man's clout as a politico. And when the going gets tough, he can become a particularly fierce opponent. One of the best of the new eyes around.

But 2000's The Deader the Better seems to have been the last in the series. In 2001, Ford returned with a new sleuth, newshawk Frank Corso. Frank's a far darker kind of detective, and yet, Ford's plain old readability remains as much a treat as ever. And Leo even makes an appearance or two, just to let fans know he may be gone, but he's not forgotten.

UNDER OATH

• As Kathleen, a denizen of the DorothyL listserv (sorry! I've lost her last name) put it, "Since I seem to be one of those middle-aged female mystery fans who now make up the genre demographic majority, it is probably important for the publishing industry to cater to my whims specifically. I'll make it easy on them- I want humor and intelligence and characters I can believe in. I want more Leo."
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• "The most likable private eye to make the scene since Travis McGee." (The Washington Post Book World)

NOVELS

• Who in Hell is Wanda Fuca? (1995) . Buy this book
• Cast in Stone (1996) . Buy this book
• The Bum's Rush (1997) . Buy this book
• Slow Burn (1998)..Buy this book
• Last Ditch (1999). Buy this book
• The Deader the Better (2000) .Buy this book

SHORT STORIES

• "Clothes Make the Man" (February 1999, EQMM)

Thanks to Gerald So for a bit of enlightenment on this one.

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