Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Quite entertaining, Heavy on the Dead has well-crafted characters and easy to follow storyline.

Synopsis:
After seven months laying low in Ocean Beach, California, Seattle PI Leo Waterman has finally stopped looking over his shoulder—specifically, for the vengeful band of Washington white supremacists who blame Leo for blindsiding their big plans for America. Where better to disappear with his bodyguard, Gabe, than this laid-back stretch of San Diego heaven? But when Leo finds a boy’s body on the beach, he comes out of hiding to investigate.

That’s when Leo discovers that the victim is not an isolated missing-persons case. It’s the key to something bigger, and it’s leading Leo and Gabe into the dark heart of a human trafficking ring in Mexico. But whatever dangers lay ahead of them, they’re matched threat for threat by what’s coming up from behind.

Wow! What a great read! I’ve been a fan of G.M. Ford and his Leo Waterman series since I read the first book. In this latest installment, former private eye, Leo, and his gender-neutral bodyguard, Gabe, are in a self-created witness protection program and have relocated to Ocean Beach, California. Their main objective is to keep a low profile and avoid being spotted (and possibly eliminated) by the white nationalists that they seriously angered when they blew up their compound and vaporized some of their members. While it sounds like a doable plan, they don’t count on finding the body of a Hispanic child, which launches them into an unofficial investigation of the circumstances.

I found the first few chapters to be somewhat laborious, but then the story took off. The narrative mainly moves back and forth from Leo and Gabe and the two men who are tracking them. It is a fast-paced plot that morphs and twists. The characters are well-drawn, the plot is superb, and the dialogue adds just the right amount of humor. All of the Leo Waterman books have memorable characters and this book is no exception. However, this book is also a bit grittier than the previous ones.

Although the reader might find it helpful to have read the books in order, I don’t think it’s totally necessary in order to enjoy Heavy on the Dead. Mr Ford does a find job weaving elements of the previous book into this one so that the reader will have a sense of the backstory

Great plot, really good story. Love all of GM Ford's books, and will continue to read everything he releases...

You can change their names and plot them into a beach town, but you can't take the PI out of them. Gabe and Leo find themselves hunted by one group and in the middle of another mystery. The end is awesome and I could easily see it as a movie. Great descriptions of the action. The beach bum with a UPC on his head was a strange character among others. I enjoyed the story..

A few months ago PI Leo Waterman and his bodyguard, Gabe, disappeared after a band of white supremacists came after them with a vengeance. Both are suffering from injuries received, yet happy they survived.

Keeping busy and keeping his head down, Leo is working as a volunteer to help clean the beach ... but then he discovers the body of a young boy. Reporting what he found anonymously doesn't keep him out of trouble.

He can't help himself ... he takes himself out of hiding in order to help the police investigate. The young boy had never been reported as missing ....

Leo and Gabe find themselves caught in the cross hairs of the white supremacists and this new evil. They all want the two men dead .....

As with all the books in this series, this is well written with lots of action that jumps off the pages right into the fast-beating hearts of the readers. Leo and Gabe are getting older, healing slower, but they continue on as terrific series characters.

Although the 12th book in this series, it is easily read as a stand alone, although I would recommend, at least, the 11th book (The Soul Survivor). There are many references to what happened just prior to this book, but to get the full picture, you need to read it in its entirety.

Many thanks to the author / Thomas & Mercer / Netgalley for the digital copy of this continuing crime fiction series. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I have fond memories of reading the first several books in GM Ford’s Leo Waterman series back in paperback editions, long before e-books, so I was happy to get a chance to renew my acquaintance with the series with an ARC of the latest title in the series, Heavy on the Dead.

In the time that I’ve missed, a lot has happened, but the biggest surprise for me was finding that this book is set in Ocean Beach/San Diego, rather than in the Seattle area. This anomaly is explained right in the blurb – Leo and his sidekick, Gabe, are taking a discreet break in California to avoid unwelcome attention from some baddies left over from the previous book in the series. Once I got over my surprise, though, Ford does a good job of portraying a slightly seedy beach city where the contrast between immense wealth and homelessness is often a matter of just a few city blocks in one direction or another. His Ocean Beach feels pretty realistic, and more than a little like the slightly seedy southern California beach town I live in. So I enjoyed the setting a lot.

The plot was also engaging, with lots of action, and kept me reading late into the night. Even in sunny southern California, and without his Seattle network, Leo is still Leo, with the same sense of humor. There was a little bouncing back and forth between the plotline of the baddies who are after Leo and Gabe and the plotline of the current “investigation”. I found myself liking the current investigation more than the baddies thread and being just a teeny bit annoyed when the baddies kept reappearing. But they did add to the feeling of tension overall. I also wasn't a fan of the “desert” scene, and had a little bit of trouble imagining that Leo and Gabe really would have lasted as long as they did. But hey, I’m not a desert survival expert, so what do I know.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and now will go back and read some of the titles in the middle of the series that I’ve missed.

NOTE: As mentioned above, I received an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review. Also, please note that for me, four stars is a really good ranking. I reserve five stars for a very few absolute favorite books; probably no more than one in twenty or thirty books that I read gets a five star ranking.

First Sentence: The door burst open and banged against the wall.

Private Investigator Leo Waterman destroyed the plans, men, and millions of dollars in materials and equipment of a white supremacist group. Badly injured, Leo and his androgynous friend and protector Gabe, have taken refuge to recover in Ocean Beach, California, trying to keep a very low profile. Finding a body on the beach, and being bitten by a homeless man, propels Leo into an investigation which takes the pair into Mexico and the world of sex trafficking, caught between two groups out to kill them.

Ford does create unique characters. From those one has met before, such as Gabe and other Seattle characters; to Chub and Lamar—one hopes never to meet them. Who else would think up a guy with an afro and a barcode tattooed on his forehead? But then there's SDPD officer, Sergeant Carolyn Saunders. She is someone of whom one would love to see more in the future.

Ford's perceptiveness—"Borders are lines in the sand. Bloody lines. Lines that people fought and died for."—is equally effective in dark and light situations—"You know how people like to pretend they're more familiar with places than they really are … That was us. …neither of us wanted to admit we didn't quite remember the way…so we'd …wandered …for half an hour before realizing our mistake and sheepishly asking a truck driver for directions." He takes one places one would like to think don't exist; places one doesn't want to see where life is as one hopes never to experience. But it is his humor which creates balance—"Take the 5 to the 8 … then over the bridge into Mission Bay." "Ooooh … don't we sound like Californians now," I joked."

The plot has a slowly-building flame with a very good intersection between the two threads of the plot. What's nice is that it's not all action. Ford also makes one stop and think along the way. Still, he does take the story from crescendo to crescendo. When things get serious, they get very serious and uncomfortably relevant to today's issues, which are important and handled extremely well.

"Heavy on the Dead" is one cracking good, fast-paced, suspenseful story. It is exciting, but it's way more than an airplane book due to its focus. One thing is for certain: one never gets bored reading Ford.


HEAVY ON THE DEAD (PI-Leo Waterman-California/Mexico-Contemp) - Ex
Ford, G.M. – 12th in series
Thomas & Mercer – July 2019

This book has an excellent plot, fantastic characters, and I love the tough language. What I don't like is the changing POV between first and third person, and the fact that an author who has written a lot of action doesn't know gun calibers.

Wow! What a great read! I’ve been a fan of G.M. Ford and his Leo Waterman series since I read the first book. In this latest installment, former private eye, Leo, and his gender-neutral bodyguard, Gabe, are in a self-created witness protection program and have relocated to Ocean Beach, California. Their main objective is to keep a low profile and avoid being spotted (and possibly eliminated) by the white nationalists that they seriously angered when they blew up their compound and vaporized some of their members. While it sounds like a doable plan, they don’t count on finding the body of a Hispanic child, which launches them into an unofficial investigation of the circumstances.

I found the first few chapters to be somewhat laborious, but then the story took off. The narrative mainly moves back and forth from Leo and Gabe and the two men who are tracking them. It is a fast-paced plot that morphs and twists. The characters are well-drawn, the plot is superb, and the dialogue adds just the right amount of humor. All of the Leo Waterman books have memorable characters and this book is no exception. However, this book is also a bit grittier than the previous ones.

Although the reader might find it helpful to have read the books in order, I don’t think it’s totally necessary in order to enjoy Heavy on the Dead. Mr Ford does a find job weaving elements of the previous book into this one so that the reader will have a sense of the backstory.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

Leo Waterman is one of my favorite detectives, but the opening of this twelfth entry finds him trying to keep a low profile and stay out of trouble. In Soul Survivor, which precedes this one, Leo and his bodyguard, Gabe more or less destroyed a white supremacists’ compound in Idaho, and now they are both wanted men. They’ve traveled as far south as they can from their mossy, misty Seattle homeland without leaving the country, but even in Southern California, trouble follows them.

My thanks go to Net Galley and Thomas and Mercer, and of course to author G.M. Ford, whose annual entries in this entertaining series have become one of the best parts of summer.

It’s a tricky thing, braiding dark social issues with humor, and Ford does it expertly. At the outset, Leo and Gabe find the body of a dead child on the beach. They are trying not to be noticed, but they can’t just leave him there. As the story progresses, cop Carolyn Saunders quietly encourages Leo to dig further into the incident, because the official story smells fishy; she can’t do it without risking her job, but Leo is retired, and as long as he can stay out of view of his would-be assassins, he can pretty much do as he likes. When the story concludes, the role of Saunders is left open. She may be back, or she may not. Her role here is to advocate that Leo stand on the side of justice but within sane limits; this is a role previously occupied by Leo’s ex-girlfriend, Rebecca. The real fun is had when Leo and Gabe team up, since neither one of them gives a single shit about their social standing or, when it comes down to it, their own personal safety.

As far as I know, the character of Gabe, a sidekick with loyalty, heart, and the tenacity of a pit bull, is the first gender-fluid character to show up regularly (okay, twice so far) in a long-running series. I love this character.

A longstanding hallmark of the Waterman series is the large yet sometimes invisible homeless population. This was true in 1995 when Ford published Who in Hell is Wanda Fuca, and that was before homelessness burgeoned and became a national issue. As far as I know, Ford is the first to feature homeless people in every book of the series; although his characters are often quirky and sometimes bizarre, they are ultimately human beings possessed of worth and dignity. I’ve believed every one of them, and so it’s no surprise that I believe the man with the barcode tattooed on his forehead, the one that bites Leo when he collides with him while running from cops. I like how this thread of the story resolves, too.

As the plot moves forward, we have assassins chasing the assassin that is chasing Leo, and it is simultaneously suspenseful and hilarious. This is important, because the crimes that are uncovered in pursuit of the truth about the dead child on the beach are dark indeed. In less skilled hands, the issue of human trafficking could well trip my ick-switch, that boundary line each of us possesses where the sordid but compelling central focus of a detective story suddenly becomes too sickening to be fun anymore; but the author’s less-is-more instinct is on point, and so once we touch that hot stovetop, we withdraw and move on to other things, circling back—briefly again—at its conclusion.

Anyone that reads the genre unceasingly across decades develops a mental list of overworked character and plot devices that we never care to see again; at the same time, a badass writer can take one of those elements and make it seem brand new and shiny. For me, the place where so many protagonists arrive, the one where they are knocked out, or drugged, or simply overpowered and tossed into the back of a truck (or van, or car) is one that can make me close a book. Nope; done. But in this instance, the truck abduction is a critical component, and to try to carry off the climax and conclusion in any other way would be artificial and most likely hamper the pace. But to aspiring writers: Ford is an experienced professional; don’t try this in your book.

This book will be for sale July 23, 2019, and earlier entries in the series are selling digitally for a buck each. Get your plastic out now; you can thank me later. Highly recommended.

Leo and Gabe were forced to decamp from Seattle to Ocean Beach, California to get away from the white supremacists who want them dead. Better weather, for sure, but Leo is unable, it seems to keep away from investigations. He finds a young boy dead on the beach while he's out picking up litter and hoping to keep himself under cover (he's in alias now), calls it in anonymously. Unfortunately, he forgot his litter bucket and that raises questions about him! Luckily, Detective Carolyn Saunders understands. Turns out there's a bigger issue with dead bodies turning up and of course Leo is on the case. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. As always, this is well written and topical with great dialogue, especially from Leo. This may be the 12th in the series but you will be fine if it's your first.

I'm a big fan of the Leo Waterman series of mystery novels by G.M. Ford and this latest book in the series is terrific! The earlier books were all set in Seattle and the Seattle setting was a big part of the books, so I was a little worried when I saw that in this book Leo has moved to Ocean Beach, California. But I need not have worried - Mr. Ford's trademark humor and great plotting are still at the forefront and he does a great job with the new setting. Ocean Beach feels like a natural choice for Leo, being just as offbeat as he is. Highly recommended.

After the ending of "Soul Survivor" I worried Leo was gone for good but not to worry, he has returned only now he is living in Ocean Beach, California instead of Seattle. He is living under an alias, trying to make everyone believe he died at the end of the last book but gets involved with a nefarious bad group when he finds a boy's body on the ocean bank. Turns out others have discovered he's still alive and so begins a cat-a-mouse plot line that kept me engrossed the entire time.

With the plethora of fast action and chase scenes, along with likable and interesting characters, this series is perfect for fans of J. A. Jance, Sue Grafton, and even Lee Child's Jack Reacher series.

GM Ford's brilliant crime series featuring PI Leo Waterman located in Seattle is one of my favourite comfort series. Here, Leo and Gabe are living below the radar on Ocean Beach in San Diego, forced to go into hiding after the shattering events previously with the thwarting of a white supremacist plot that would have devastated the US. Leo is a target, and those after him have possible information on where he might be after receiving information from a bank employee in Mexico. Two men are sent there to verify that it is Leo, the huge Chub and Lamar. Chub deviates from their orders and is hell bent on killing Leo himself, he blames him for the death of his brother, Randy, as the two men arrive at Ocean Beach. Leo has settled down in California as Leon Marks, Ocean Beach agrees with him and he has finally relaxed, no longer looking over his shoulder, involved in community activities with groups, like picking up litter on the coastline.

It is in the process of cleaning up rubbish on a cliff that Leo comes across the body of a dead child, which his conscience insists that he call in, which he does anonymously. Only thing is that he left behind his picker bucket at the scene, which naturally has the police arriving at his doorstep. The chatter from the white supremacists is being closely monitored and Captain Eagen from Seattle is keeping Leo informed. After being bitten by a homeless young man, Leo is terrified about possible health implications which has him connecting with SDPD officer, Sergeant Carolyn Saunders, with whom he is forced to come clean about his real identity. Leo, along with Gabe, begins to investigate the death of the child, particularly as Saunders has concerns but cannot follow up as the case has been closed. As Leo follows the trail to Mexico, he and Gabe find themselves against powerful and ruthless forces as they return to Ocean Beach, forces that have strong contacts in the police and politically. With danger coming from all directions, it is going to take a miracle for Leo and Gabe to survive.

This may be the 12th in the series, but GM Ford still has me completely engaged with the series, even though the location has shifted to California. It is the characters that I have followed for so long that have me committed to the books, and the Seattle links are still here with Captain Eagen and Charity, working with Carl Cradduck, delving deep to come up with vital information for Leo. I loved the introduction of Sergeant Saunders, a woman who will do what needs to be done despite the obstacles she faces. I hope she returns in future books. As usual, this is a wonderfully entertaining crime read, and I look forward to seeing where Ford takes Leo next. Many thanks to Thomas and Mercer for an ARC.

Leo Waterman, G.M. Ford's series hero, is like an old boyfriend you had a fling with long ago and most track of - no hard feelings but not much of an urge to revisit him. But thanks to Meet Gallery, I caught up with Leo recently in his latest outing. A few things have changed since Leo's early years as a P.I. in Seattle,, whose down at the heels pals from the city's Skid Row helped him solve most of his crimes. For one thing, he's come into money, courtesy of an inheritance from a reprobate father. For another, he's living on the beach in southern California with a sidekick of indeterminate gender named Gabe and keeping a lower than usual profile while the Outlaws, a white power element of the Hells Angels, are looking for him. They're after payback for the disaster he brought down on their heads in Washington, which I presume is more fully explicated in an earlier entry in the series.. it doesn't matter - Leo doesn't need a reason to be, but it's a given that wherever he goes, trouble follows. In this case, it starts with an unidentified child who turns up on an all but inaccessible trail near the end of a beach Leo frequents and ends with a human trafficking ring. Along the way there's an improbable scene involving three hit men and our hero, and an equally improbable rescue from death in the desert interrupted by a rattlesnake.. None of it matters very much but it's s blameless diversion of your a fan of the author.
frequenthat word them out in Washington venge; they blame Leo for destroying their operations in Washingtonole in wiping out a few of their members