Whiskey Gulf
Ford's third Charlie Noble suspense novel shares the same shortcomings as its predecessors,Red HerringandPrecious Cargo. Noble, a former Coast Guardsman who now works as a maritime PI in Washington State, looks into the disappearance of Bill and Becky Kinsley, who sailed their 40-foot ketch into a live-fire naval exercise area called Whiskey Gulf. After some initial investigating, Noble gets a tip from a friend in intelligence—that the Kinsleys' boat was destroyed as a cover to shield them from a terrorist, Ali Sharik, whose brother happens to be the bad guy Noble shot after the brother tried to blow up a U.S. ship near Bahrain. Action fans may roll their eyes at the relationship discussions between Noble and his Coast Guard girlfriend, Lt. Kate Sullivan. Ungainly prose may put off others (my coffee took on the color of Ali Sharik's angry eyes when I'd stood facing him with the news that I'd killed his brother).Author tour. (July)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.