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There is no stronger argument for the death penalty than Nicholas Balagula, the bloodthirsty West Coast crime boss who has been charged with sixty-three counts of homicide, many of them children. And now reclusive rogue journalist Frank Corso ? the only non-participant invited to observe the closed court proceedings ? stands uncomfortably in the center of the most crazed media circus to hit Seattle in years . . . until a personal tragedy diverts his attention. When photojournalist Meg show more Dougherty ? once Corso's lover and still his dearest friend ? comes face-to-face with a pair of cold-blooded executioners and ends up clinging weakly to life in the I.C.U., the angry lone-wolf reporter vows to make all the guilty parties pay, by his own hand if necessary. But the black river of lies, secrets, corruption, and murder surrounding both the Balagula trial and Meg's "accident" is much deeper and more dangerous than even Frank Corso anticipated. And if he wades in over his head, the undertow could drag him to his death. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
This mystery continues to feature hard nosed Frank Corso. He's a stoic reporter who happens to be a imposing tough guy. This time he is the only writer allowed into the courtroom during the murder trial of Nicholas Balagula, alleged gangster accused of killing 63 people. It's the crime of the century in the form of faulty architecture of a hospital. At the same time, a murdered man is discovered buried in his truck by the side of a river. Is this murder related to Balagula's trial and if so, how? The dead man was paying for his son's expensive medical school on a blue collar salary. How? Was he on Balagula's payroll? Corso only gets involved when his former lover, Meg Dougherty, has an accident so life threatening Corso doubts it was an show more accident at all. Someone wants Meg dead. All clues lead Corso back to Balagula in round about ways. show less
I am a huge fan of this author. I liked his Leo Waterman series but this Frank Corsco series is 10 times better. In Black River, murdered people are killed twice and Frank is stuck working backwards trying to find out who is endangering his friend. His characters are really interesting and his plots work just fine.
Light novel filled with extremes. The bad guy is really bad, surrounded by other really bad guys. And the hero has no problem knocking off a couple of bad guys who seemed to me to be just a couple bricks short of a load. Enjoyable, if predictable. I prefer a little more subtlety, but a satisfactory way to pass some time in between the heavier stuff.
Set in Seattle so I was predisposed to like it. A decent murder mystery.
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Author Information
24+ Works 2,618 Members
Gerald M. Ford was born on July 9, 1945, in Everett, Massachusetts. He received his B.A. from Hawthorne College, a M.A. in English from Adelphi University, and a second M.A., this one in political science, from the University of Washington. Ford taught English and communications at colleges in Oregon and Washington for twenty years. He often show more thought he would like to write a detective story himself. In 1995, his first mystery, Who in Hell Is Wanda Fuca?, part of his Leo Waterman Series, was published, and since then he has also written Cast in Stone (1996), The Bum's Rush (1997), Last Ditch, and Slow Burn. Ford is also the author of the Frank Corso Series. Ford has been nominated for the Anthony Award, the Shaumus Award, and the Lefty Dilys Award. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Awards
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Black River
- Original publication date
- 2002
- People/Characters
- Frank Corso
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 229
- Popularity
- 142,137
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.58)
- Languages
- English, German, Italian
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 13
- ASINs
- 3
