NAMELESS NIGHT

NAMELESS NIGHT
by G.M. Ford
Harper
February 2009
ISBN: 978-0-06-087443-8
350 pages
Paperback $7.99
Suspense

Have you ever been so terrified that you could not stop reading a book? That’s exactly how I feel about NAMELESS NIGHT.

The story revolves around a character in a group home for disabled adults. Paul Hardy was found in a railroad car, beaten to death. He did not speak or have any recognition of intelligence. So a judge chose a name for him and had him placed in a group home. Life is fairly normal with very consistent routines for the residents of this small house.

Nothing much changes from day to day.

During an outing Paul is hit by a car while he saved another resident from being injured. Fortunately for him, the driver had money and decided to pay for the plastic surgery to fix the facial damage from this accident and the previous beating. When Paul awakens from the surgery, he finds that he is no longer this person, and wonders who he really is.

Paul is fortunate that he is assisted by the head caregiver of the house and the gardener. Everything is fairly predictable until the caregiver, Helen, goes onto her computer and Google’s a name that is familiar to Paul. The name that Paul recognizes is Wesley Allen Howard. Within a few hours, federal investigators are tearing the house apart.

This is the adventure of Paul, Randy, Adrian, or Gavin, whichever name he needs to go by. What do you do when you have no clue as to who you really are or why people seem to want to kill you? You really have no memory of the past, just occasional jumbled snapshots in your brain of past experiences.

I found the character of Paul Hardy extremely likable, although troubled. Even though you don’t know much about Paul’s background, neither does he, his values are solid and the part of Paul who always wants to do the right thing makes him heroic, even though he is constantly running. What I found amazing was the along Paul’s journey, he was able to have so many people believe in him and assist him, as a person without a name.

At times, I felt that Paul needed a rest. The book takes off on the first page and never slows down. This novel is unquestionably intense and I read it in one-sitting..

The lines of corruptions or chasers go from street thugs, drug trafficking, and prostitution, all the way up to the joint chiefs-of-staff, the FBI, DOD, Homeland Security, and NASA.

Most readers know GM Ford for his Leo Waterman or Frank Corso series. This is Ford’s first standalone, and even though I enjoy both Leo and Frank, I really did enjoy this nameless character.

GM Ford is a native New Yorker but now lives in Seattle as a writer of numerous mystery/suspense novels.