Leo Waterman Books In Order

Publication Order of Leo Waterman Books

Leo Waterman is the main character in a series of mystery/crime fiction authored by bestselling American author G.M. Ford. Leo is described as a smart, intelligent, grumpy middle-aged private investigator based in Seattle. Ford began the publication of Leo Waterman series in 1995 when Who in Hell is Wanda Fuca was published. After the sixth novel in the series The Deader the Better in 2002, it took over a decade to publish the seventh novel Thicker Than Water.

Who in Hell Is Wanda Fuca?

Who in Hell Is Wanda Fuca? Is the first novel in Leo Waterman series by G.M Ford. The book introduces the soft-hearted private investigator with a rebellious streak that seems to get involved in almost each oddball situation from Puget Sound to Seattle. So he is hired to help trace the whereabouts of Caroline Nobel, a mob heiress with an environmentalist heart. Leo goes with the flow leaving the city behind him and follows the landscape in search of the young woman deep into the rain-soaked Washington woods. However, Caroline’s love for nature is dragging her deep down into the murky waters of environmental sabotage. Even her thirst for adventure in the forest cannot be cooled even when two people are brutally killed. Caroline is headed on to something toxic, and unless Leo can clear the air, her lethal dedication could also poison him as well.

Who in Hell is Wanda Fuca marks the beginning of a spending ride. The author gives the world an intense, splendid, and somehow flawed man. The truth is that Leo is flawed; something that his father notes as well, as he stipulated in his will that he Leo can never inherit the fortune that his father acquired through the legal and illegal means until the time he is past new adulthood. This is justified by his unconventional ways of making ends meet by working as a private investigator. However, in his job as a hired detective, he is aided by a group of street rats, misfits, the only people who are capable of working in places where only the invisible can exist.

This installment is what would become the hallmark of Leo Waterman stories, and with it comes lots of suspense, body count increases and Leo and his gang of cronies find themselves in more trouble and almost killed as well.

Chump Change

Chump Change is the first novel in Leo Waterman series by G.M. Ford. The book introduces a Seattle Private Investigator, Leo Waterman whom after several years of hardships in trying to make his ends meet, finally inherits a trust fund from his late father. He cannot come to terms with inheriting such amounts of money, and his feelings and thoughts show a conscious awareness.

Our main character, Leo involved in a new relationship and his life is progressing pretty well until the day there is a burglary the next door where he and his fiancé are house sitting. When the police arrive, a man is killed, and his last words are Leo’s name. Apparently, it appears that retirement and Leo do not mix, especially after Leo discovers that he knew the dead man. As a private investigator, Leo begins the quest for the truth and soon finds that there are more questions than the answers and the more he seeks the answers, the more he is drawn deeper into the investigation.

This series installment presents an excellent story that is intriguing and full of mysteries to solve. Much of this story is set on the eastern side of the Cascades, near the Idaho border. There is a lot of action-packed scenes that Ford has added into this debut novel. The characterization done by the author is brilliant; the characters are easy to like as well to care about. The villains are evil, but fortunately, the author makes use of the good guys to ensure that the bad guys are brought to justice.

Salvation Lake

Salvation Lake is the 9th installment in Leo Waterman series by G.M. Ford. It is one of the best Leo Waterstone series novels. At last Leo’s life is good and his financial circumstances are good thanks to his later famous and corrupt father. It is also his father’s great coat that gets Leo entangled in a deadly and complex case. As expected, Leo heavily relies on his gang of offbeat and irregular prisoners- George, Ralph, and others to help him. Card Cradduck, Leo is paralyzed IT friends end up paying the ultimate prize for aiding Leo.

Then two dead bodies are discovered covered by his father’s famous coat. Leo ex-girlfriend, Rebecca, whose profession is a medical examination, works on the bodies to find their cause of death while Timothy Eagan, a cop based in Seattle Police Department warns Leo not to get involved in the case. However, Leo finds it impossible to let go of the case, and goes ahead and discovers that one of the corpses was a homeless man, Charles Stone. The other body is that of Blaine Peterson who is from a well-respected family.

What could be the connection between these two victims who seem to have come from very different social spectrum? However, it turns out that the two men used to be married to Theresa Calder, a lady who appeared out of nowhere and then vanished after ending her marriage with Blaine. The trail that Leo follows leads him to a religious cult headed by Aaron Townsend. It is also discovered that there are historical ties related to the Mob and lethal gang which means harm to both Leo and his gang of friends. Leo finally finds his way to Salvation Lake where many of his questions are finally answered.

Salvation Lake is a beautiful story packed with lots of tension and suspense. Lots twists and dramas will keep you hooked from the first to the last page. Ford is assured in his writing ability to craft a cast of wonderful characters and compelling story. His writing and the plot makes Salvation Lake a hard-boiled, fast-paced detective novel and what makes it more captivating is the fact that no chapters are shifting back and forth, and also no wish-washy characters or tense psychological drama.