Ford, the author of the Frank Corso mysteries (Fury
, etc.) and the Leo Waterman PI series (Cast in Stone
, etc.), stumbles in his first stand-alone. Paul Hardy, who was found near death in a railroad car seven years earlier, has spent the time since in a home for the disabled in Washington State. During that time he has not spoken or responded to anything or anyone. Then one day, he rushes into the street to save a female patient in an out-of-control wheelchair. Run over by a car, he later awakens in the hospital with a new face. But the change is not merely cosmetic: he’s someone entirely other, and he’s sure his name is not
Paul Hardy. Clinging to a barely remembered phrase, he sets out on a cross-country hunt to discover his real identity. Alas, after this promising setup, the novel sputters out in conventional—and predictable—melodrama, as Hardy finds himself at the center of a vast conspiracy hatched by people in high places who apparently want him dead. Ford fans will hope for a return to form with his next book. (Feb.)
