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Charlie Noble Mystery #2
Precious Cargo
Former Coast Guard commander turned private investigator Charlie Noble, based in Bellingham, Wash., must use all his nautical skills in the waters around the San Juan Islands to solve a murder related to the trafficking of young women for prostitution.
Paperback
First published September 9, 2008
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62 people want to read
About the author
Clyde W. Ford
20 books31 followersClyde W. Ford is a software engineer, a chiropractor, and a psychotherapist. He’s also the award-winning author of twelve works of fiction and non-fiction, whose most recent book, THINK BLACK: A Memoir will be published in September 2019 by Amistad/HarperCollins.
Clyde W. Ford earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Mathematics from Wesleyan University in 1971, then worked as a systems engineer for IBM. In 1977, he returned to school, enrolling at Western States University in Portland, Oregon, where he completed his Doctorate in Chiropractic. Later, he undertook post-doctoral training in psychotherapy at the Synthesis Education Foundation of Massachusetts, under the direction of Steven Schatz, and the Psychosynthesis Institute of New York. Ford was in private practice as a chiropractor and psychotherapist, first in Richmond, Virginia, and later in Bellingham, Washington.
At sixteen, Ford traveled to West Africa in the wake of Martin Luther King’s assassination, attempting to come to terms with the tragedy. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, “The young man traveled alone that summer to the Elmina slave portal, on the continent’s west coast, and heard voices in a mystical experience that permanently marked him.” Looking back on the event more than 20 years later, Ford told the Plain Dealer, “The meaning of my own life is based in the meaning of those who have gone before. The ancestors are there, still informing, still influencing us.”
BODY-MIND HEALING
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Clyde wrote about body-mind healing; in the mid-1990s he concentrated on the healing of racial wounds; and in 2000, he wrote about mythology, and how myths could heal psychic wounds. Besides exploring healing issues in books and on the lecture circuit, he has conducted seminars and written numerous articles for Massage Magazine, Massage Therapy Journal, and Chiropractic Economics. In 1991 East West Magazine recognized Ford’s work in somatic therapy as one of the 20 trends reshaping society. Linda Elliot and Mark Mayell in East West Magazine described Ford as “an ‘engineer’ who’s building a bridge across the chasm that separates practitioners who focus only on body structures and those who concentrate specifically on the psyche.” From 1992 to 1996 Ford regularly taught somatic psychology at the Institut fur Angewandte Kinesiologie in Freiburg, Germany.
In 1989 Ford wrote his first book, Where Healing Waters Meet, about his many years of experience working with the healing of emotional wounds through touch and movement therapy, rather than talk therapy. That was followed in 1993 by Compassionate Touch, a book which amplified these themes and documented Ford’s work with adult survivors of sexual abuse, mainly women.
RACIAL HEALING
The riots and racial divisiveness in Los Angeles following the Rodney King verdict in 1992 left Ford feeling frustrated. After speaking to a number of friends who shared his frustration, he decided to write a book about social justice and racial healing. “When we’re dealing with an issue like racism,” Ford told Karen Abbott in the Rocky Mountain News, “So many people feel it’s a daunting issue and that they can’t do anything. A certain paralysis sets in. But anybody and everybody can make a difference.” While Ford remained optimistic, he also admitted that the roots of racial discord run deep. “It’s really not just African American’s place to deal with that,” he told Linda Richards in January Magazine. “We have in our history our own reckoning with that process. But the entire society needs to reckon with that.”
In 1994 Ford completed We Can All Get Along: 50 Steps You Can Take to Help End Racism. “Racism is a social issue,” Ford told Cynthia M. Hodnett in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It is important to look beneath the surface to find out what the issues are that need to be addressed.” Ford realized that many people were
Clyde W. Ford earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Mathematics from Wesleyan University in 1971, then worked as a systems engineer for IBM. In 1977, he returned to school, enrolling at Western States University in Portland, Oregon, where he completed his Doctorate in Chiropractic. Later, he undertook post-doctoral training in psychotherapy at the Synthesis Education Foundation of Massachusetts, under the direction of Steven Schatz, and the Psychosynthesis Institute of New York. Ford was in private practice as a chiropractor and psychotherapist, first in Richmond, Virginia, and later in Bellingham, Washington.
At sixteen, Ford traveled to West Africa in the wake of Martin Luther King’s assassination, attempting to come to terms with the tragedy. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, “The young man traveled alone that summer to the Elmina slave portal, on the continent’s west coast, and heard voices in a mystical experience that permanently marked him.” Looking back on the event more than 20 years later, Ford told the Plain Dealer, “The meaning of my own life is based in the meaning of those who have gone before. The ancestors are there, still informing, still influencing us.”
BODY-MIND HEALING
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Clyde wrote about body-mind healing; in the mid-1990s he concentrated on the healing of racial wounds; and in 2000, he wrote about mythology, and how myths could heal psychic wounds. Besides exploring healing issues in books and on the lecture circuit, he has conducted seminars and written numerous articles for Massage Magazine, Massage Therapy Journal, and Chiropractic Economics. In 1991 East West Magazine recognized Ford’s work in somatic therapy as one of the 20 trends reshaping society. Linda Elliot and Mark Mayell in East West Magazine described Ford as “an ‘engineer’ who’s building a bridge across the chasm that separates practitioners who focus only on body structures and those who concentrate specifically on the psyche.” From 1992 to 1996 Ford regularly taught somatic psychology at the Institut fur Angewandte Kinesiologie in Freiburg, Germany.
In 1989 Ford wrote his first book, Where Healing Waters Meet, about his many years of experience working with the healing of emotional wounds through touch and movement therapy, rather than talk therapy. That was followed in 1993 by Compassionate Touch, a book which amplified these themes and documented Ford’s work with adult survivors of sexual abuse, mainly women.
RACIAL HEALING
The riots and racial divisiveness in Los Angeles following the Rodney King verdict in 1992 left Ford feeling frustrated. After speaking to a number of friends who shared his frustration, he decided to write a book about social justice and racial healing. “When we’re dealing with an issue like racism,” Ford told Karen Abbott in the Rocky Mountain News, “So many people feel it’s a daunting issue and that they can’t do anything. A certain paralysis sets in. But anybody and everybody can make a difference.” While Ford remained optimistic, he also admitted that the roots of racial discord run deep. “It’s really not just African American’s place to deal with that,” he told Linda Richards in January Magazine. “We have in our history our own reckoning with that process. But the entire society needs to reckon with that.”
In 1994 Ford completed We Can All Get Along: 50 Steps You Can Take to Help End Racism. “Racism is a social issue,” Ford told Cynthia M. Hodnett in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It is important to look beneath the surface to find out what the issues are that need to be addressed.” Ford realized that many people were
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
March 17, 2019
A couple of boating friends finds a dead body impaled on their anchor, and hire Pi Charlie Noble to find out who it is. He starts poking around, and finds a bunch of other dead bodies, and human trafficking.
Not bad, but not memorable.
Not bad, but not memorable.
October 23, 2014
There's a new, at least to me, dimension on the block now. Author, Clyde Ford, mentioned that he had hooked up his book to Google Earth 3D. Not only that, but you here him reading the book too - at least with IE7 (I didn't get everything to work with Firefox 3 or IE8 beta). Wow! It's awesome.
His book is a murder mystery & takes place around Seattle. With Google earth, you can zoom in & actually see not only where the action is taking place, but the buildings that are there & everything. He has a great reading voice, too.
His website is http://clydeford.com & once you get in there, look for the blue OnScene link on the right. It is really worth the trip.
I just finished reading it & it's a good thriller. A bit too politically correct & I didn't care that much for the bit of mysticism, but overall it was a good read with believable characters & a good plot. We knew who the bad guys were pretty early on, but so did our hero & he had his work cut out for him trying to prove his point. I thought he went a bit too far without a good reason, but it wasn't terribly done & made for a good wind up. 3.5 stars with a bit extra thrown in for the web site & him being new to me. I'll look for his other books.
His book is a murder mystery & takes place around Seattle. With Google earth, you can zoom in & actually see not only where the action is taking place, but the buildings that are there & everything. He has a great reading voice, too.
His website is http://clydeford.com & once you get in there, look for the blue OnScene link on the right. It is really worth the trip.
I just finished reading it & it's a good thriller. A bit too politically correct & I didn't care that much for the bit of mysticism, but overall it was a good read with believable characters & a good plot. We knew who the bad guys were pretty early on, but so did our hero & he had his work cut out for him trying to prove his point. I thought he went a bit too far without a good reason, but it wasn't terribly done & made for a good wind up. 3.5 stars with a bit extra thrown in for the web site & him being new to me. I'll look for his other books.
December 14, 2022
Too much technical boat jargon and the protagonist was way too perfect. Just not a very fun read for a summer pageturner-type book. I did make it through to its syrupy ending, so I guess it wasn't all bad.
June 4, 2018
I enjoyed this book.
However - general readers be warned. I am particularly biased:
a) I know the author - and his passion for boating comes through on the printed page, and it added to my enjoyment of the work
b) This book is set in Bellingham, WA where I live (as does the author). So the settings and locations pop off the pages in ways that I appreciate but that might not translate to others.
In general, this is a fun, pulpy murder mystery - with a nautical theme set in the Pacific Northwest. So if you are looking for a book with those characteristics, definitely give this a read. (I have bought copies for several of my friends who boat in the region). It is not spectacular literature - but is fun!
However - general readers be warned. I am particularly biased:
a) I know the author - and his passion for boating comes through on the printed page, and it added to my enjoyment of the work
b) This book is set in Bellingham, WA where I live (as does the author). So the settings and locations pop off the pages in ways that I appreciate but that might not translate to others.
In general, this is a fun, pulpy murder mystery - with a nautical theme set in the Pacific Northwest. So if you are looking for a book with those characteristics, definitely give this a read. (I have bought copies for several of my friends who boat in the region). It is not spectacular literature - but is fun!
June 14, 2018
A contender for Canada Reads 2018, this book is an extraordinary, true tale by author Craig Davidson. The story follows his year driving the "short bus," and chronicles how his evolving relationship with these special needs children changed his own life.
April 15, 2020
Maritime murder mystery out of Bellingham and in the northwest waters. Writer gets how to make it an easy read and page turner. The Who done it wasn’t what I expected in the end. Great read. Found this on my shelf and didn’t know I had it. Was great to fill stay at home order time.
September 9, 2024
Suspense Novel: Part One: Scary Event; Part Two: Word Salad; Part Three: Scary Event Resolved.
Take Away: If it weren't for the occasional spiritual discussions, Suspense Novel would be unreadable.
Take Away: If it weren't for the occasional spiritual discussions, Suspense Novel would be unreadable.
January 31, 2010
Imagine being on a fishing expedition with your sweetheart on a peaceful stretch of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. When you are done with the joys of the evening and lift the anchor, the dead body of a woman is impaled on the flukes of the anchor.
What would you do? Clyde Ford called Charlie Noble, a former Coast Guard officer who has become a marine PI. Charlie has other thoughts in mind for his time, specifically with his own new ladyfriend, Kate Sullivan. But he wants to assist the couple who actually discovered the body.
Our hero engages a Native American diver, Raven, who has relationships with nautical and nature people all around the waterways. In the course of the adventure, it is discovered that the young lady who became a submerged corpse was ensnared in the sex trade beginning in Mexico and ending in Pacific Northwest. The bad guys, from Texas, come into the peaceful waterways in a huge yacht that looks like it should have been in the harbors on Monte Carlo for its parties not the inlets of these straits.
Clyde Ford writes an excellent, engaging, and easily readable story. Against the background of murder in the human trafficking business, and beauty of the natural settings, the romance of Charlie and Kate is an endearing story all in its own. Two people with their own lives lived before meeting have their own needs, which they struggle to comes to grips with, as Charlie engages in the life-and-death struggle to solve the crime. At least one of the struggles has a clever and charming twist, so silence is best on this.
I read the book straight through, fascinated with what would happen to the lovers and the unfolding of the central mystery.
A hearty recommendation for a fine story written by a world class author.
What would you do? Clyde Ford called Charlie Noble, a former Coast Guard officer who has become a marine PI. Charlie has other thoughts in mind for his time, specifically with his own new ladyfriend, Kate Sullivan. But he wants to assist the couple who actually discovered the body.
Our hero engages a Native American diver, Raven, who has relationships with nautical and nature people all around the waterways. In the course of the adventure, it is discovered that the young lady who became a submerged corpse was ensnared in the sex trade beginning in Mexico and ending in Pacific Northwest. The bad guys, from Texas, come into the peaceful waterways in a huge yacht that looks like it should have been in the harbors on Monte Carlo for its parties not the inlets of these straits.
Clyde Ford writes an excellent, engaging, and easily readable story. Against the background of murder in the human trafficking business, and beauty of the natural settings, the romance of Charlie and Kate is an endearing story all in its own. Two people with their own lives lived before meeting have their own needs, which they struggle to comes to grips with, as Charlie engages in the life-and-death struggle to solve the crime. At least one of the struggles has a clever and charming twist, so silence is best on this.
I read the book straight through, fascinated with what would happen to the lovers and the unfolding of the central mystery.
A hearty recommendation for a fine story written by a world class author.
October 12, 2008
African American Charlie Noble loves his boat: The Noble Lady as well as his lady friend Kate. He is hired by Marvin and Angela who pull up an unwanted lady from the bottom of the seabed. Having lost their own daughter they ask Charlie to investigate and find out how this lady came to be there. Charlie takes on the challenge and finds himself in many dangerous situations, but is helped by Raven, a Native American.
For a thriller I found this an extremely laid back read and an enjoyable one too. I was really surprised that as the story was always moving that I could find the story so laidback, however maybe it was the way that Clyde wrote the character of Charlie. I loved the watery theme of this thriller too and it certainly gave it a different slant than many other of the thrillers that I have read lately. It’s certainly left me feeling like a boat trip; however I’d give the bullets a miss.
For a thriller I found this an extremely laid back read and an enjoyable one too. I was really surprised that as the story was always moving that I could find the story so laidback, however maybe it was the way that Clyde wrote the character of Charlie. I loved the watery theme of this thriller too and it certainly gave it a different slant than many other of the thrillers that I have read lately. It’s certainly left me feeling like a boat trip; however I’d give the bullets a miss.
Currently reading
August 27, 2011Precious cargo, the story started off just right, the dead body being found hooked on a neighbors anchor. The neighbors asking Charlie Noble to find out whom she was and why was she killed, the investigation into the mystery even started off right but then Clyde Ford went off into the Noble Lady, I think he put too much effort into the boat. I think he should have put more into the villains of the story, I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t even finish it. I wanted to though, but it was like I was forcing myself to read through page after page of boring repetitious detail of the Nobel Lady. The gun play was also boring …ok that’s enough about this book hope the next one will be better.
December 26, 2010
I first met Clyde Ford at SeaBreeze Bookstore in San Diego in 2007. We were both on a book signing tour and traded books. Clyde writes a nautical mystery series set in the Northwest, where I write about Mexico and Southern California. He writes well, his characters are believable, and his descriptions of life in the boating community in that part of the world are accurate. If you like a good sea yarn, pick up one of his mysteries; you won’t be disappointed!
January 15, 2010
Enjoyable quick read. Takes place in Bellingham, which made it super cool to be able to say "hey, i've been there". and the bad guy is involved in the Chuckanut Ridge Development, so it's really super easy to hate him.
April 22, 2010
I find the idea behind this book interesting: human trafficking. However, the writing was very amateurish and the dialogue seemed forced, not natural. It was a decent read if you have nothing else to read at the moment.
January 21, 2008
This book is fun to read because the author lives in Bellingham and the book is set here! I always enjoy reading about where I live.
April 10, 2008
The second book of the Charlie Noble series which we are enjoying as they are set in Bellingham and involve boating in the San Juans.
April 13, 2010
Good read from a friend author.
January 9, 2009
This was a present. It was okay and I liked it because it is set in the Northwest. The story line was pretty good, but the dialogue between characters was too formal and unrealistic.
March 17, 2009
a book that willl keep you reading from cover to cover.
March 21, 2010
I am from the Pacific Northwest, so the stories Clyde Ford writes are of special interest to me. Pretty fast read.
June 27, 2010
Liked the local flavor of this mystery and the laid back lifestyle of Ford's protagonist. Thought it was better than the other book of his I've read--'The Long Mile.'
February 19, 2014
Charlie Noble is a great character and my favorite private investigator. Looking forward to more.
July 13, 2015
I enjoyed reading this mystery based in the San Juan islands. Ford has created a great PI in Charlie Noble. I will read more.
April 4, 2017
I loved it.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews