Thursday, September 13, 2007

Ah, Treachery -- Ross Thomas

I've expressed my admiration for Ross Thomas so often that there's no need doing it again. But I will, anyway. He's one of my favorite writers of "thrillers" or whatever it is that he wrote. He did it as well as anybody ever did, or will, at least for me. Sadly, Ah, Treachery was the last book that Thomas ever wrote. Which leads me to this digression.

I long ago discovered that my idiosyncratic reading tastes weren't always shared by others. All I do here on the blog is tell you how I feel about things. You might disagree. Don't go out and spend your hard-earned dough for a book just because I liked it. You might find yourself thinking that I owe you, and we wouldn't want that.


Now back to our regularly scheduled review. Edd (Twodees) Partain assaulted a fellow officer in El Salvador, where they were part of an illegal operation that a couple of bad guys want to be completely forgotten. And where Partain's Salvadoran wife is "disappeared." Partain is working as a sort of bodyguard for Millicent Altford, who's discovered that $1.2 million in under-the-table campaign money has gone missing from her safe. The plot gets complicated after that. There's murder and conniving and, of course, treachery. Lots of treachery. Not to mention genuine wit and plenty of irony.
Partain manages to figure everything out in the end, the way Thomas's heroes do, but there's never really a happy ending in a Thomas novel. An air of sadness hangs over everything, or it seems that way to me. I don't think I'll ever stop re-reading Thomas's books. I just wish he'd hung around longer and written a lot more of them.

12 comments:

Randy Johnson said...

I may have to check Thomas out. You and I seem to have those idiosyncratic tastes in reading. Not always, but most of the time. You've given me some good ideas that have turned out well.

Anonymous said...

He was the best. Ever.

Stilwell

Vince said...

Thomas will always rank among the best. And keep calling 'em as you seem 'em, Bill. That's why we keep coming back.

Unknown said...

I'd say you have real treat in store, Randy, if you've never read Ross Thomas. And of course Vince and Steve would agree.

Randy Johnson said...

I just ordered a copy of Briarpatch.

Unknown said...

They're all good, but that one's a favorite of mine.

Graham Powell said...

I've only read three, including BRIARPATCH and AH, TREACHERY, but the third is my favorite: THE FOOLS IN TOWN ARE ON OUR SIDE.

Anonymous said...

I lied the St Ives series books I've read.

Unknown said...

I like 'em, too.

Juri said...

I really, really admire the smooth storytelling in THE BRASS GO-BETWEEN. THE FOOLS... is a bit long for my taste, but the St. Ives novel is a masterpiece.

Anonymous said...

My favorite Thomas--and one of my favorite books ever--is still THE FOOLS IN TOWH ARE ON OUR SIDE. Also one of my fave titles, and character's name--Lucifer Dye.

I als enjoyed playing poker with Ross. We were at his mercy.

RJR

Unknown said...

If he played poker like he wrote books, nobody stood a chance.