Friday, September 10, 2010

Forgotten Book: NO QUESTIONS ASKED -- Oliver Bleeck

My theory is that you can't go wrong with a book by Ross Thomas, no matter what name he's using. So when I saw this one the other day, I picked it up to read again. It doesn't matter how many times I've read one of Thomas's books. I always enjoy them.

I know some people don't care for Thomas, but that's okay. There are plenty of popular writers that I don't care for. I guess it's all a matter of taste. When I read Thomas's prose, I find myself smiling at something on just about every page. The guy would write. Really write.

No Questions Asked is narrated by Philip St. Ives, the professional go-between who's the narrator in all the books by "Oliver Bleeck." This time it's a volume of Pliny' History, a very valuable volume, that's been stolen. St. Ives is to recover it for the insurance company, and, as is so often the case, things go wrong.

That's really all you need to know. The plot isn't as complicated as it is in some of Thomas's books, and you might even figure it out. No matter. The pleasure of reading Thomas's prose makes the journey well worthwhile. Great stuff.

7 comments:

pattinase (abbott) said...

Oh, I love Ross Thomas and didn't know about this name.

Anonymous said...

He wrote 5 books under the Bleeck name, Patti. As Bill said, he's always worth reading.

Jeff

George said...

Nice choice! I haven't thought about the "Oliver Bleeck" books in awhile. Time to reread the series.

Unknown said...

As you can see, Patti, the Bleeck books were reprinted under Thomas's name. Should be easy to find.

Todd Mason said...

Thomas, like Gregory MacDonald and for that matter Ross Macdonald, was so omnipresent in the '80s, at least wherever I would look, that it's impressive how little one sees his work touted today. Which is what FFB is for, by me...I've only read about two of his, and have the rest waiting patiently...

Richard R. said...

Great choice, Bill. This is one I haven't read either, but when the time comes that I'm in the mood for something like this I'll pick it up.

Juri said...

THE BRASS GO-BETWEEN as by Bleeck has been one of my favourite crime novels. Very solid, very fluent, very enjoyable.