Ross Thomas (1926-1995) fought in WWII, worked as a
journalist and a political consultant and published his first thriller at age
forty or thereabouts. The Cold War Swap, based in post war Germany, won
for him his first Edgar Allen Poe Award in 1967 for Best Debut Novel.
In his remaining thirty odd years Thomas published a
series of thrillers -- about twenty five in all -- one of which, Briarpatch,
won him a second Edgar, for Best Novel.
As a critic put it, Ross Thomas’s novels should come
with a health warning, and as a fan I
would suggest that the warning be ‘Handle with care --dangerously addictive!”
A Doubting Thomas might argue that these novels are rather dated -- the author died twenty five years ago and his heroes have no cell phones as a consequence!!The answer of course is -- as it was to the original Doubter -- check it out for yourself and find out. And remember the old adage, a thing of beauty, and a thriller of quality, is a joy for ever.
Thomas’s thrillers are page turners in the old-fashioned sense: the pace is gripping, the plots promote a very willing
suspension of disbelief, the violence is brief but high impact and the
protagonists are always quirky, clever, tough, intriguing and singularly attractive. The portrayal of politics at various levels -- international, national and local --
is deeply cynical and apparently derives from the author’s personal experience
of back room dealings in his avatar as ‘consultant’ in the political sphere,
whatever that may mean. In sum, once you start it, you don’t put down a Ross
Thomas till you finish it. This is no exaggeration -- try one and see.
It is hard to find Ross Thomas in Indian bookshops but
Amazon India does have several and the Kindle editions are not overly
expensive. Thomas also wrote as Oliver Bleek so keep that in mind when
searching the Net or an old- fashioned second-hand book shop -- if such things exist today. I bought several on Mumbai pavements years ago and if those
vendors are still around near Fountain, they might be worth checking out.
And do remember my warning; if you pick up a Ross Thomas, deadly addiction awaits.
Ah bliss!
Happy reading.
