Ross Thomas Libri

Pochi sembrano notare – e men che meno piangere – l’improvvisa morte del cinquantasettenne Steadfast Haynes, veterano mercenario i cui segreti combaciano in troppi punti con quelli della CIA. Haynes è deceduto a Washington, in attesa di un posto fra il pubblico al processo contro Oliver North, nella sua camera d’albergo con vista sulla Casa Bianca. Ma l’indifferenza ufficiale si trasforma rapidamente in panico alla scoperta che il figlio di Haynes, un ex investigatore della omicidi di Los Angeles impegnato nella carriera d’attore, ha ricevuto da un misterioso personaggio della Washington più segreta un’offerta di centomila dollari per l’acquisto a scatola chiusa dei diritti completi sulle memorie del padre. Rendendosi conto che qualcuno desidera sotterrare le memorie il più possibile in profondità, il trentaduenne Branville Haynes chiede l’aiuto di McCorkle e di Padillo, i due proprietari del Mac’s Place, un bar-ristorante di Washington che molti considerano un segreto punto di riferimento e che alcuni additano come una chiacchierata sorgente di intrighi. Accompagnato a volte da McCorkle e da Padillo, e molto spesso dall’incantevole giovane figlia di McCorkle, Erike, l’enigmatico Granville Haynes esce dal crepuscolo del Mac’s Place per immergersi nell’inverno di Washington e nell’oscurità di un labirinto di inganno, di tradimento e di morte.

Accepting a presidential assignment when an international terrorist is kidnapped and the terrorist's friends abduct the president's brother in answer, independent fixer Chubb Dunjee investigates a trail of ruthlessly dangerous players.

"It was while jogging along the beach just east of the Paradise Cove pier that Artie Wu tripped over a dead pelican, fell, and met the man with six greyhounds."- from Chinaman's ChanceThus begins what may be the most popular of Ross Thomas's unique stories. The combination of Wu, pretender to the Imperial throne of China, and Quincy Durant, who has his own colorful past, makes for a heady experience. After starting with the deceased pelican on a California beach, the plot mixes in the disappearance of a large sum of money that should have been buried in Vietnam, and the search for the missing member of a trio of singing sisters from the Ozarks. Only Thomas could have stirred this concoction with the style, humor, and suspense that captures the reader at the very beginning and doesn't let go until the last word.

A long-distance call from a Texas city on his birthday gives Benjamin Dill the news that his sister—it’s her birthday, too, they were born exactly ten years apart—has died in a car bomb explosion. It’s the chief of police calling—Felicity Dill worked for him; she was a homicide detective. Dill is there that night, the beginning of his dogged search for her killer. What he finds is no surprise to him, because Benjamin Dill is never surprised at what awful things people will do—but it’s a real surprise to the reader. As Newsday said when the novel was first published, “One sure thing about Ross Thomas’s novels: A reader won’t get bored waiting for the action to start.”

Would you be wary if someone gave you the assignment of delivering five million dollars to a Philippine terrorist―never mind from whom or why? Booth Stallings, a terrorism expert just fired from his job at a bashful organization that never admitted its mount in the Washington merry-go-round, is wary. So wary that he cuts in con man "Otherguy" Overby, who in turn involves Artie Wu, pretender to the throne of China, and his partner, Quincy Durant. Obviously, good patriots don't want to hand over all that money to bad guys. Better they keep it for themselves. Which inevitably raises the Who among them will end up with the money?

A saloon owner and a former CIA agent team up to help a pair of assassins escape death. The twins who walk into Mac McCorkle's bar look identical, despite their differing genders. Their names are Wanda and Walter Gothar, and from the steel in their eyes it's apparent that their business isn't the friendly kind. They've come seeking help from Mac and his partner, Padilla, an ex-CIA agent who has skulked in the world's darkest corners. Anxious for a big payday, the twins took an assignment out of their depth, working as bodyguards for a Saudi prince who came to Washington to sign an oil deal. The job fell apart, and now the twins are being pursued by the world's two finest killers ⁰́₄ who take out Walter without breaking a sweat. Now Mac and Padilla are faced with a choice: Save Wanda, or join her in the grave

To coincide with the paperback release of Voodoo, Ltd., here is Thomas's classic Edgar-nominated political thriller--out of print for years. Investigator and ladies' man Jake Pope is out to discover what shocking secret Crawdad Gilmore was planning to reveal before he was shot to death.