Briarpatch

After only a few pages, I knew that this author was a great writer. There's something very comfortable about reading a Thomas book. His style is so easy and enjoyable to read that it is no surprise that Briarpatch won an Edgar Award. Story starts with a bang when Dill receives a call that his sister, a policewoman in his hometown, was killed with a car bomb. Dill is an investigator for a Senate subcommittee and his professional and personal affairs get all tangled up when he goes home to bury his sister. This mayhem includes murders, politics, corruption, secret deals, etc. interweaved over more than 300 pages of brilliant storytelling Author al-Qaeda Strikes Again

Let's face it, we live in a YOUTUBE/A-D-D world where attention spans last about as long as...hey, is that a shiny quarter? Where was I? Oh yeah, it's about where we are at but not where we have been or how we got here. Ross Thomas took the talent and time to turn out truly good and entertaining books, this one in particular. Is BRIARPATCH a great book? Well, that's subjective because what's great to some, sucks for others. All I know is that when I get tired of the popular mystery or thriller writers of the day-this day- I go back and find a John D. MacDonald or Ross Thomas to enjoy reading again. A well written book with unique or interesting characters and convincing plot twists, not to mention insight to the ridiculous human experience is usually enough to do it. If you haven't read a Ross Thomas book then find one and see if you don't enjoy it and grin as you do. If you haven't read him in awhile then re-read and discover him all over again.

Benjamin Dill of Washington, D.C. makes his living as an investigator for an obscure Senate subcommittee. His investigative powers are put to the test when his own sister, a policewoman, is murdered. Briarpatch is an extremely well written mystery told as a third person narrative. Most of the action unfolds in Dill's hometown, an unnamed city in the southwestern United States. Just as in all Ross Thomas novels, there is plenty of urbane humor. However, unlike most Ross Thomas novels, the story itself is a fairly mainstream, straightforward one. Missing are the way over-the-top characters and situations Thomas fans are used to encountering. Briarpatch is a well crafted mystery novel noteworthy for having a very smooth narrative flow, an appealing cast of characters, clever dialogue and an engaging plot. This is a book all mystery fans will enjoy.

A fellow book lover tipped me off to the great books authored by Mr. Ross Thomas last summer. Since then, I have read nine of his books and Briarpatch is one of the best. Read this book. Read his McCorkle & Padillo series. Read his Wu and Durant series. None will disappoint. How this author has remained off my radar screen is a mystery to me.

Ross Thomas is a vastly underappreciated writer who sucessfully blends fast-paced dialog, humor and suspense with unique characters and totally original plot twists. If you're unfamiliar with Thomas, this book is the perfect introduction. If you're already a fan and haven't read this one, you've been missing out. The plot doesn't exactly defy description, but a short synopsis hardly does it justice. Like most of Thomas's novels, Briarpatch tells the tale of murder, politics and corruption. Ben Dill, the likeable-loner hero, comes back to his hometown searching for his sister's killer. The town itself becomes an integral character in the story, and if you are able to guess the identity of the locale, you've solved the OTHER mystery of the book. If you're not already a Thomas fan, you will be after this highly entertaining book.