The Mordida Man

The Mordida Man by Ross Thomas takes place in the year 1981...but in an alternate universe. The President of the United States is not Ronald Reagan. A 39 year old Oklahoman named Jerome McKay occupies that office. And over in Libya, the leader is named Colonel Mourabet. You see, in the alternate universe of this novel Colonel Mommar Qaddafai has been dead six months, victim of premature heart disease. The Mordida Man features a number of very interesting and colorful characters from many walks of life and from many different parts of the world. The protagonist is a former one term Congressman from California with the unlikely name of Chubb Dungee. Mr. Dungee is an individual who has both an enviable array of international contacts and an unparalleled degree of resourcefulness. When "Bingo" McKay, the President's brother, is kidnapped by the Libyan government, Chubb Dungee is secretly hired to get him back. The Libyans have threatened to kill their hostage if a Venezuelan terrorist known as Felix is not immediately released by the United States. This presents a bit of a problem because the Americans are not holding Felix. In fact Felix is no longer alive. The Mordida Man is very much the quintessential Ross Thomas novel. Byzantine plotting, plenty of world weary, cynical characters, great dialogue and lots of tongue-in-cheek, urbane humor. A page turner of a book that is fun to read. Highly recommended.

I bought this to complete my set of Ross Thomas books.

Ross Thomas' novels take you for a ride...if you don't fasten your seat belt, keep your eyes open, pay attention to where you've been--and have a sense of humor!-- you won't appreciate his talent. Mordida Man, like his other books, is a twisting roller coaster of human nature, greed and emotion. Imagine a sort of black comedy that's a cross between Robert Ludlum and Elmore Leonard. The characters in Mordida Man come fast and furious, each with his/her own agenda. Thomas cuts corners for the leaps of faith he expects of us, but it's worth the jump.