BRIARPATCH - ROSS THOMAS

I have an on-going list in my head of genre books to look for in used book stores. It gives me something to do and slowly leads to getting my hands on the better versions of these quasi-forgotten classics. And by better versions I mean the small, paperback pulp-y ones with gaudy covers, not the streamlined fancy reissues you see for people like Phillip K Dick or Iceberg Slim, both of whom are used bookstore staples. That being said, I finally found Briarpatch, which I was led to believe was one of the best Thomas novels. I read the whole thing on a pair of flights to NC (along with FEMALES and THE WAVES which is why these reviews are both late and clustered weird) and it’s the ideal sort of book for long boring chunks of time. Like all great noirs or crime stories or other genre tales, the milieu is a huge draw. Thomas does a good job, both here and in the other books of his I’ve read, putting a spin on the typical world of detectives and femme fatales and corrupt cops and whatnot by adding a international intelligence world overlay. It’s also a spy story but less 007 than classified war crimes and profiteering. So the basic plot where a devoted brother investigates the murder of his cop-sister is mixed with a larger story about Congressional investigations and overseas black-ops which is finally mixed with my favorite, and the most surprising, element: a slow history of the town (which I think is supposed to be based on OKC) and the backroom deals and shady characters who shaped the town. For instance, when we drive by buildings the book gives us the backstory of who built the building and what favors they had to call in to get it built and how their fortunes were made. And it is exactly this sort of shady dealing and favor trading that the book is showing us in the present action, all of which gives the whole book a scuzzy feel, since everything is corrupt and the result of corrupt forces, even the physical environments. Likewise, the book is always telling you what time and temperature it is, a great little trick for a book set somewhere in the Sunbelt (it’s also possible the city is Albuquerque) and area I don’t know much about. There’s a TV show based on this book coming out now that I’d like to check out, tho I believe they gender-swapped the lead. Gotta read more Ross. 71 Mansions built on ill-gotten gains.