BRIARPATCH

by Ross Thomas ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 9, 1984

Thomas fans who have come to dote on his whimsically tangled plots and black-comic absurdities may be a little disappointed by this new thriller--a somber, relatively (relatively) straightforward murder-mystery, notwithstanding so me CIA complexities and a few dashes of prime-Thomas repartee. Rising police-detective Felicity Dill dies in a car-bomb explosion in a southwestern city--and her beloved older brother Ben, a Congressional investigator, leaves Washington to return to his home town and look into the matter. Was Felicity's death connected to a case she was working on? Or to her love-life--which included a spurned suitor and a married cop-fiancÉ And why did Felicity have two apartments--one where she seemed to live, one where she really lived? Could it be--as the evidence starts suggesting--that Felicity was on the take? Dill finds that hard to believe, as does his new love-interest: Felicity's lawyer Anna Maude Singe. Meanwhile, however, Dill must also do some Washington-assigned work: dealing for information with an old buddy of his--Jake Spivey, an ex-CIA type who made a fortune in illegal arms-deals and is now sitting pretty in a local mansion. And eventually Dill starts wondering if Felicity's death could somehow be connected to this illegal-arms subplot--which also includes Spivey's ex-partner (now a ruthless fugitive), blackmail secrets, and police corruption. There's another corpse (the spurned suitor), lots of wire-tapping, a little action, and a lot of amorality from the assorted government officials involved. . . . before the final twist and windup shootout. But it's only Thomas' sure, sharp-edged style that lifts this above the humdrum--with just enough smart/nasty dialogue to keep Dill (an unusually earnest Thomas hero) and his quest from turning soggy or murky.

Pub Date: Nov. 9, 1984

ISBN: 0312290314

Page Count: -

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1984

Categories: FICTION