Ah, Treachery! [Hardcover]

Ross Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1994

Major Edd (Twodees) Partain, recently thrown out of the Army and working as a small-time gun salesman, finds himself dealing with some deadly former colleagues when he is hired to track money stolen from a Democratic fund-raiser.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Past and present sins involving covert army operations and shady campaign financing give rise to murder in this sprightly new suspense thriller from two-time Edgar winner Ross (Voodoo, Ltd.). In 1989, army major Edd "Twodees" Partain took part in an illegal operation in El Salvador that his former comrades now want expunged from the record. Meanwhile, top political fund-raiser Millicent Altford needs to recover $1.2 million in stolen under-the-table contributions. These two scenarios dovetail as Altford engineers to have Partain, who was drummed out of the service for assaulting a superior officer, fired from his job in a Wyoming gun store in order to hire him to "ride shotgun" as she goes after the loot. As their associates begin meeting violent, sometimes shockingly brutal, ends, Partain and Altford seek to flush out their enemies (among whom military honchos figure prominently), recover the money and keep themselves alive. Set primarily in L.A. and D.C., Thomas's yarn reaffirms his expertise at the black-humored political thriller, from the sarcastic title and swift pacing through the acronym for a veterans' outfit (Victims of Military Intelligence Treachery) to Altford's offhand remark that "Little Rock" is "real, real grateful for the two hundred and fifty-four thousand I bundled up for them, not the party, just three days after the New Hampshire primary." As usual with Thomas, the plotting is intricate and nearly as difficult to follow as that of his fellow iconoclast Carl Hiaasen, but readers willing to stick with his unpredictable, sometimes loopy story line will surely enjoy the ride. Major ad/promo.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

"Ah, treachery! One of history's favorite shortcuts." Now there is a signature Ross Thomas line. Look closely, and you'll see all the ingredients: a special mix of world-weary resignation and bitter irony; an implied sense of knowing a whole lot more about how things work than you or I do; and a nice, healthy dollop of mischievousness. This is Thomas' twenty-fifth novel, and it offers a return to one of the author's favorite haunts: Washington, D.C., and the treacherous (there's that word again) double-dealing of an assortment of behind-the-scenes types from both Capitol Hill and the Pentagon. It's early 1993, just prior to the Clinton inauguration, and cashiered army major Edd (with two d's; hence his nickname, Twodees) Partain finds himself riding shotgun for political fund-raiser Milicent Altford, who has lost 1.2 million in very soft money and fears for her life. What follows is a typical Thomas plot of labyrinthine complexity involving dirty doings in Central America (including the "disappearing" of Twodees' Salvadoran wife), the deadly cover-up attempt of two nasty army intelligence types, and the counterintelligence activities of a group calling itself VOMIT (Victims of Military Intelligence Treachery). As usual, the various plot elements are forged into an architecturally stunning whole, and the interplay between characters leaves us wishing we could, just once, see the world as clearly and react as shrewdly as a Ross Thomas hero. Bill Ott

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 274 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Pr; First Edition edition (November 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892964529
• ISBN-13: 978-0892964529
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,964,906 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thomas' Last is One of His Finest, August 5, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Ah, Treachery! (Paperback)

Ross Thomas' last published book is typical of his output and agood place to start reading one of America's finest, mostunderappreciated writers.

All of the classic Thomas elements are here: the brilliant opening scene, the quirky character names, the sly political wit, and, of course, plenty of great fun.

The plot is too complicated really to describe in just a few lines. Besides, it is more fun to read and discover it for yourself. As you can expect from Thomas, it is inventive and unique, with plenty of delicious twists and turns.

When Thomas died a few years ago we lost one of the true greats in the mystery/suspense--or, truly, any--genre. His body of work matches up favorably with that of any writer. Each of his books deserves to be read and savored. He is sorely missed.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Swan Song For Thomas, November 22, 2000

By 

Skip Senneka (Mound, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ah, Treachery! (Paperback)

I've read at least half of Thomas' twenty some novels and I don't know that I could rate any of them higher than "Ah, Treachery!"(a pretty strong statement considering how fondly and vividly I remember "The Fools In Town Are On Our Side", even after twenty-five years). Thomas has a dry and ironic tone in his fiction and a gift for understated outrageousness that is pretty nearly incomparable among today's writers. It's no exaggeration to say that Thomas does better in a paragraph what takes a goodly number of authors a page. He's been compared to Raymond Chandler, and I think he "out-Chandlers" Chandler. As I read Ah, Treachery!, knowing it was his last, I had to marvel at the control and effortlessness of the work--no fading talent here.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ross Thomas is addicting, March 13, 2006

By 

Catherine A. Murau - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ah, Treachery! (Paperback)

After having read 5 of Ross Thomas' books, I keep picking up another one. He writes with such style and wit that one wishes one could meet the characters. But perhaps they would be just too cool for us regular folks. His male characters are smart and well-dressed and tough. His female characters are smart and well-dressed and tough. "Ah, Treachery!" is an excellent story about intrigue and the US military and second chances and revenge and impeccable taste in dress and getting the girl.

Read a Ross Thomas novel. You won't regret it.