Customer Reviews

The Brass Go-Between (Perennial Library)

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Philip St. Ives of New York City is a professional go-between. That is to say when something of great value is stolen, St. Ives can be depended upon to act as an honest broker when the robber offers to sell the stolen goods back to the original owner. In this particular instance, a priceless African ceremonial shield made of brass has been stolen from a Washington, DC museum and the ransom price is $250,000.

Of course, nothing is as it appears and before St. Ives can make the exchange, a number of people wind up dead. The intriguing thing about St. Ives that sets him apart from most other literary gumshoes is his very sensible adversion to risking his own neck. A refreshing characteristic not often encountered in the ever expanding universe of fictional investigators.

The Brass Go-Between is an outstanding example of detective fiction. As in all Ross Thomas novels there is a plentiful supply of cynical humor and urbane, witty dialogue. Moreover, the story is well plotted and has a surprising ending. Highly recommended.

Maybe you have to read a lot of dreck to appreciate what a good, solid storyteller Ross Thomas was. In this book you have the perfect example of how a master performs his craft. He draws real characters because he has considered that how people behave, speak, dress and think defines who they are. The protagonist Philip St. Ives is never described in any of the novels, but, though his first-person narrative Thomas gives the reader a clear picture of who this person is. The action, violence and greed in this novel is very real. Since the book involved a "kidnapping" of sorts it is not short on chicanery or action, both of which keep the action humming along. But Thomas keeps the characters real all along. That made me concerned about the outcome of the violence (I even wanted some of the "bad guys" to survive).