The Fourth Durango [Paperback]

Ross Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1991

Providing protection to a former state supreme court justice who was framed for bribery, the California Fourth Durango team is up to their eyeballs in trouble when the judge's history clashes with that of Durango's. Reissue.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A tiny, godforsaken California town named Durango is the setting for Thomas's ( Out on the Rim ) tense new novel, a suspense story laced with wry wit. The town's mayor, plucky Barbara Huckins, and its chief of police, Sid Fork, are part-time lovers and ex-San Francisco hippies who drifted into Durango 20 years back. The action begins when Jack Adair, an acid-tongued judge falsely accused of taking a big bribe, drops into Durango to hide from whoever wants him silenced. Poor Adair already has a daughter in a mental hospital, a disbarred attorney for a son-in-law and a gay son who committed suicide (or was it murder?). Barbara and Sid, an unlikely duo assisted by no less than four detectives, follow a trail warm with corpses to a brutal killer who dresses up as a priest or a plumber. The socko climax takes place on the Fourth of July, with readers kept in the dark right through the fireworks. In this offbeat diversion, Thomas builds suspense and character almost casually, once again proving himself a master of the crime thriller. Major ad/promo; Literary Guild alternate; Mystery Guild and Doubleday Book Club selections.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Ross Thomas is ranked as one of the very top thriller writers by his fellow authors, and his readers loudly agree. Two Edgar Awards, and other prizes, only complement the abundant praise that Thomas has received.

Thomas died in 1995, and since then all but one of his twenty-five novels had gone out of print. This should never have happened to the man of whom The New Yorker has said "Very few...are as consistently entertaining...even fewer can match him for style and power." Minotaur is proud to remedy this situation by reissuing Thomas's novels. So start reading, and prepare to join Ross Thomas's legions of admiring fans.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Pr; First Thus edition (November 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0445409150
• ISBN-13: 978-0445409156
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,192,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars reprint of a powerful Ross Thomas thriller, November 26, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fourth Durango (Paperback)

Already accused of taking a bribe that he never did, former State Judge Jack Adair hides in Durango, California, a place where people voluntarily vanish to when others want them silenced anyway they can. Durango accommodates its "tourist" trade. His world is already is a cesspool due to his family trials. His daughter is a guest of a mental hospital, his son-in-law is a disbarred attorney and his son apparently committed suicide though the Judge believes murder occurred.

Jack's appearance in town leads to a murder spree. Desperate to stop the killings, sometime lovers Mayor Barbara Huckins and Chief of Police Sid Fork seek a serial killer who poses as a priest or as a plumber. The culprit will have no problem eliminating the two locals if they get in the way of killing the Judge.

This reprint of a powerful Ross Thomas thriller is an exciting tale that will please the fans of the great suspense writer as well as introduce his wonderful repertoire to new readers. The story line is action-packed as the heroes try to stop a killing machine from further homicides. Though not quite at the level of some of Mr. Thomas' other works (see the reprint of TWILIGHT AT MAC'S PLACE), THE FOURTH DURANGO is a terrific tale better than much that is offered today.

Harriet Klausner

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Suspense of the First Order, October 6, 2000

By 

M.H. "Downbeat" (Music City, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fourth Durango

Another pearl of the Ross Thomas oeuvre, two protagonists wish to seek refuge in Durango, a town that makes its income with a very curious illegal enterprise. Again Thomas used his knowledge of political chicanery to imbue his characters (a disbarred lawyer, a crooked chief of police, a convicted state judge) with real life hubris. Lots of fun from the late Grand Master.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fast Moving Crime Thriller, October 3, 2006

By 

The JuRK (Our Vast, Cultural Desert) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fourth Durango (Paperback)

THE FOURTH DURANGO isn't so much a plot-driven crime thriller: it feels more like a half-dozen clever characters playing the same game of chess (whether they know it or not).

The book begins with a disgraced judge leaving prison as well as a trail of bodies behind as he and his son-in-law/disbarred attorney flee to the quiet town of Durango, California. The sexy, savvy mayor and her lover/Chief of Police make a shady deal to hide them...but the killers who want the judge dead already appear to be in the town limits.

I've never read anything else by Ross Thomas but I did like his wit and economy. You really feel like you're in the hands of someone who knows where he's going and the best way to get there.