Twilight at Mac's Place [Paperback]

Ross Thomas (Author), T. Jefferson Parker (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 8, 2003

In Twilight at Mac's Place, the quiet death of an aged spy triggers a desperate race to control his memoirs, which threaten to reveal Cold War secrets many would prefer stayed secrets. When the spy's estranged son receives the then dizzying sum of $100,000 for all rights to the work, he is properly dizzied. He is also smart enough to seek the help of veteran Cold Warriors McCorkle and Padillo, owners of a D.C. bar called Mac's Place that is both a capital landmark and a nest of intrigue.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Former CIA "fixer" Steadfast Haynes dies in Washington, D.C., leaving his memoirs to his son Granville, an ex-L.A. homicide investigator. Granny finds that the manuscript is mostly blank pages and is soon faced with the murders of both his father's lover and a CIA retiree. According to PW , "Thomas is at his best here with an intricate, riveting plot and a fine dry humor."
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Secret CIA veteran Steady Haynes's legacy to his son Granville turns out to be more trouble than it's worth. When Granville, a Los Angeles homicide detective turned actor, receives an offer of $100,000 for the rights to his father's memoirs he decides to see how high the bidding will go, but a search for the memoirs leaves him wondering if they even exist. Joining him in his quest are McCorkle and Padillo, owners of a Washington bar and grill called Mac's Place; Ericka, McCorkle's daughter, provides romantic interludes. What begins as an intriguing and often amusing adventure ends with a thud, but Thomas ( Briarpatch, LJ 9/15/84) is a popular author, so expect demand.
-Sue Mevis, Ludlow Memorial Lib., Monroe, Wis.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (December 8, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312315848
• ISBN-13: 978-0312315849
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #958,933 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There should really be a "Mac's Place", December 28, 1999

By 

Doug Vaughn - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Twilight at Mac's Place (Paperback)

It is a testiment to Ross Thomas's skill at invention that my wife and I have frequently lamented that there really isn't such a bar as Mac's Place. After reading the several novels in which it figures, along with its owners, McCorkle and Padillo, I have a hard time believeing that the dark and excellent establishment, with its distintive staff and quiet mysterious air, can't actually be found if one were to look hard enough among the side streets in D.C.'s Northwest quandrant. But alas, it's all made up. Yet what a great invention. Thomas makes every aspect of the fictional world he presents to the reader totally believable. This book, like most of his others, has enough plot elements to fuel three or four books by any lesser author, yet he binds these together in a compact story that both surprises and satisfies. McCorkle and Padillo may be older and slower, but the world they inhabit is as dangerous, treacherous and interesting as ever.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Introducing Granny Haynes, former LAPD Detective, December 27, 2000

By 

Rosemary Brunschwyler (Homewood, Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twilight at Mac's Place (Paperback)

This is a later McCorkle and Padillo adventure set in Washington, D.C. Thomas again uses their bar and grill as a focal point. The real hero of the story is Granny Haynes, former LAPD detective and now aspiring actor. I consider this book to be one of Ross Thomas' better efforts, full of insights on maneuverings within the CIA and the Washington power elite.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars D.C. confidential., June 11, 2006

By 

Michael G. "mikefromrochester" (Rochester, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Twilight at Mac's Place (Paperback)

Readers familiar with Ross Thomas' work are likely to recognize a few of the characters in Twilight at Mac's Place from some of the author's other novels. Most notably, Mac McCorkle and Mike Padillo, the restaurant owning duo with more than a passing knowledge of the dark arts associated with international espionage.
Twilight at Mac's Place transpires in and around Washington, DC during the month of January, 1989. George H.W. Bush has just been sworn in as President. The third person narrator helpfully reminds us that Mr. Bush is the first President to have previously served as Director of Central Intelligence. That interesting bit of information helps to set the mood for the tale of cloak and dagger intrigue that is about to unfold.

A man named Steady Haynes dies suddenly of natural causes the evening before the inauguration. Though never officially an agent of the CIA, Haynes has spent most of his career unofficially facilitating the carrying out of some very nasty things on the Agency's behalf all over the world. When Granville Haynes, Steady's son and a former LAPD homicide detective, comes to Washington to attend his father's funeral, he learns that Steady had let it be known that he had recently written his memoirs.

It soon becomes very apparent that there are people out there who do not want Steady's manuscript to ever see the light of day. And they are not above commiting murder to see that it doesn't. The complex plot of Twilight at Mac's Place revolves around the younger Mr. Haynes, with the help of McCorkle and Padillo, uncovering who the anonymous literary suppressors are.

This very appealing book contains plenty of the byzantine twists and turns Thomas is famous for. Moreover, there are plenty of interesting characters and the dialogue is unfailingly smart and entertainingly clever. Recommended to those readers who like their political mysteries laced with sophisticated humor and an insider's view of the way Washington does business.