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Ah, Treachery!
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 fundraiser
274 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1994
24 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
About the author
Ross Thomas
57 books172 followersRoss Thomas was an American writer of crime fiction. He is best known for his witty thrillers that expose the mechanisms of professional politics. He also wrote several novels under the pseudonym Oliver Bleeck about professional go-between Philip St. Ives.
Thomas served in the Philippines during World War II. He worked as a public relations specialist, reporter, union spokesman, and political strategist in the USA, Bonn (Germany), and Nigeria before becoming a writer.
His debut novel, The Cold War Swap, was written in only six weeks and won a 1967 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Briarpatch earned the 1985 Edgar for Best Novel. In 2002 he was honored with the inaugural Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award, one of only two authors to earn the award after their death (the other was 87th Precinct author Evan Hunter in 2006).
He died of lung cancer two months before his 70th birthday.
Thomas served in the Philippines during World War II. He worked as a public relations specialist, reporter, union spokesman, and political strategist in the USA, Bonn (Germany), and Nigeria before becoming a writer.
His debut novel, The Cold War Swap, was written in only six weeks and won a 1967 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Briarpatch earned the 1985 Edgar for Best Novel. In 2002 he was honored with the inaugural Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award, one of only two authors to earn the award after their death (the other was 87th Precinct author Evan Hunter in 2006).
He died of lung cancer two months before his 70th birthday.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
May 31, 2024
Ya gotta pay attention to extract the full measure of this book’s value. There’s a lot going on, and quite a few characters in play, but trust me, the effort ultimately pays off.
Thomas has a few things to say about politics, corruption, greed and, oh, let’s not forget the good old double cross. At the center of this whirlwind is former career military man, Edd “Twodees” Partain. After honorably serving on Vietnam and somewhat more surreptitiously in El Salvador, Twodees leaves the military one year shy of twenty, and in so doing, forfeits his pension. Seems he’d had enough of the BS from a certain higher ranking officer and cleaned his clock. Thus, we see that this character possesses some character, making him an interesting figure around which the story is built.
Try as he might, Partain can’t escape his past and as the story unfolds, we’re drawn into a rather complicated plot involving cover ups from some nasty business the army conducted in Central America, along with the political ramifications thereof. We meet a wealthy widow with political clout, her free spirited daughter, a crooked PI, and several very nasty career military men that have some unfinished business with Twodees.
Keep everyone in mind as you race through this terrific novel and you will be amply rewarded at the end. 4.5 stars for another winner from Ross Thomas.
Thomas has a few things to say about politics, corruption, greed and, oh, let’s not forget the good old double cross. At the center of this whirlwind is former career military man, Edd “Twodees” Partain. After honorably serving on Vietnam and somewhat more surreptitiously in El Salvador, Twodees leaves the military one year shy of twenty, and in so doing, forfeits his pension. Seems he’d had enough of the BS from a certain higher ranking officer and cleaned his clock. Thus, we see that this character possesses some character, making him an interesting figure around which the story is built.
Try as he might, Partain can’t escape his past and as the story unfolds, we’re drawn into a rather complicated plot involving cover ups from some nasty business the army conducted in Central America, along with the political ramifications thereof. We meet a wealthy widow with political clout, her free spirited daughter, a crooked PI, and several very nasty career military men that have some unfinished business with Twodees.
Keep everyone in mind as you race through this terrific novel and you will be amply rewarded at the end. 4.5 stars for another winner from Ross Thomas.
June 4, 2018
The late Ross Thomas wrote some of America's most fondly remembered novels about politics, espionage, and crime, creating some of the most colorful characters in the genre. One measure of the esteem in which Thomas was held by his peers in the Mystery Writers of America were the awards they granted him for his writing, including a posthumous lifetime award. Another is that each of the books in the reprint editions brought out under the Minotaur Books imprint of St. Martin's Press early in the 21st century includes an introduction by one of today's best-known authors of suspense fiction.
Joe Gores introduced the 2007 reprint of Thomas' twenty-fifth and final novel, Ah, Treachery! His introduction is typical. Like every one of the others, there are several hilarious anecdotes about Thomas, clearly establishing him as a man who defied categorization. For example, Gore describes an exchange between Thomas and the screenwriter for a film based on one of his books set in Africa. The screenwriter "remarked that the locale wasn't coming through enough in the script. 'Then let's set it in Omaha,' said Ross. He was serious." Gores also quotes Thomas from a dinnertime conversation with him: "'I'm not a cynic . . . I'm a spoiled romantic.'" And the description fits many of the protagonists in Thomas' novels.
Many mystery and suspense authors construct elaborate plots that create suspense and offer multiple surprises on the way to a shattering conclusion. Thomas' plots may be a little more diabolical and surprising than most. But what is most distinctive about a Ross Thomas novel are the endlessly colorful characters he creates. In Ah, Treachery! the protagonist is a cashiered Army major who was involved in the "secret" U.S. effort to support Salvadoran death squads in the 1980s. He is hired as a bodyguard by a woman who was a rainmaker for the Democratic Party in the 1992 Presidential election and is now feigning fatal illness by hiding out in a luxurious hospital suite to escape being named Ambassador to Togo. There are two other women, one the rainmaker's daughter, and both step right out of real life onto the page. Two generals, a colonel, an assassin-for-hire, and a Greek-American CIA officer who rides a motorcycle and wears an earring, an eyepatch, and a red bandanna around his head are among the other characters who round out the cast.
Gores obviously loves Ah, Treachery! He concludes his introduction, "[L]ike most of Ross's novels, after all the twists and turns and betrayals and murders and blood and assaults, it has a totally satisfying ending. Even a happy ending of sort, in a Ross Thomas sort of way. Nobody ever wrote 'em like Ross Thomas, and to me Ah, Treachery! is Ross at his very best." I agree. And so did Kirkus Reviews: "The title, a sly translation of Beethoven's aria, perfectly captures the disapproving, exhilarated tone of this effervescent concoction . . . [A]ll the characters project such a deliciously matter-of-fact sense of knowing exactly what they're talking about, from campaign finance reform to assassination techniques, that just meeting, listening to, and watching them in action will leave you dizzy with pleasure." Publishers Weekly favored it as well, calling it a "sprightly new suspense thriller" upon its publication. Sadly, this was the final Ross Thomas novel.
What Gore doesn't mention but comes out in the introductions to other Ross Thomas novels is that Thomas may have been a spook for a time, as are several of the characters in his books. And when he writes about electoral politics, he clearly knows what he's doing as well. I was never a spook, but politics is a field I know well.
Joe Gores introduced the 2007 reprint of Thomas' twenty-fifth and final novel, Ah, Treachery! His introduction is typical. Like every one of the others, there are several hilarious anecdotes about Thomas, clearly establishing him as a man who defied categorization. For example, Gore describes an exchange between Thomas and the screenwriter for a film based on one of his books set in Africa. The screenwriter "remarked that the locale wasn't coming through enough in the script. 'Then let's set it in Omaha,' said Ross. He was serious." Gores also quotes Thomas from a dinnertime conversation with him: "'I'm not a cynic . . . I'm a spoiled romantic.'" And the description fits many of the protagonists in Thomas' novels.
Many mystery and suspense authors construct elaborate plots that create suspense and offer multiple surprises on the way to a shattering conclusion. Thomas' plots may be a little more diabolical and surprising than most. But what is most distinctive about a Ross Thomas novel are the endlessly colorful characters he creates. In Ah, Treachery! the protagonist is a cashiered Army major who was involved in the "secret" U.S. effort to support Salvadoran death squads in the 1980s. He is hired as a bodyguard by a woman who was a rainmaker for the Democratic Party in the 1992 Presidential election and is now feigning fatal illness by hiding out in a luxurious hospital suite to escape being named Ambassador to Togo. There are two other women, one the rainmaker's daughter, and both step right out of real life onto the page. Two generals, a colonel, an assassin-for-hire, and a Greek-American CIA officer who rides a motorcycle and wears an earring, an eyepatch, and a red bandanna around his head are among the other characters who round out the cast.
Gores obviously loves Ah, Treachery! He concludes his introduction, "[L]ike most of Ross's novels, after all the twists and turns and betrayals and murders and blood and assaults, it has a totally satisfying ending. Even a happy ending of sort, in a Ross Thomas sort of way. Nobody ever wrote 'em like Ross Thomas, and to me Ah, Treachery! is Ross at his very best." I agree. And so did Kirkus Reviews: "The title, a sly translation of Beethoven's aria, perfectly captures the disapproving, exhilarated tone of this effervescent concoction . . . [A]ll the characters project such a deliciously matter-of-fact sense of knowing exactly what they're talking about, from campaign finance reform to assassination techniques, that just meeting, listening to, and watching them in action will leave you dizzy with pleasure." Publishers Weekly favored it as well, calling it a "sprightly new suspense thriller" upon its publication. Sadly, this was the final Ross Thomas novel.
What Gore doesn't mention but comes out in the introductions to other Ross Thomas novels is that Thomas may have been a spook for a time, as are several of the characters in his books. And when he writes about electoral politics, he clearly knows what he's doing as well. I was never a spook, but politics is a field I know well.
January 4, 2019
My joy in reading this fast-paced, blackly humorous and deeply cynical novel by thriller-writer extraordinaire Ross Thomas was tempered primarily by the knowledge that it was the last one of the 25 or 30 he wrote in his career.
It begins with Edd "Twodees" Partain, a former Army major, working at a gun shop in Sheridan, Wyoming. Twodees is visited by an old Army acquaintance -- perhaps "nemesis" is a better word for Col. Ralph Waldo Millweed -- who's out to ruin him. Edd quickly loses his job in Wyoming and then gains a new one, acting as a "security consultant" for Millicent Altford, an LA-based campaign fundraiser for the Democratic Party, who has recently discovered that someone stole $1.2 million from the safe in her bedroom without her knowing about it. As it happens, that is the same amount of money Partain was once accused of pilfering from a CIA payment to some Salvadoran rebels by Col. Millweed and his superior, Gen. Walker Hudson, whom Partain then assaulted (hence the "former" part of his military title).
As Altford and Partain (and Alford's attractive, ad-writing daughter Jessica) begin turning over various stones, a lot of people die amid an effort to wipe out every last witness to what happened. In the meantime we get to enjoy the company of various crazy characters as Emory Kite, a 5-foot-nothing private eye gifted with a voice that sounds "like the first cruel crack of doom": Nick Patrokis, earring-wearing co-founder of the organization Victims of Military Intelligence Treachery, or VOMIT for short; and Shawnee Viar, who decides to leave her boots on when seduced at the Safeway by a man her father warned her about.
Along the way political veteran Thomas (mostly through Altford's anecdotes) dispenses some hilariously on-the-money insights about the role cash from various sources plays in politics and how politics actually works, especially as a new administration (Bill Clinton's, never named but just described as "Little Rock") is taking charge of the government. The scene where Altford explains the facts of life to a newly elected congressman and his committee counsel is my fave in the whole book, and one I will think of quite often in the future.
The best thing about a Ross Thomas book -- other than the titles and the pitch-black humor and the characters' improbable names -- is the fact that you never know which way the plot's going to turn, and that was definitely the case here. The climax certainly didn't turn out the way I expected, and I mean that in a good way. I zoomed through this book in just a couple of days, eager to see how it would all turn out, and now I want another one.
This is my first book read in 2019, and I think my New Year's resolution (in addition to reading 52 books this year) is to read all the Thomas novels that I haven't already read in the last year or so. I've got quite a ways to go, and that's a good thing. Ah, hilarity.
It begins with Edd "Twodees" Partain, a former Army major, working at a gun shop in Sheridan, Wyoming. Twodees is visited by an old Army acquaintance -- perhaps "nemesis" is a better word for Col. Ralph Waldo Millweed -- who's out to ruin him. Edd quickly loses his job in Wyoming and then gains a new one, acting as a "security consultant" for Millicent Altford, an LA-based campaign fundraiser for the Democratic Party, who has recently discovered that someone stole $1.2 million from the safe in her bedroom without her knowing about it. As it happens, that is the same amount of money Partain was once accused of pilfering from a CIA payment to some Salvadoran rebels by Col. Millweed and his superior, Gen. Walker Hudson, whom Partain then assaulted (hence the "former" part of his military title).
As Altford and Partain (and Alford's attractive, ad-writing daughter Jessica) begin turning over various stones, a lot of people die amid an effort to wipe out every last witness to what happened. In the meantime we get to enjoy the company of various crazy characters as Emory Kite, a 5-foot-nothing private eye gifted with a voice that sounds "like the first cruel crack of doom": Nick Patrokis, earring-wearing co-founder of the organization Victims of Military Intelligence Treachery, or VOMIT for short; and Shawnee Viar, who decides to leave her boots on when seduced at the Safeway by a man her father warned her about.
Along the way political veteran Thomas (mostly through Altford's anecdotes) dispenses some hilariously on-the-money insights about the role cash from various sources plays in politics and how politics actually works, especially as a new administration (Bill Clinton's, never named but just described as "Little Rock") is taking charge of the government. The scene where Altford explains the facts of life to a newly elected congressman and his committee counsel is my fave in the whole book, and one I will think of quite often in the future.
The best thing about a Ross Thomas book -- other than the titles and the pitch-black humor and the characters' improbable names -- is the fact that you never know which way the plot's going to turn, and that was definitely the case here. The climax certainly didn't turn out the way I expected, and I mean that in a good way. I zoomed through this book in just a couple of days, eager to see how it would all turn out, and now I want another one.
This is my first book read in 2019, and I think my New Year's resolution (in addition to reading 52 books this year) is to read all the Thomas novels that I haven't already read in the last year or so. I've got quite a ways to go, and that's a good thing. Ah, hilarity.
May 6, 2017
Late Ross Thomas, and not among his best, in my opinion, but still worth re-reading if you're a fan. It has all the Thomas hallmarks of dry wit, cool detachment, wearily jaded heroes, banally evil bad guys, intrigue, corruption, blackmail and, of course, treachery. Thomas wrote the best, most believable political thrillers of the last four decades of the twentieth century.
In this one, set just after the presidential election of 1992, a couple of high-ranking army officers who made out like bandits in the dirty business in El Salvador back in the eighties are intent on keeping the cover-up intact with a new administration (referred to only as "Little Rock") coming in with its its own agendas and its own baggage. A former fellow officer who lost more than just his career when he dared to oppose them now has a chance to take them down, but they're going to fight dirty the whole way. Multiple homicides ensue.
The writing is a little perfunctory in places, and Thomas's keen descriptive eye runs away with him at times (after a while I really don't care what type of shoes a character is wearing) but there's enough of the author's trademark style here to entertain fans of political intrigue.
In this one, set just after the presidential election of 1992, a couple of high-ranking army officers who made out like bandits in the dirty business in El Salvador back in the eighties are intent on keeping the cover-up intact with a new administration (referred to only as "Little Rock") coming in with its its own agendas and its own baggage. A former fellow officer who lost more than just his career when he dared to oppose them now has a chance to take them down, but they're going to fight dirty the whole way. Multiple homicides ensue.
The writing is a little perfunctory in places, and Thomas's keen descriptive eye runs away with him at times (after a while I really don't care what type of shoes a character is wearing) but there's enough of the author's trademark style here to entertain fans of political intrigue.
September 16, 2022
Thomas’ last is his grimmest and bloodiest so far in my reading. As always, it moves like a rattlesnake, its plot is always at least two steps ahead of the reader, and it all works out in the end.
November 17, 2017
I was a fan of Ross Thomas decades ago. I remember I particularly liked his Chinaman's Chance.
I met him at one show or another in the 90s and had invited him to speak at the William Saroyan Writers' Conference, an invitation he accepted. Unfortunately he died shortly before the conference. I remember his wife calling to tell me of his death.
I thought I'd read every novel he'd had written but recently found a copy of Ah, Treachery in my signed books collection. I must have gotten it from him the time I met him.
To my delight I found I hadn't read it. His books are in the classic, easy-reading, mid-to-late 20th Century mystery-thriller style shared by Ross MacDonald (Lew Archer), John D. MacDonald (Travis McGee) and Robert B. Parker (Spenser).
If you are interested in the instant gratification e-books offer, you can buy books by these fellows at http://booklits.papertrell.com. (Complete transparency, that is one of the merchants of my company HummingbirdDM.com)
I met him at one show or another in the 90s and had invited him to speak at the William Saroyan Writers' Conference, an invitation he accepted. Unfortunately he died shortly before the conference. I remember his wife calling to tell me of his death.
I thought I'd read every novel he'd had written but recently found a copy of Ah, Treachery in my signed books collection. I must have gotten it from him the time I met him.
To my delight I found I hadn't read it. His books are in the classic, easy-reading, mid-to-late 20th Century mystery-thriller style shared by Ross MacDonald (Lew Archer), John D. MacDonald (Travis McGee) and Robert B. Parker (Spenser).
If you are interested in the instant gratification e-books offer, you can buy books by these fellows at http://booklits.papertrell.com. (Complete transparency, that is one of the merchants of my company HummingbirdDM.com)
October 3, 2017
This is how it is done. Ross Thomas is the undisputed master of the spy/murder/mildly political thriller. This may be his best writing and unfortunately so close to his last book. Set on LA and DC (which comes alive to me) with the usual snappy dual first person dialogue/third person perspective and all the sartorial, culinary, architecture and design descriptive that mysteries thrive on for setting the scene. Multiple murders, current and ex-military characters, cops, spies, thugs rainmakers and debt collectors mixed in with the other un-savories of the world; and a couple of tiny character tie-ins to older books by the master (mentioned only in briefest passing) were a little treat. Enough action and not telegraphed, this one is a treat.
March 10, 2025
(Annoyingly, not the edition I own, and I have neither the time nor the inclination to add it.)
The last book by Thomas before his death, and he's better than ever with betrayed soldiers and spies and Generals and political fund-raisers and murders and missing millions all wound up in a complex, intricate plot told with the usual energised cyncism.
Here's an absolutely terrific round-up of Thomas' writing career: http://dothemath.typepad.com/dtm/ah-t...
The last book by Thomas before his death, and he's better than ever with betrayed soldiers and spies and Generals and political fund-raisers and murders and missing millions all wound up in a complex, intricate plot told with the usual energised cyncism.
Here's an absolutely terrific round-up of Thomas' writing career: http://dothemath.typepad.com/dtm/ah-t...
February 22, 2024
Ah, Treachery! is the twenty-fifth and, sadly, the last novel from Ross Thomas who was one of the great crime writers of the late Twentieth Century. Thomas wrote novels in a variety of subgenres, including political corruption and skullduggery, which is where this story fits for the most part.
The novel takes place in the wake of the election of 1992, and the main protagonist is Edd "Twodees" Partain. Partain was a career military man who served in Vietnam and later in the more-or-less secret war in El Salvador. He was forced out of the service after nineteen years, one year shy of his pension, after he punched out a superior officer who richly deserved it.
As the book opens, Edd is working for basically minimum wage at Wanda Lou's Weaponry in Sheridan, Wyoming. On Christmas Eve, one of his old nemeses shows up at the gun shop and tells Edd that the shit is about to hit the fan regarding some of their activities in El Salvador. The nemesis, a colonel named Millwed, doesn't want Partain talking to anyone about said activities and urges him to get out of town. Millwed reaches out to Wanda Lou's daughter, and on Christmas Day, poor Edd is fired and sent on his way.
Through a series of circumstances, Partain winds up in Los Angeles working security for a very wealthy and somewhat eccentric woman named Millicent Altford. Altford is a political rainmaker who raised a ton of money for the Democrats in the recent election. Sadly, though, $1.2 million of that money has been stolen from the safe in her home. Millicent is hiding out from her opponents, whoever they might be. She's also hiding out from the new administration, in fear that they might want to name her ambassador to someplace like Togo in return for the help she provided.
Twodees signs on to protect Millicent and to try to figure out who stole the money. It's a great romp with a terrific cast of characters, including Millicent's daughter Jessica, a group of unsavory military men trying to save themselves from being exposed for the crimes they have committed, a hit man, and an actor who doubles as the doorman at Millicent's home. The plot races along in true Ross Thomas fashion, and once you get into the book it's almost impossible to put it down.
I am still trying to find the last few Ross Thomas novels that I don't already own and so at least this is not the last of his books that I will have to look forward to. But no one else wrote novels of the type and quality of his, and he is sorely missed.
The novel takes place in the wake of the election of 1992, and the main protagonist is Edd "Twodees" Partain. Partain was a career military man who served in Vietnam and later in the more-or-less secret war in El Salvador. He was forced out of the service after nineteen years, one year shy of his pension, after he punched out a superior officer who richly deserved it.
As the book opens, Edd is working for basically minimum wage at Wanda Lou's Weaponry in Sheridan, Wyoming. On Christmas Eve, one of his old nemeses shows up at the gun shop and tells Edd that the shit is about to hit the fan regarding some of their activities in El Salvador. The nemesis, a colonel named Millwed, doesn't want Partain talking to anyone about said activities and urges him to get out of town. Millwed reaches out to Wanda Lou's daughter, and on Christmas Day, poor Edd is fired and sent on his way.
Through a series of circumstances, Partain winds up in Los Angeles working security for a very wealthy and somewhat eccentric woman named Millicent Altford. Altford is a political rainmaker who raised a ton of money for the Democrats in the recent election. Sadly, though, $1.2 million of that money has been stolen from the safe in her home. Millicent is hiding out from her opponents, whoever they might be. She's also hiding out from the new administration, in fear that they might want to name her ambassador to someplace like Togo in return for the help she provided.
Twodees signs on to protect Millicent and to try to figure out who stole the money. It's a great romp with a terrific cast of characters, including Millicent's daughter Jessica, a group of unsavory military men trying to save themselves from being exposed for the crimes they have committed, a hit man, and an actor who doubles as the doorman at Millicent's home. The plot races along in true Ross Thomas fashion, and once you get into the book it's almost impossible to put it down.
I am still trying to find the last few Ross Thomas novels that I don't already own and so at least this is not the last of his books that I will have to look forward to. But no one else wrote novels of the type and quality of his, and he is sorely missed.
April 17, 2020
I know I say this in every Ross Thomas review but man, could we use this guy right now.
Take for instance this one Ah, Treachery! which was the last book he completed while he was alive. Thomas is able to do a running commentary on Iran Contra, the boot-shaking fear the military industrial complex had at the Clinton election, and the foibles of American governance all in one nice, neatly-written crime tale with low rent heroes and patriotic villains. And he’s able to do it all without a partisan slant.
Who’s able to write a book like this these days? No one! Or if there is someone, please introduce this person to me post haste.
This one is alternately fun and sad. Fun in a sense that Thomas loves kicking sand in the US Intelligence sandbox of which he is familiar.The whole satirical idea of VOMIT (Victims of Military Intelligence Treachery) was a great running joke until you realize that there probably is a group like this out there (the Valerie Plame’s of the world whose names are mostly unknown to us) because it will always be argued that American imperialism is the means to an end. That means taking lives, innocent lives at any cost.
On second thought, perhaps Thomas wouldn’t be the right person at this time. The rampant cynicism of these past four years, combined with the decline in public institutional trust and shoddy governance means its tougher to lampoon. I guess we need to be in less terrible times in order to make satire great again. At any rate, Thomas’ voice will be missed. This was his last book but I’ve still got more to go in his catalogue.
Take for instance this one Ah, Treachery! which was the last book he completed while he was alive. Thomas is able to do a running commentary on Iran Contra, the boot-shaking fear the military industrial complex had at the Clinton election, and the foibles of American governance all in one nice, neatly-written crime tale with low rent heroes and patriotic villains. And he’s able to do it all without a partisan slant.
Who’s able to write a book like this these days? No one! Or if there is someone, please introduce this person to me post haste.
This one is alternately fun and sad. Fun in a sense that Thomas loves kicking sand in the US Intelligence sandbox of which he is familiar.The whole satirical idea of VOMIT (Victims of Military Intelligence Treachery) was a great running joke until you realize that there probably is a group like this out there (the Valerie Plame’s of the world whose names are mostly unknown to us) because it will always be argued that American imperialism is the means to an end. That means taking lives, innocent lives at any cost.
On second thought, perhaps Thomas wouldn’t be the right person at this time. The rampant cynicism of these past four years, combined with the decline in public institutional trust and shoddy governance means its tougher to lampoon. I guess we need to be in less terrible times in order to make satire great again. At any rate, Thomas’ voice will be missed. This was his last book but I’ve still got more to go in his catalogue.
August 17, 2023
Knowing I’m a Ross Thomas fan, a friend gave me a hard-to-find copy of Ah, Treachery!. I can read Thomas for the clever dialogue alone, and Ah, Treachery! didn’t disappoint. The characters often say stuff that’s unusual or even thought provoking; sentences can end with a surprise. For instance: “General Hudson long ago decided that remorse and regret are counterproductive emotions. Once he decided that, he had his removed.”
Though the dialogue is good fun, the plot is a bit of a slog. There are lots of characters to remember, and most are defined by betrayal and deception, and not much else, hence the title Ah, Treachery!. To be fair, many of the characters have complicated backstories, but here again, we’re talking deception and double dealing as the dominant story line.
So overall, I’m lukewarm on this Ross Thomas novel. My friend had some critiques too, but he ended with a comment that’s spot on. “But, hey, it’s still Ross Thomas, and that ain’t bad.”
Though the dialogue is good fun, the plot is a bit of a slog. There are lots of characters to remember, and most are defined by betrayal and deception, and not much else, hence the title Ah, Treachery!. To be fair, many of the characters have complicated backstories, but here again, we’re talking deception and double dealing as the dominant story line.
So overall, I’m lukewarm on this Ross Thomas novel. My friend had some critiques too, but he ended with a comment that’s spot on. “But, hey, it’s still Ross Thomas, and that ain’t bad.”
March 15, 2024
(3 1/2). I have to thank Jim Thane for turning me on to Ross Thomas, he is an outstanding writer. This book is not quite as good as Briarpatch, but that is a tall order. Twodee Edd Partain is a really fun protagonist, and although this story is kind of complicated, it moves at high speed and is as solid as it gets. We have some nicely developed twists and turns, fairly abundant but appropriate violence and some side sex to keep things in good order. I will get to Thomas’s other stories in due time, as I am sure they are all terrific. Good stuff.
May 20, 2025
Another great read by Ross Thomas; why isn't that a surprise?
As usual, Ah Treachery is a masterful mix of espionage, crime and political intrigue, underpinned by great storytelling and peppered by witty dialogues.
Only reason for not giving the 5th star is that the number of killings was unnecessarily high in this book, which took away a dash of realism.
But we are really nitpicking here, I would warmly recommend the book to any fan of the genre.
As usual, Ah Treachery is a masterful mix of espionage, crime and political intrigue, underpinned by great storytelling and peppered by witty dialogues.
Only reason for not giving the 5th star is that the number of killings was unnecessarily high in this book, which took away a dash of realism.
But we are really nitpicking here, I would warmly recommend the book to any fan of the genre.
May 30, 2017
Re-reading Ross Thomas week ends with his last book which is set during the Clinton transition. Usually expert atmosphere for both LA and Washington as well as for how politics and money go together. The two bad guys are just a little too bad in covering up a problem that probably wouldn't be that big a problem; their violence is disproportionate. A nice curveball near the end though.
July 28, 2024
Edd (with two D's) Partain was washed out of the service one year short of retirement. Now he's playing bodyguard to a political fundraiser who lost 1.2 million dollars and is concerned that her life is in danger.
Ross Thoomas frames treachery in many guises -- romantic, political, military -- and takes no prisoners in this cynically amusing romp through the perils of soft money in politics.
Ross Thoomas frames treachery in many guises -- romantic, political, military -- and takes no prisoners in this cynically amusing romp through the perils of soft money in politics.
December 31, 2025
The last Ross Thomas book, we get some off-screen deaths of other RT protagonists, but the central story is of a morally upright soldier who won’t be left alone by rogue actors from his past. While it starts out west, of course it meanders back through DC, and doesn’t show any weakening of his storytelling powers.
November 14, 2017
Book explans what happened
Cia and army playing tricks thought the were immune from consequences good mystery with a trail for the money and the dirty deeds
Cia and army playing tricks thought the were immune from consequences good mystery with a trail for the money and the dirty deeds
February 15, 2018
If Elmore Leonard had written political thrillers, they would have read an awful lot like Ross Thomas. And that's the highest praise I can give Thomas. Just a fantastic writer.
February 9, 2021
Kept hoping it would get better as I went along. Perhaps it would be more meaningful for American's who have had some experience with the military. As a Canadian, it didn't really resonate with me.
April 20, 2023
Not too bad.
September 10, 2024
Absolutely wonderful tale of political intrigue mixed with murder and dark humor in a plot I couldn't begin to explain. I believe this is Thomas' last book. Too bad. Completely entertaining. 5 stars.
May 24, 2023
Serviceable late-career Ross Thomas. Not quite as lively as some of his other work, but still serviceable. Protagonist Edd Partain never quite comes alive until the end, and the bad guys are pretty drab. But, hey, it's still Ross Thomas, and that ain't bad.
June 4, 2025
Ah, Mid
February 28, 2017
One of Ross Thomas' best, and that's saying a lot. I was sorry to finish it because it was entertaining from start to finish.
September 5, 2017
Very stylish. I just finished it and am not quite sure what it was all about, but I think, once I dwelled over it on my drive to work or home or so, I will have put it all together.
I know that every action and reaction made sense immediately or soon after I read it, but all the pieces have not fallen into place yet. Nevertheless, they will, I'm sure.
The book had the feel of an old noir-novel, with a little more politics, but mostly about tough guys, tough gals and the people they meet, all of them including their little (or not so little) quirks. If you like that, read it. It's solid.
I know that every action and reaction made sense immediately or soon after I read it, but all the pieces have not fallen into place yet. Nevertheless, they will, I'm sure.
The book had the feel of an old noir-novel, with a little more politics, but mostly about tough guys, tough gals and the people they meet, all of them including their little (or not so little) quirks. If you like that, read it. It's solid.
May 6, 2012
Ross Thomas some say reads like a handbook for what's happening behind the scenes but didn't really want to know. He scrapes away the surface and his characters take on lives of their own. In this book he explores the politics of politics, and sure doesn't pull any punches with the levels of corruption, graft, and treachery. Some people I've read say that reading Ross Thomas is being introduced into the world of sociopaths-nice ones as well as bad ones-and maybe they were right. This one's too on the spot with respect to how good writing is done (Thomas was president of the Mystery Writers of America), how surprising interesting plots evolve, and what a good book looks like.
January 6, 2016
As a long time fan of Thomas, it was a delight catching up with his stylized take on political corruption, this time with a dose of military shenanigans in El Salvador. Captain Edd "Twodes" is drummed out of the Army when he's fingered as a patsy in a government cover-up in a brutal, not so secret campaign in Central America. He's seen and done it all. Convoluted plot line covers a lot of ground, but it's all fun and in the hands of a master story teller, it works. How can you not like an organization named VOMIT (Veterans Of Military Intelligence and Treachery.) Dialogue crackles, never panders. If you like this one, there are 20 others to enjoy.
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February 16, 2009Thomas's last novel. Probably not his best, but still a winner.
February 27, 2012
Ross Thomas's final novel before his death. His writing is crisp, irreverent, funny and provocative right to the end.
June 22, 2012
Grand story telling!
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