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The Mordida Man
Accepting a presidential assignment when an international terrorist is kidnapped and the terrorist's friends abduct the president's brother in answer, independent fixer Chubb Dunjee investigates a trail of ruthlessly dangerous players. Reprint. NYT.
245 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
31 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Ross Thomas
59 books171 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 30 reviews
October 4, 2017
This was a great story. Typical Ross Thomas - a complicated story with lots of humor mixed in. Interesting characters, but I had trouble remembering who some of them were. And sometimes it's hard to even know who are the good guys and bad guys.
As usual, a whole lot of cheating going on, with some musical money that nobody knows who will get it, or where it will go.
As usual, a whole lot of cheating going on, with some musical money that nobody knows who will get it, or where it will go.
February 2, 2014
This book reads like a Tom Clancy thriller with all the fat cut out and a sense of humor put in its place. Thomas's writing is so polished and taut, it would be difficult to edit out a single word. This globe-spanning political kidnapping thriller comes off as wholly authentic, especially in its skewing of under the table political maneuvering. It's plot is as timely today as when it was released 33 years ago, thus proving once again that nothing ever changes in the Middle East. That this book has never been turned into a movie is inconceivable, what with its wise-ass hero, it's multi-ethnic array of good guys and bad guys, its many exotic locals, its unpredictable twists and turns. Not to mention that it's smart, which is more than can be said for the dreck out there today.
April 6, 2017
A former one-term Congressman named Chubb Dunjee takes center stage in The Mordida Man. Dunjee is one of those larger-than-life characters who found their way into the novels of Ross Thomas. Once a captain in the Special Forces as well as a Congressman and UN official, he later became a cab driver. Later still, he hired himself out to take on “special projects” overseas. A stint in Mexico, when he spread around enough bribe money to spring 62 Americans from jail, earned him the moniker in the novel’s title. Now, retired to a villa in Portugal, Dunjee is approached by an old political acquaintance representing the White House on a curious mission. The ex-Congressman is broke now, so he has little choice but to take it on.
The President has a big problem
Yes, there’s a problem. A big one. And President Jerome McKay thinks only Chubb Dunjee can fix it. Under truly mysterious circumstances, the president’s brother, Bingo McKay, has been kidnapped — and it’s clear that the Libyan government is involved. Thomas introduces a seriously unbalanced Moammar Gaddhafi lookalike to underline the threat.
The solution is more complicated than you can possibly imagine
With this setup, Thomas is off and running in one of his typically fast-moving and suspenseful political thrillers. He’s funny from time to time as well. The book is full of colorful characters, among them assorted international terrorists, a criminal hacker, clever Arab officials, a distinguished Gambian UN delegate, a corrupt former CIA officer, and two crafty American political operatives. As in all of Thomas’ novels, the plot twists and turns, offering up plenty of surprises. Somehow, it all works. I’ve long found Ross Thomas‘ books to be among the most enjoyable on the market. It’s a pity that he died more than twenty years ago.
The President has a big problem
Yes, there’s a problem. A big one. And President Jerome McKay thinks only Chubb Dunjee can fix it. Under truly mysterious circumstances, the president’s brother, Bingo McKay, has been kidnapped — and it’s clear that the Libyan government is involved. Thomas introduces a seriously unbalanced Moammar Gaddhafi lookalike to underline the threat.
The solution is more complicated than you can possibly imagine
With this setup, Thomas is off and running in one of his typically fast-moving and suspenseful political thrillers. He’s funny from time to time as well. The book is full of colorful characters, among them assorted international terrorists, a criminal hacker, clever Arab officials, a distinguished Gambian UN delegate, a corrupt former CIA officer, and two crafty American political operatives. As in all of Thomas’ novels, the plot twists and turns, offering up plenty of surprises. Somehow, it all works. I’ve long found Ross Thomas‘ books to be among the most enjoyable on the market. It’s a pity that he died more than twenty years ago.
September 6, 2019
Over the course of this year I've been working my way through all of Ross Thomas' old thrillers from the '60s, '70s and '80s and this one has the best plot yet. The set-up is simple: An international terrorist backed by the Libyan regime is kidnapped, and so the Libyans -- believing the CIA is behind it -- retaliate by kidnapping the president's politically savvy brother. The president, instead of relying on the unreliable CIA to resolve all this, turns to "the Mordida Man," who earned that nickname because of his skill at freeing dozens of America hostages in Mexico. (His explanation of how he did it is a masterful bit of Thomas dialogue).
The book has all the usual Thomas trademarks: twisty plot, morbid humor, rampant greed, cross-cutting between the major players, more than one double-cross, commentary on modern life and a modest hero who is more than he seems. The story starts with the cleverly described original kidnapping and never really lets up the pace from there, climaxing with an amphibious assault on an island and a final double-cross.
I really enjoyed this one, racing through it in just about three days, and even stayed up late to finish it. I'm docking it one star because Thomas created an interesting and allegedly powerful female character to team up with the hero, then didn't give her much to do besides go to bed with him.
The book has all the usual Thomas trademarks: twisty plot, morbid humor, rampant greed, cross-cutting between the major players, more than one double-cross, commentary on modern life and a modest hero who is more than he seems. The story starts with the cleverly described original kidnapping and never really lets up the pace from there, climaxing with an amphibious assault on an island and a final double-cross.
I really enjoyed this one, racing through it in just about three days, and even stayed up late to finish it. I'm docking it one star because Thomas created an interesting and allegedly powerful female character to team up with the hero, then didn't give her much to do besides go to bed with him.
October 28, 2024
The Mordida Man, by Ross Thomas was published in 1981, IMO it’s one his best. I’ve now read 15, and look forward to reading the remaining 5 or so. While normally I lean into his stories of domestic political intrigue and chicanery, he is equally talented in his creation of rollicking tales of international terror, espionage and corruption. The Mordida Man is one of the latter…US vs. Libya, oil & guns, with a variety of international diplomats, spooks, crooks and wise guys wanting in on action. I’m amazed that MM was not optioned in the ‘80’s for filming, in the right hands, ie. Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch or Michael Mann, it could have been a smashingly good movie. But not to be, so on to the book.
The time -1980? places -US, Europe & Libya, people -young US President MacKay & older brother/mentor Bingo, by way of Oklahoma, and Libya post Quadafy, strongman the Colonel. Oh, of course the Mordida Man, Chubb Dunjee.
Libyan Cultural Attaché London Embassy. “Abedsaid sighed and said, “The Colonel’s gonna be madder’n a shot bobcat with a toothache.” During his four-year stay in Oklahoma, Abedsaid had carefully acquired a large collection of aphorisms, metaphors, and similes peculiarly indigenous to the American southwest. He delighted in peppering his conversation with them, especially in London, where it seemed to offend almost everyone. in Oklahoma, Abedsaid had carefully acquired a large collection of aphorisms, metaphors, and similes peculiarly indigenous to the American southwest. He delighted in peppering his conversation with them, especially in London, where it seemed to offend almost everyone.”
Referendum to the hijacking’s of Felix -world renowned freedom fighter/aka terrorist, and the Colonel’s good friend. Suspects- CIA or Mosad. Next the President’s brother and his female aide are taken [with Bingo’s ear returned as evidence] as barter for the return of Felix. Suspect -Libya. Coombs, CIA head, informs the President on Felix -pleads not us. Not trusting Coombs, the President calls in an old crony Paul Grimes to unravel who/where got Felix & who/where got Bingo MacKay and Eleanor Rhoades. Paul recommends Chubbs Dunjee, aka Mordida Man, and ex US congressman/Vietnam hero who refused his medals, but lost his seat when his wife left him for the Weathermen, as the guy for the job.
Grimes get paid the 1st installment from Grimes’ assistant, Delfte Csider. “Felix Krull,” she read. “That’s rather funny.” “Not as funny as asking me to sign for it.” “What’ll you do if it’s not all there?” “It’ll be there.” “Then why check it?” “Because if I don’t now, I may wish that I had later, which would be too late.” “That’s a complicated attitude.” “It’s a complicated world.”
Grimes queries Chubb. “They say you work it funny.” “Funny?” “Oblique might be a better word. They say you used to take an oblique approach.” “I always tried to use the smoothest path. Sometimes it was also the longest.” “You’re not going to … ” Grimes let his question trail off. Dunjee smiled. “I’ll be … oblique.” “What’d this guy do?” “At the UN?” Grimes nodded again. “He was a spy.”
Anvil Five, international bank robbers/terrorists/freedom fighters. “Ko Yoshikawa had his right eye pressed against the fish-eye security viewer that had been inset into the bulkhead. Through it Ko could watch as Dr. Abdulhamid Souri changed the dressing on the left side of Bingo McKay’s head—the side where he no longer had an ear.” Ko’s cohorts “ the lashless German, Bernt Diringshoffen, and an indifferent shrug from the Algerian-born Françoise Leget”, the other two Felix & Maria no longer around [ “explanation why Felix had forgotten how to breathe” ? - Comes later] “The Nigerians will be handling the negotiations, right?” “Their Ambassador to America is flying into Rome. A man called Dokubo. Olufemi Dokubo. He seems a sensible type, if a bit self-centered.”
“Faraj Abedsaid will be in full charge of our negotiations.”
Felix’s finger of fate -delivered to Reese, CIA. “Wash ’em off,” he said and used his own middle finger and thumb to flick the two severed fingers across the desk toward Dr. Mapangou. “They’re beginning to thaw, I believe,” Dr. Mapangou said. “You got any aluminum foil?” “Wrap ’em up good in that and pop ’em into your freezer.” Tell me about the fingers, Doc.” “I did not know what they were.” “You didn’t, huh?” -“ a couple of frozen fingers in cigar tubes all nice and insulated in an ice cream bag—except you didn’t” -“ What’d you think they were?” “I was not told.” “Okay. Who did you see up there in room 542?” “Mr. Arnold,” Dr. Mapangou said. “And Mr. Benedict.” “Arnold and Benedict.” What did Arnold and Benedict want you to do?” “They wanted me to deliver the two … cigar tubes.” “They did, huh?” “Yes.” “Who did they want you to deliver them to?” “They wanted me to deliver the cigar tubes to certain members of the Libyan and Israeli delegations. One each.” “I know. But what were you supposed to tell them?” “The same thing.” “I was to tell both Ashour and Efrati this, exactly: ‘If you want the rest of the merchandise, the price will be ten million dollars.” “What do you think the ‘rest of the merchandise’ is?” Dr. Mapangou swallowed noisily. “I do not know.” “Come on, Doc. You deliver them each a finger. Now what do you think belongs to a finger?” “A person?” Dr. Mapangou whispered. He’s playing with me, Dr. Mapangou thought sadly. He thinks I am a fool and now he is going to make me do something awful. For the first time, Dr. Mapangou found himself wishing he had never come to New York.” “Dr. Mapangou shook his head no, dreading what Reese would say next. “Why, they belong to Gustavo Berrio-Brito, that’s who. The well-known freedom fighter. The guy everybody calls Felix. You’ve heard of Felix, haven’t you” -“You beter tell me the rest of it Doc. All of it. You know I’m going to get it out of you one way or another.” “This guy Arnold,” Reese said. “What did he look like?” Dr. Mapangou gave a detailed description of Franklin Keeling, the ex-CIA man, and his constantly exasperated expression, and his sometimes tortured syntax.” -“And when he talks do his hands move around a lot like this?” Reese made his hands flutter about above the desk blotter. “Like fat butterflies,” Benedict. What’s he look like?” Dr. Mapangou’s description of Jack Spiceman, the ex-FBI special agent, was equally exact and equally detailed. “He has very still eyes,” Dr. Mapangou said. “Very … remote, like lost lakes.” … “About three months ago, in the delegates’ lounge at the UN, a rumor started. The rumor was about Libyan oil and U.S. arms. A trade.” —“maybe you even started it.” - “ Nothing wrong with that,” Reese said, sitting back down in the chair behind the pecan desk. “You’re a diplomat. You heard some information. You passed it on. That’s what diplomats do, right?” -“you furnished Arnold and Benedict with information. Was that on a regular basis?” “Fairly regular, yes.” “What’s fairly regular?” “Once a week.” “Yes … yes, they did compensate me with a little extra.” “How much is a little extra?” “ Five thousand dollars.” -Reese’s tone was incredulous. “A month! - What was the big ticket item they had you working on?” “I will not answer, Dr. Mapangou thought, closing his eyes again…Tomorrow fly to Dakar and take the bus down to Banjul and then go for bush and never come out.” “Reese’s cold stare hit him like a hard slap. “Felix,” Dr. Mapangou said.” “Mr. Benedict and Mr. Arnold,” Reese said finally in a musing voice. “They want to sell Felix to both the Libyans and the Israelis for ten million bucks, right?” “So what they really plan to do, Mr. Benedict and Mr. Arnold, is run a shitty, right?” “A shitty? Yes, a shitty, as you say.” “What was your cut gonna be, Doc—out of the twenty million?” Dr. Mapangou licked his lips. “Five hundred thousand?” He made it a tentative question.” “How would you like to make, say two million?” “Dr. Mapangou’s breast burst into a roaring blast. But he kept his voice calm and casual, except for a small squeak at the very end. “I would like that very much,” he said. “Very much indeed.”
Did I mention Felix was no longer among the living, but the ransom goes forward? We’re 1/2 way into the story…you hooked yet? If not -more of my highlights are visible. Me? I’m going to postpone reading the new Michael Connelly, Renee Ballard-Harry Bosch book, and read another Thomas tale. 🤔 should it be NO QUESTIONS ASKED, book 5 in the Philip St. Ives series (written as Oliver Bleek) or should it be The Backup Men, Mac McCorkle book #3?
Supper now, the Celtics and World Series, I’ll decide tomorrow.
The time -1980? places -US, Europe & Libya, people -young US President MacKay & older brother/mentor Bingo, by way of Oklahoma, and Libya post Quadafy, strongman the Colonel. Oh, of course the Mordida Man, Chubb Dunjee.
Libyan Cultural Attaché London Embassy. “Abedsaid sighed and said, “The Colonel’s gonna be madder’n a shot bobcat with a toothache.” During his four-year stay in Oklahoma, Abedsaid had carefully acquired a large collection of aphorisms, metaphors, and similes peculiarly indigenous to the American southwest. He delighted in peppering his conversation with them, especially in London, where it seemed to offend almost everyone. in Oklahoma, Abedsaid had carefully acquired a large collection of aphorisms, metaphors, and similes peculiarly indigenous to the American southwest. He delighted in peppering his conversation with them, especially in London, where it seemed to offend almost everyone.”
Referendum to the hijacking’s of Felix -world renowned freedom fighter/aka terrorist, and the Colonel’s good friend. Suspects- CIA or Mosad. Next the President’s brother and his female aide are taken [with Bingo’s ear returned as evidence] as barter for the return of Felix. Suspect -Libya. Coombs, CIA head, informs the President on Felix -pleads not us. Not trusting Coombs, the President calls in an old crony Paul Grimes to unravel who/where got Felix & who/where got Bingo MacKay and Eleanor Rhoades. Paul recommends Chubbs Dunjee, aka Mordida Man, and ex US congressman/Vietnam hero who refused his medals, but lost his seat when his wife left him for the Weathermen, as the guy for the job.
Grimes get paid the 1st installment from Grimes’ assistant, Delfte Csider. “Felix Krull,” she read. “That’s rather funny.” “Not as funny as asking me to sign for it.” “What’ll you do if it’s not all there?” “It’ll be there.” “Then why check it?” “Because if I don’t now, I may wish that I had later, which would be too late.” “That’s a complicated attitude.” “It’s a complicated world.”
Grimes queries Chubb. “They say you work it funny.” “Funny?” “Oblique might be a better word. They say you used to take an oblique approach.” “I always tried to use the smoothest path. Sometimes it was also the longest.” “You’re not going to … ” Grimes let his question trail off. Dunjee smiled. “I’ll be … oblique.” “What’d this guy do?” “At the UN?” Grimes nodded again. “He was a spy.”
Anvil Five, international bank robbers/terrorists/freedom fighters. “Ko Yoshikawa had his right eye pressed against the fish-eye security viewer that had been inset into the bulkhead. Through it Ko could watch as Dr. Abdulhamid Souri changed the dressing on the left side of Bingo McKay’s head—the side where he no longer had an ear.” Ko’s cohorts “ the lashless German, Bernt Diringshoffen, and an indifferent shrug from the Algerian-born Françoise Leget”, the other two Felix & Maria no longer around [ “explanation why Felix had forgotten how to breathe” ? - Comes later] “The Nigerians will be handling the negotiations, right?” “Their Ambassador to America is flying into Rome. A man called Dokubo. Olufemi Dokubo. He seems a sensible type, if a bit self-centered.”
“Faraj Abedsaid will be in full charge of our negotiations.”
Felix’s finger of fate -delivered to Reese, CIA. “Wash ’em off,” he said and used his own middle finger and thumb to flick the two severed fingers across the desk toward Dr. Mapangou. “They’re beginning to thaw, I believe,” Dr. Mapangou said. “You got any aluminum foil?” “Wrap ’em up good in that and pop ’em into your freezer.” Tell me about the fingers, Doc.” “I did not know what they were.” “You didn’t, huh?” -“ a couple of frozen fingers in cigar tubes all nice and insulated in an ice cream bag—except you didn’t” -“ What’d you think they were?” “I was not told.” “Okay. Who did you see up there in room 542?” “Mr. Arnold,” Dr. Mapangou said. “And Mr. Benedict.” “Arnold and Benedict.” What did Arnold and Benedict want you to do?” “They wanted me to deliver the two … cigar tubes.” “They did, huh?” “Yes.” “Who did they want you to deliver them to?” “They wanted me to deliver the cigar tubes to certain members of the Libyan and Israeli delegations. One each.” “I know. But what were you supposed to tell them?” “The same thing.” “I was to tell both Ashour and Efrati this, exactly: ‘If you want the rest of the merchandise, the price will be ten million dollars.” “What do you think the ‘rest of the merchandise’ is?” Dr. Mapangou swallowed noisily. “I do not know.” “Come on, Doc. You deliver them each a finger. Now what do you think belongs to a finger?” “A person?” Dr. Mapangou whispered. He’s playing with me, Dr. Mapangou thought sadly. He thinks I am a fool and now he is going to make me do something awful. For the first time, Dr. Mapangou found himself wishing he had never come to New York.” “Dr. Mapangou shook his head no, dreading what Reese would say next. “Why, they belong to Gustavo Berrio-Brito, that’s who. The well-known freedom fighter. The guy everybody calls Felix. You’ve heard of Felix, haven’t you” -“You beter tell me the rest of it Doc. All of it. You know I’m going to get it out of you one way or another.” “This guy Arnold,” Reese said. “What did he look like?” Dr. Mapangou gave a detailed description of Franklin Keeling, the ex-CIA man, and his constantly exasperated expression, and his sometimes tortured syntax.” -“And when he talks do his hands move around a lot like this?” Reese made his hands flutter about above the desk blotter. “Like fat butterflies,” Benedict. What’s he look like?” Dr. Mapangou’s description of Jack Spiceman, the ex-FBI special agent, was equally exact and equally detailed. “He has very still eyes,” Dr. Mapangou said. “Very … remote, like lost lakes.” … “About three months ago, in the delegates’ lounge at the UN, a rumor started. The rumor was about Libyan oil and U.S. arms. A trade.” —“maybe you even started it.” - “ Nothing wrong with that,” Reese said, sitting back down in the chair behind the pecan desk. “You’re a diplomat. You heard some information. You passed it on. That’s what diplomats do, right?” -“you furnished Arnold and Benedict with information. Was that on a regular basis?” “Fairly regular, yes.” “What’s fairly regular?” “Once a week.” “Yes … yes, they did compensate me with a little extra.” “How much is a little extra?” “ Five thousand dollars.” -Reese’s tone was incredulous. “A month! - What was the big ticket item they had you working on?” “I will not answer, Dr. Mapangou thought, closing his eyes again…Tomorrow fly to Dakar and take the bus down to Banjul and then go for bush and never come out.” “Reese’s cold stare hit him like a hard slap. “Felix,” Dr. Mapangou said.” “Mr. Benedict and Mr. Arnold,” Reese said finally in a musing voice. “They want to sell Felix to both the Libyans and the Israelis for ten million bucks, right?” “So what they really plan to do, Mr. Benedict and Mr. Arnold, is run a shitty, right?” “A shitty? Yes, a shitty, as you say.” “What was your cut gonna be, Doc—out of the twenty million?” Dr. Mapangou licked his lips. “Five hundred thousand?” He made it a tentative question.” “How would you like to make, say two million?” “Dr. Mapangou’s breast burst into a roaring blast. But he kept his voice calm and casual, except for a small squeak at the very end. “I would like that very much,” he said. “Very much indeed.”
Did I mention Felix was no longer among the living, but the ransom goes forward? We’re 1/2 way into the story…you hooked yet? If not -more of my highlights are visible. Me? I’m going to postpone reading the new Michael Connelly, Renee Ballard-Harry Bosch book, and read another Thomas tale. 🤔 should it be NO QUESTIONS ASKED, book 5 in the Philip St. Ives series (written as Oliver Bleek) or should it be The Backup Men, Mac McCorkle book #3?
Supper now, the Celtics and World Series, I’ll decide tomorrow.
September 27, 2024
Maybe the fifth or sixth best Ross Thomas book. Very clever international intrigue. I guess a slight markdown because this hero is similar to the one in Missionary Stew, but not as interesting.
The thing that made Ross Thomas great was not just his CIA experience; nor his years as a Democrat party bagman; no, rather, it’s the author’s ability to take characters that in many ways have similar back-stories, in different novels; yet make them sound and seem different.
Few can do that; fewer still even bother. Ross Thomas mostly succeeds.
The thing that made Ross Thomas great was not just his CIA experience; nor his years as a Democrat party bagman; no, rather, it’s the author’s ability to take characters that in many ways have similar back-stories, in different novels; yet make them sound and seem different.
Few can do that; fewer still even bother. Ross Thomas mostly succeeds.
February 9, 2018
The names are a bit too ridiculous (Chubb? Delft Csider?). And the casual racism is annoying. Otherwise, this is another good read from Ross Thomas, who knows how to write a witty, engaging political thriller.
April 6, 2023
The great Ethan Iverson said of this book that for some reason Thomas' brand of narrative magic doesn't take in an international globe-trotting setting as it does in the good old U.S.A. And I agree. Still pretty good stuff.
March 14, 2017
I have read a significant number of Ross Thomas novels at this point and during the first few two of The Mordida Man I was convinced it would be one of his lesser works. I was wrong. Mr. Thomas took the typical trash-read spy novel format and turned every single part up to eleven. From the super-genius villain to the repeated mentions of the guy being tossed out of a plane to the oilmen-from-Oklahoma version of John and Bobby Kennedy to the Libyan ninjas every single element is larger than life and the novel as a whole becomes a raucous celebration of the genre. Not his best work, but easily better than most of the genre.
January 7, 2024
My second Ross Thomas, the first I bought (in Cork city, Bridge Street Books as it was then, don't care what they changed it to, it's always Bridge Street Books to me, even if it was only called that for about a week.) My copy vanished, but I have now acquired a replacement, and it was so long ago and I was so callow and ignorant of the world that it's like reading a Ross Thomas book for the first time all over again! Yay for the callowness of youth!
The usual whipsmart plot sees a terrorist nabbed in London, leading to a counter-nabbing of the US president's brother by Libyans who were funding the terrorist and who think the original nabbers were the CIA. Except they weren't and nobody knows who has the terrorist. A quintessential shady Ross Thomas political fixer is summoned and a quintessential shady Ross Thomas troubleshooter - Chubb Dunjee, ex-congressman and so-called Mordida Man for his renown in getting people out of jams in Mexico - is enjoined to shoot the trouble. While he slides obliquely from London to Rome chasing connections and making plays the CIA, the terrorists holding the president's brother, a diplomat, a UN official, the Libyans and the actual original nabbers work their schemes and their plans and their plots. It's at once insanely complicated and smooth as a blade, like a good whiskey. Funny and dark and twisty and and sly and cruel. Quintessential Ross Thomas.
The usual whipsmart plot sees a terrorist nabbed in London, leading to a counter-nabbing of the US president's brother by Libyans who were funding the terrorist and who think the original nabbers were the CIA. Except they weren't and nobody knows who has the terrorist. A quintessential shady Ross Thomas political fixer is summoned and a quintessential shady Ross Thomas troubleshooter - Chubb Dunjee, ex-congressman and so-called Mordida Man for his renown in getting people out of jams in Mexico - is enjoined to shoot the trouble. While he slides obliquely from London to Rome chasing connections and making plays the CIA, the terrorists holding the president's brother, a diplomat, a UN official, the Libyans and the actual original nabbers work their schemes and their plans and their plots. It's at once insanely complicated and smooth as a blade, like a good whiskey. Funny and dark and twisty and and sly and cruel. Quintessential Ross Thomas.
August 3, 2017
This book is a rollicking good time. All of the foreign intrigue thriller writers of today should note Ross Thomas' writing of 'The Mordida Man'. The fun, humor and similar ridiculous circumstances portrayed in current same-genre novels, but with this one's sense of tongue-in-cheek.
This also works both ways. It's too bad Thomas didn't see what writers, like Vince Flynn, recently did with the genre and he might have grounded his book a bit more involving the action part, certainly the weakest written part of 'The Mordida Man'.
Clearly the Carter Administration and Nixon's shenanigans influenced the plot of this book. Imagining Jimmy Carter's brother Billy gets into the trouble written here isn't too far a stretch. Knowing who Billy Carter is really helped swallow this story. Someone not knowing Carter, might find this book beyond preposterous.
The many, many, many characters and their motivations and goals are written superbly. Along the way the story swerves in and out of characters, actions and locations. All written with great skill and humor. Where writers like this today?
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 9 out of ten points.
This also works both ways. It's too bad Thomas didn't see what writers, like Vince Flynn, recently did with the genre and he might have grounded his book a bit more involving the action part, certainly the weakest written part of 'The Mordida Man'.
Clearly the Carter Administration and Nixon's shenanigans influenced the plot of this book. Imagining Jimmy Carter's brother Billy gets into the trouble written here isn't too far a stretch. Knowing who Billy Carter is really helped swallow this story. Someone not knowing Carter, might find this book beyond preposterous.
The many, many, many characters and their motivations and goals are written superbly. Along the way the story swerves in and out of characters, actions and locations. All written with great skill and humor. Where writers like this today?
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 9 out of ten points.
August 1, 2013
This book sat on my bookshelf unread for far too long. Entertaining thriller about the kidnapping of the President's brother by post-Quadaffi Libyans (the book was written in 1981) and an ex-Congressman, fixer brought in on the sly by the President to recover his brother.
August 27, 2009
Absurd characters, political intrigue and gory murders. The Ross Thomas trifecta.
April 21, 2025
Thomas gives us another colorful array of rotten people, all trying to con and outsmart each other in this 1970s-vintage tale.
A terrorist, a fave of Libya's Kaddafi-like dictator, is kidnapped. The Libyans think the U.S. did it and in retaliation kidnap the powerful, uber-fixer brother of the U.S. president.
The president would happily trade terrorist Felix back to them to save his brother's life, but doesn't have Felix and doesn't know who does. (And we know from the start that Felix didn't survive the kidnapping.)
The president reaches out to a former Congressman now living abroad, a skilled behind-the-scenes fixer, to quietly do whatever it takes to get his brother back.
Thomas regales us as usual with ridiculous names. Chubb Dunjee, Delft Csider, Leland Timble, Bingo McKay. The fun never stops.
And I always love his deliberately excessive use of numbers for comic effect. It comes off somewhere between one of Dan Aykroyd's Saturday Night Live technical-guy characters being technical, and the deadpan narrative in a 1950s true crime show.
The book is more explicit than his others tend to be. It was the 1970s and writers were testing, as censorship laws receded and society got bolder about how much sexual frankness it would tolerate, just how much sex to depict, in what kinds of stories—and how much they could get away with.
Thomas also lets a character show how rotten he is by using the N word, a literary convention that might be worth bringing back.
One should show villains being villainous so that others know what not to do. "Huckleberry Finn" became the powerful and great classic that it is in part because it used it, not in spite of it. I also have to wonder about a fiction world in which writers routinely depict all kinds of violence, sexual abuse, and other hideous crimes—but deem a particular word beyond the pale.
Other characters include a couple of rotten ex-CIA men, the terrorist's polyglot entourage, a Gambian emissary who is the UN's king of gossip and blackmail, and a Nigerian ambassador who uses his supreme diplomatic skills as a go-between to do what diplomats do best—stall.
A terrorist, a fave of Libya's Kaddafi-like dictator, is kidnapped. The Libyans think the U.S. did it and in retaliation kidnap the powerful, uber-fixer brother of the U.S. president.
The president would happily trade terrorist Felix back to them to save his brother's life, but doesn't have Felix and doesn't know who does. (And we know from the start that Felix didn't survive the kidnapping.)
The president reaches out to a former Congressman now living abroad, a skilled behind-the-scenes fixer, to quietly do whatever it takes to get his brother back.
Thomas regales us as usual with ridiculous names. Chubb Dunjee, Delft Csider, Leland Timble, Bingo McKay. The fun never stops.
And I always love his deliberately excessive use of numbers for comic effect. It comes off somewhere between one of Dan Aykroyd's Saturday Night Live technical-guy characters being technical, and the deadpan narrative in a 1950s true crime show.
The book is more explicit than his others tend to be. It was the 1970s and writers were testing, as censorship laws receded and society got bolder about how much sexual frankness it would tolerate, just how much sex to depict, in what kinds of stories—and how much they could get away with.
Thomas also lets a character show how rotten he is by using the N word, a literary convention that might be worth bringing back.
One should show villains being villainous so that others know what not to do. "Huckleberry Finn" became the powerful and great classic that it is in part because it used it, not in spite of it. I also have to wonder about a fiction world in which writers routinely depict all kinds of violence, sexual abuse, and other hideous crimes—but deem a particular word beyond the pale.
Other characters include a couple of rotten ex-CIA men, the terrorist's polyglot entourage, a Gambian emissary who is the UN's king of gossip and blackmail, and a Nigerian ambassador who uses his supreme diplomatic skills as a go-between to do what diplomats do best—stall.
November 21, 2024
A great set up. An international terrorist is kidnapped in London. Libyan agents kidnap the US President's brother and hold him hostage to exchange for the terrorist. Unfortunately, it was not the US who kidnapped the terrorist, and the terrorist has been killed, which the Libyan's will never believe.
While all of the US intelligence agencies are trying desperately to find the President's brother, the President, on the advice of a trusted advisor, asks Chub Dunjee to try to solve the problem.
Dunjee was a one term congressman who is living quietly in Portugal. He has made a good living as a go-between. He negotiates payoffs to get things done around the world. He got the nickname "The Mordida Man" by working for wealthy Americans trying to buy their children out of prison in Mexico. "Mordida" is Spanish slang for bribe.
Ross Thomas (1926-1995) wrote great thrillers. The story zooms along. The terrorist gang wants revenge. The Libyans are clever and want to show they must be respected. The President is trying to keep everything under wraps.
There is a wonderful evil rich guy with his own island. He is an antisocial computer whiz with a surprising resemblance to a modern-day presidential advisor.
Thomas fills the book with memorable characters. There is a crooked African UN Diplomat, a couple of ex-cop bad guys, a blowsy overweight CIA genius operative, and a retired Maltese smuggler who works as an informer in his retirement years.
The whole thing gets wrapped up with a satisfactory ending in 244 pages. Modern thrillers tend to be based around huge earth-shattering crises. They have to go 400 pages to be respectable. I enjoy Thomas's sharp, witty stories much more.
While all of the US intelligence agencies are trying desperately to find the President's brother, the President, on the advice of a trusted advisor, asks Chub Dunjee to try to solve the problem.
Dunjee was a one term congressman who is living quietly in Portugal. He has made a good living as a go-between. He negotiates payoffs to get things done around the world. He got the nickname "The Mordida Man" by working for wealthy Americans trying to buy their children out of prison in Mexico. "Mordida" is Spanish slang for bribe.
Ross Thomas (1926-1995) wrote great thrillers. The story zooms along. The terrorist gang wants revenge. The Libyans are clever and want to show they must be respected. The President is trying to keep everything under wraps.
There is a wonderful evil rich guy with his own island. He is an antisocial computer whiz with a surprising resemblance to a modern-day presidential advisor.
Thomas fills the book with memorable characters. There is a crooked African UN Diplomat, a couple of ex-cop bad guys, a blowsy overweight CIA genius operative, and a retired Maltese smuggler who works as an informer in his retirement years.
The whole thing gets wrapped up with a satisfactory ending in 244 pages. Modern thrillers tend to be based around huge earth-shattering crises. They have to go 400 pages to be respectable. I enjoy Thomas's sharp, witty stories much more.
December 29, 2019
Ross Thomas's classic political thrillers are among the few books I re-read regularly; they are gems of concise storytelling, rooted in the real world, cynical with regard to politics but with a core of personal integrity, told with wit and irony.
The plot of this one (published in 1981) is a little more complex than most of his books, with multiple competing agendas and layers of deception. The U.S. president, Jerome McKay, has a rough-hewn brother named Bingo (despite the real-world echoes, these are completely fictional characters) who gets himself kidnapped by the Libyans (on the orders of the fictional Colonel Mourabet who has replaced the fictionally deceased Qaddafi); the Libyans want to swap Bingo for the notorious terrorist Gustavo Berrio-Brito, aka Felix (Carlos the Jackal?), who has mysteriously disappeared, snatched by a couple of rogue CIA agents working for an exiled American tycoon who has bought himself a tiny Caribbean country but wants to come home... complicated, as I said.
The President brings in Chubb Dunjee, a decorated Special Forces officer and one-term congressman (his political career ended when his wife ran off with the Weathermen) who he knows will handle the necessary negotiations and skulduggery with discretion. Dunjee recruits a Cockney burglar and an exotic multi-lingual beauty to help, and we are off to the races. Nothing goes according to plan.
It's a typical Ross Thomas romp, with an insider take on the sordid side of politics and intelligence work, unique characters with quirky names (Delft Csider, Leland Timble...) exquisite irony, dry humor, the works. If you haven't yet discovered Ross Thomas, you're in for a treat.
The plot of this one (published in 1981) is a little more complex than most of his books, with multiple competing agendas and layers of deception. The U.S. president, Jerome McKay, has a rough-hewn brother named Bingo (despite the real-world echoes, these are completely fictional characters) who gets himself kidnapped by the Libyans (on the orders of the fictional Colonel Mourabet who has replaced the fictionally deceased Qaddafi); the Libyans want to swap Bingo for the notorious terrorist Gustavo Berrio-Brito, aka Felix (Carlos the Jackal?), who has mysteriously disappeared, snatched by a couple of rogue CIA agents working for an exiled American tycoon who has bought himself a tiny Caribbean country but wants to come home... complicated, as I said.
The President brings in Chubb Dunjee, a decorated Special Forces officer and one-term congressman (his political career ended when his wife ran off with the Weathermen) who he knows will handle the necessary negotiations and skulduggery with discretion. Dunjee recruits a Cockney burglar and an exotic multi-lingual beauty to help, and we are off to the races. Nothing goes according to plan.
It's a typical Ross Thomas romp, with an insider take on the sordid side of politics and intelligence work, unique characters with quirky names (Delft Csider, Leland Timble...) exquisite irony, dry humor, the works. If you haven't yet discovered Ross Thomas, you're in for a treat.
October 18, 2024
First published in 1981, this is yet another very entertaining novel from Ross Thomas with great characters, a lot of witty, intelligent humor and a plot that seems to take another twist and turn on almost every page.
When an international terrorist named Felix is goes missing, his Libyan backers assume that the C.I.A. was responsible. They attempt to seek revenge by kidnapping Bingo McKay, the brother of the president of the United States, Jerome McKay. The Libyans intend to hold Bingo hostage until Felix is released. Rather than turning to the C.I.A, for whom he seems to have little regard, the President calls in a former congressman and now general fixer named Chubb Dunjee to find and rescue Bingo. Dunjee is known as the Mordida Man because several years earlier he negotiated the release of sixty-two hostages being held in Mexico, mostly by judiciously passing out an impressive number of bribes.
What follows is a story with so many moving parts and so many odd characters, that it's almost impossible to keep everything and everyone straight. It's also impossible to tell whom, if anyone, the reader or any of the characters should trust. But in the end, that's of relatively little consequence. Thomas strings together one brilliant, amusing scene after another, and in fairly short order, one simply surrenders to the story and goes along for a great ride. Ross Thomas was a true master of the craft and while this book can now be a bit hard to find, it's well worth seeking out. A very enjoyable read.
When an international terrorist named Felix is goes missing, his Libyan backers assume that the C.I.A. was responsible. They attempt to seek revenge by kidnapping Bingo McKay, the brother of the president of the United States, Jerome McKay. The Libyans intend to hold Bingo hostage until Felix is released. Rather than turning to the C.I.A, for whom he seems to have little regard, the President calls in a former congressman and now general fixer named Chubb Dunjee to find and rescue Bingo. Dunjee is known as the Mordida Man because several years earlier he negotiated the release of sixty-two hostages being held in Mexico, mostly by judiciously passing out an impressive number of bribes.
What follows is a story with so many moving parts and so many odd characters, that it's almost impossible to keep everything and everyone straight. It's also impossible to tell whom, if anyone, the reader or any of the characters should trust. But in the end, that's of relatively little consequence. Thomas strings together one brilliant, amusing scene after another, and in fairly short order, one simply surrenders to the story and goes along for a great ride. Ross Thomas was a true master of the craft and while this book can now be a bit hard to find, it's well worth seeking out. A very enjoyable read.
October 1, 2024
I'm a true Ross Thomas fan - have been for years - I think he's always been vastly under-rated. But this one was a clinker for me. I thought the plotting was pretty lame, and I simply can't enjoy a book much when the majority of the characters are total assholes... and some of the violence was pretty un-necessary.
November 10, 2019
I'm a sucker for Ross Thomas books. I was reading this while suffering from a cold/flu and I was getting lost at the start juggling a number of characters but held on. Seemed to be more clever for the genre with the writing style and characters and a complicated plot.
October 26, 2025
I’m not a fan of books where I can’t really keep track of all the different twists and turns - it becomes too confusing to enjoy. Also felt like the ending was very anticlimatic. It’s a no thank you for me.
January 27, 2025
This is Good!
Lots of moving parts. Got to pay attention to keep plots and characters in order. Not sure I liked the ending but it is almost not avoidable. Well worth the time.
Lots of moving parts. Got to pay attention to keep plots and characters in order. Not sure I liked the ending but it is almost not avoidable. Well worth the time.
August 1, 2023
Classic Thomas fare. Great setup, double crosses and snags, and then the showdown in the lair. All this, and a weird alternate political history too.
One odd thing was I bought the old paperback of this used and a person had written in pencil twice in my copy. Once to note “this is really boring shit!” in a chapter about a minor informant. Now, I totally disagree with that note because it was an entertaining character sketch that lent understanding to the extent of the CIA’s information gathering plus how imperfectly human it all is. The second note: “this is total crap!” was scrawled later in the book and was the morning after scene with maybe the dumbest description of a woman’s breasts I’ve read, so I forgive that one. But those notes felt like a precursor to the Goodreads reviewers who express themselves with such poetic gusto.
One odd thing was I bought the old paperback of this used and a person had written in pencil twice in my copy. Once to note “this is really boring shit!” in a chapter about a minor informant. Now, I totally disagree with that note because it was an entertaining character sketch that lent understanding to the extent of the CIA’s information gathering plus how imperfectly human it all is. The second note: “this is total crap!” was scrawled later in the book and was the morning after scene with maybe the dumbest description of a woman’s breasts I’ve read, so I forgive that one. But those notes felt like a precursor to the Goodreads reviewers who express themselves with such poetic gusto.
May 7, 2025
Ross Thomas' books might not always have the best plots or the most compelling characters but they all have a common trait, that of being compulsively readable.
The Mordida Man is one of those cases, it's almost a one-sitting read despite not being the best of Ross Thomas' works. For that, take a loook at Briarpatch (exceptionally good) or The Fools in Town are on our Side.
The Mordida Man is one of those cases, it's almost a one-sitting read despite not being the best of Ross Thomas' works. For that, take a loook at Briarpatch (exceptionally good) or The Fools in Town are on our Side.
October 1, 2023
Read (or listen, if using Audio book) to this book attentively: it is smart, fast and sophisticated and it is easy to miss a critical fact or nuance that will make the complex plot understandable. This is smart cold war, political thriller stuff: lots of information is provided, but an understanding of the political climate of the time is always helpful. Ross writes using dialogue extensively to set a scene, bring the reader through action and reveal the subtle political motivation of the characters, who are economically described, yet fully realized through their speech and actions. There are not necessarily any good guys or bad guys, and Ross does not shy away from depicting less than savory conduct of the USA abroad and at home through the actions of the CIA or FBI. Ross is the master at this type of thriller. Plenty of action for those that crave that, but some pretty cerebral stuff, too, for those that love understanding the gray zone of political morality.
September 4, 2015
I really admire Ross Thomas. He writes tight crime/spy/thrillers with winning characters and page-turning plots, and a couple of twists thrown in.
They never last very long (this one I finished in two days) but they're always worthwhile.
The President's brother is missing, and the Libyans got him. Chubb Dungee is a negotiator. He doesn't have any leads, but he's got his wits and some luck.
Guess starring: Criminal Bill Gates, an international terrorist cell, two African ambassadors (one good, one evil), Ron Jeremy from the CIA, a one-eared George Clooney, a couple of Blonde assistants that mostly just look pretty, and a big lovable British oaf/burglar.
It's just a wee bit sexist in retrospect (no really strong women) but not worst than any other 70s/80s paperback.
A good read. I enjoy all his books, but I'm trying to parcel them out so they last.
They never last very long (this one I finished in two days) but they're always worthwhile.
The President's brother is missing, and the Libyans got him. Chubb Dungee is a negotiator. He doesn't have any leads, but he's got his wits and some luck.
Guess starring: Criminal Bill Gates, an international terrorist cell, two African ambassadors (one good, one evil), Ron Jeremy from the CIA, a one-eared George Clooney, a couple of Blonde assistants that mostly just look pretty, and a big lovable British oaf/burglar.
It's just a wee bit sexist in retrospect (no really strong women) but not worst than any other 70s/80s paperback.
A good read. I enjoy all his books, but I'm trying to parcel them out so they last.
July 6, 2010
A re-read. Nicely convoluted plot, as usual with RT, with clever characters and psychology. This particular one interests me because of the Libyan connection, as I lived there for a couple of years before Qaddaffi took over.
April 10, 2024
Great read!
October 16, 2013
Not his best but a good read with some wonderful writing.
April 25, 2015
Good but I've enjoyed his other books more. It might be slight Ross Thomas fatigue on my part, though I still love his work.
October 7, 2015
Fantastic thriller. Ross Thomas is one of the best political thriller writers ever. Mordida Man is his best book and I've read almost all of his novels. This is a captivating entertaining read.
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