What do you think?
Rate this book
The Money Harvest
A few hours before he was to have revealed a shocking secret, ninety-two-year-old Crawdad Gilmore, advisor to six presidents, is murdered, and Jake Pope must figure out who killed him and why. Reprint.
256 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1993
71 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 21, 2021
Something big is going to go down in Washington, DC on July 11. Crawdad Gilmore overheard a hot tip in the men's room of the private Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C., but he doesn't survive long enough to provide details. His friends and former associates, Jake Pope and Ancel Easter, know the old-time Washington hand had something important to tell them. To find out what it is, they step into a whirlwind powered by greed and graft.
The plot afoot is to rig the commodities market by stealing the Agriculture Department's elaborately guarded, secret crop report before its public release. So although the plot involves the arcane workings of the commodities market, the devilment is in the details.
Thomas loves to play with names and this one delivers a rich harvest of deliciously named scoundrels. In addition to "Crawdad" and Easter, there's Fred C. Clapperton who always used his middle initial "as though he was afraid he'd be mixed up with some other Fred. Clapperton," and a commodity brokerage firm with the melodious name of Anderson, Maytubby & Jones. Hired gun Ralph Hayes' real name is Elefteris Spiliocoupoulos. That's an authentic surname, and Thomas liked it so well he used it for a Greek with the first name of Toss in another of his books, Chinaman's Chance.
The commodities scam here is just the brown paper in which many well-developed character portraits are wrapped:
* Crawdad, "an agnostic until he finally turned to atheism at 93," served in the administrations of six presidents and guarded their secret political machinations well until he needed them, as in the case of how the Jack Kennedy assassination report was constructed.
* Ancel Easter, "the brightest man in Washington," heads Crawdad's law firm, Gilmore, Easter, Timothy and Sterns (GETS), and is powerful enough that homicide detectives come to his nine-story house in Washington's tony Kalorama Circle to give him progress reports.
* Jake Pope, whose mother Simmi Lee was a bootlegger, is a Senate investigator who vets candidates for office by asking the hard questions about their sexual proclivities or their Ponzi schemes. With Crawdad's help, he became rich after an 18 day marriage after his wife died in a car crash. He likes "looking into things."
* An officious GS-14 employee, Dallas Hucks, aspires to the good life and status of Cosmos Club membership, but he's in hock so deep that he's thrown out of his carpool group when the check for his ride share fee bounces. So he eagerly agrees to steal the crop report for a promise of $100,000 on July 11.
* Fulvio Varesi's fulsome biography includes his family's work for Al Capone. At age 22 he started collecting politicians, buying "early and selling cheap," and has no compulsion about having people twepped, a phrase he borrowed from the CIA, meaning Terminated With Extreme Prejudice. Varesi hires Chinese grad students to visit greedy brokers and "go long on wheat." As word circulates that "the Chinese" are buying wheat, the price goes up. On July 11, Varesi will dump it and make a tidy profit, the "Money Harvest" of the title.
* Kyle Tarr of Omaha was part of Fulvio's collection when he was a Congressman from Omaha; now out of office, he looks to sell his influence and get rich quick. He connects with Noah deGraffereid, an antiques dealer who is a high class fence, who finds Hucks to set the scam in motion.
* Hugo Worthy, who lights his cigarettes with an old Zippo lighter, is a homicide detective trying to figure out how to leave his wife and move in with a 22-year old ballet dancer. He discusses gun laws with Ancel Easter over a 25 cent cup of coffee at the morgue.
* Commodity Jack Scurlong, who can "look at a chap and tell if he's been in commodities or had gonorrhea," explains the commodities market to Jake.
If these characters aren't rich enough for you, there is always the sparkling writing. Who else but Ross Thomas can create a word picture of a hallway full of French furniture, of the "spindly-legged design Americans call French Provincial and the French don't call anything at all."
The story may be filled with the relics of the time - a Morris chair, a 1938 bridge lamp, an Impeach Nixon sticker, a corn cob pipe and Prince Albert tobacco - but its Washington politics, though overwrought, are right up to date.
The plot afoot is to rig the commodities market by stealing the Agriculture Department's elaborately guarded, secret crop report before its public release. So although the plot involves the arcane workings of the commodities market, the devilment is in the details.
Thomas loves to play with names and this one delivers a rich harvest of deliciously named scoundrels. In addition to "Crawdad" and Easter, there's Fred C. Clapperton who always used his middle initial "as though he was afraid he'd be mixed up with some other Fred. Clapperton," and a commodity brokerage firm with the melodious name of Anderson, Maytubby & Jones. Hired gun Ralph Hayes' real name is Elefteris Spiliocoupoulos. That's an authentic surname, and Thomas liked it so well he used it for a Greek with the first name of Toss in another of his books, Chinaman's Chance.
The commodities scam here is just the brown paper in which many well-developed character portraits are wrapped:
* Crawdad, "an agnostic until he finally turned to atheism at 93," served in the administrations of six presidents and guarded their secret political machinations well until he needed them, as in the case of how the Jack Kennedy assassination report was constructed.
* Ancel Easter, "the brightest man in Washington," heads Crawdad's law firm, Gilmore, Easter, Timothy and Sterns (GETS), and is powerful enough that homicide detectives come to his nine-story house in Washington's tony Kalorama Circle to give him progress reports.
* Jake Pope, whose mother Simmi Lee was a bootlegger, is a Senate investigator who vets candidates for office by asking the hard questions about their sexual proclivities or their Ponzi schemes. With Crawdad's help, he became rich after an 18 day marriage after his wife died in a car crash. He likes "looking into things."
* An officious GS-14 employee, Dallas Hucks, aspires to the good life and status of Cosmos Club membership, but he's in hock so deep that he's thrown out of his carpool group when the check for his ride share fee bounces. So he eagerly agrees to steal the crop report for a promise of $100,000 on July 11.
* Fulvio Varesi's fulsome biography includes his family's work for Al Capone. At age 22 he started collecting politicians, buying "early and selling cheap," and has no compulsion about having people twepped, a phrase he borrowed from the CIA, meaning Terminated With Extreme Prejudice. Varesi hires Chinese grad students to visit greedy brokers and "go long on wheat." As word circulates that "the Chinese" are buying wheat, the price goes up. On July 11, Varesi will dump it and make a tidy profit, the "Money Harvest" of the title.
* Kyle Tarr of Omaha was part of Fulvio's collection when he was a Congressman from Omaha; now out of office, he looks to sell his influence and get rich quick. He connects with Noah deGraffereid, an antiques dealer who is a high class fence, who finds Hucks to set the scam in motion.
* Hugo Worthy, who lights his cigarettes with an old Zippo lighter, is a homicide detective trying to figure out how to leave his wife and move in with a 22-year old ballet dancer. He discusses gun laws with Ancel Easter over a 25 cent cup of coffee at the morgue.
* Commodity Jack Scurlong, who can "look at a chap and tell if he's been in commodities or had gonorrhea," explains the commodities market to Jake.
If these characters aren't rich enough for you, there is always the sparkling writing. Who else but Ross Thomas can create a word picture of a hallway full of French furniture, of the "spindly-legged design Americans call French Provincial and the French don't call anything at all."
The story may be filled with the relics of the time - a Morris chair, a 1938 bridge lamp, an Impeach Nixon sticker, a corn cob pipe and Prince Albert tobacco - but its Washington politics, though overwrought, are right up to date.
April 13, 2023
One of my Goodreads friends enjoys reading old detective and attorney stories by Earl Stanley Gardner and others so when he reviews one that piques my interest, I see if it is available (often through a used book dealer) so ordered this one - marked 85 cents but I paid a bit more. Great job on the characterization of the principals, interesting twists and turns to the story, a pretty good primer on commodities trading if that is something you would find of interest. The part that appealed to me, however, was the fact that the action takes place in the mid 70's in Washington, DC including many scenes around my Dad's old office so it was a nice trip down memory lane. Some of the anachronisms jogged some memories - public phones with where one could make a call for a dime, "timing" phone calls to reduce long distance charges, $32 for a room, midweek in DC in a Holiday Inn, cost of houses, etc. Interesting and fun read!
September 7, 2023
A little boilerplate as Thomas goes but still the best airplane reading ever
September 19, 2019
Rote hardboiled crime novel, but I'm a sucker for that so it made for an enjoyable read
May 12, 2022
Seit nunmehr 15 Jahren bemüht sich der Alexander Verlag aus Berlin um eine Reputation eines Autors, der international als einer der wichtigsten Autoren des Politthrillers gilt. Ross Thomas war vor seiner Karriere als Schriftsteller, die er Mitte der 1960er im Alter von 40 Jahren begann, als Journalist, Gewerkschaftssprecher, PR- und Wahlkampfberater tätig. Ein reicher Fundus an Erfahrungen, die er in 25 Romane umsetzte. Zweimal gewann er den Edgar Award, gar viermal den Deutschen Krimipreis. 1995 verstarb Ross Thomas. Seine Leser im deutschsprachigen Raum musste allerdings leider zumeist mit mehr oder weniger stark gekürzten Übersetzungen vorlieb nehmen. Seit 2007 erscheint allerdings nun sein gesamtes Werk auf Deutsch vollständig nach und nach in überarbeiteten oder neuübersetzten Fassungen.
Der vorliegenden Stand-Alone „Fette Ernte“ beginnt mit dem 93 Jahre alten, aber noch recht rüstigen ehemaligen Politikberater William „Crawdad“ Gilmore. Gilmore ist mit allen Wassern gewaschen, hat so manche Schweinerei mitgemacht oder wurde als Mitwisser über Konspirationen zum Schweigen verdonnert. Auf der Toilette des Cosmos Club wurde er aber nun unfreiwillig zum Mithörer einer Verschwörung, über die er nicht zu Schweigen braucht. Er will die Sache seinem Anwalt Ancel Easter erzählen und bittet, ihn morgens abholen zu lassen. Dummerweise wird Gilmore im Morgengrauen vor seiner Haustür von zwei Räubern erschossen. Gibt es solche dummen Zufälle? Ancel Easter weiß keinerlei Details, aber die Tatsache, dass Gilmore ihm ein Geheimnis anvertrauen wollte, lässt ihm keine Ruhe. Er beauftragt Jake Pope, privater Ermittler mit millionenschwerem Erbe, sich die Sache mal näher anzusehen. Die einzige Spur führt zu einem Datum: Der 11.Juli. Aber am 11.Juli passiert nichts Wichtiges in Washington. „Highlight“ des Tages ist die jährliche Prognose der Weizenernte durch das Landwirtschaftsministerium. Haha, von wegen Highlight. Hmm, Moment – könnte das vielleicht doch das Ziel der Verschwörung sein?
Er wußte, daß man in dieser Stadt ganz früh am Morgen mit dem Konspirieren begann, damit man es zum Mittagessen erledigt hatte. Man konspirierte, um sich persönlich zu bereichern, um gesetzliche Vorteile zu erlangen, nationale oder internationale Macht und manchmal nur zum Spaß. (Auszug S.8)
Diese desillusionierte Sicht auf den poltischen Betrieb Washingtons ist ein typisches Merkmal der Werke von Ross Thomas. Er beschreibt das Spiel der Macht fast lakonisch, gönnt sich aber dennoch die eine oder andere Spitze. Etwa bei der Beerdigung von Crawdad Gilmore, als er den Besuch des Präsidenten, „kein übermäßig intelligenter Mann“, als plumpe politische Geste entlarvt und der Präsident eine erschreckend belanglose Konversation mit dem „klügsten Mann Washingtons“, Ancel Easter, führt. Thomas stellt heraus, dass sich im „Dschungel Washingtons“ allerhand Personen tummeln, die einen ausgeprägten Willen besitzen, die eigene Macht und das eigene Konto zu vergrößern. Die Verbindungen zum organisierten Verbrechen sind nicht weit, oft nur einen Strohmann entfernt.
In diesem Roman ist tatsächlich die Verkündung der Ernteschätzungen der Fokus der kriminelle Energie. Etwas unbemerkt von sonstigen Börsengeschäfte lässt sich am Rohstoffmarkt tatsächlich im großen Stil spekulieren. Mit Warentermingeschäften lassen sich mit dem richtigen Hintergrundwissen und etwas illegalen Insidertricks enorme Gewinne machen (Ganz aktuell ist der Weizenmarkt aufgrund des Krieges in der Ukraine auch ein Tummelplatz für Spekulanten). Und für diese geht man auch gerne über ein paar Leichen.
Was diese Ausgabe insbesondere spannend macht, ist die Geschichte der deutschen Übersetzung, die im Nachwort des Neuübersetzers Jochen Stremmel erläutert wird. Ross Thomas wurde in den 1970ern bei Ullmann in der „gelben Reihe“ verlegt. Die Vorgabe des Verlags damals: Kein Krimi durfte länger als acht Druckbögen (8×16=128 Seiten) sein. Um diese Vorgaben einzuhalten, wurden Originalausgaben teilweise radikal gekürzt. Mit einigen Beispielen beschreibt Stremmel die Auswirkungen auf den vorliegenden Roman, der an zahlreichen Stellen arg beschnitten und damit ein großes Stück Atmosphäre geraubt wurde. Immerhin bedauert Stremmel die damalige Übersetzerin Ute Tanner, die eine wahrlich undankbare Aufgabe hatte.
Durch die Neuübersetzung wird auch nochmal deutlich, wie präzise Ross Thomas auch die Szenerie und die Hintergründe beschreibt. Für die Figurenbeschreibungen nimmt er sich ausgiebig Zeit. Die Dialoge sind zudem herausstechend. Für mich war der Plot diesmal nicht ganz so herausragend, dennoch ist das Jammern auf hohem Niveau. „Fette Ernte“ ist zwar inzwischen fast ein halbes Jahrhundert alt, doch die Mechanismen sind doch immer dieselben. Sehr akribisch analysiert Thomas das Machtgeflecht und die schmutzigen Geschäfte im Politbetrieb. Und man spürt als Leser, dass sich hier niemand etwas aus den Fingern saugt, sondern aus dem Nähkästchen plaudert. Das Ganze ziemlich trocken, aber mit einem Schuss Verachtung serviert. Ein Klassiker, der immer eine Lektüre wert ist.
Der vorliegenden Stand-Alone „Fette Ernte“ beginnt mit dem 93 Jahre alten, aber noch recht rüstigen ehemaligen Politikberater William „Crawdad“ Gilmore. Gilmore ist mit allen Wassern gewaschen, hat so manche Schweinerei mitgemacht oder wurde als Mitwisser über Konspirationen zum Schweigen verdonnert. Auf der Toilette des Cosmos Club wurde er aber nun unfreiwillig zum Mithörer einer Verschwörung, über die er nicht zu Schweigen braucht. Er will die Sache seinem Anwalt Ancel Easter erzählen und bittet, ihn morgens abholen zu lassen. Dummerweise wird Gilmore im Morgengrauen vor seiner Haustür von zwei Räubern erschossen. Gibt es solche dummen Zufälle? Ancel Easter weiß keinerlei Details, aber die Tatsache, dass Gilmore ihm ein Geheimnis anvertrauen wollte, lässt ihm keine Ruhe. Er beauftragt Jake Pope, privater Ermittler mit millionenschwerem Erbe, sich die Sache mal näher anzusehen. Die einzige Spur führt zu einem Datum: Der 11.Juli. Aber am 11.Juli passiert nichts Wichtiges in Washington. „Highlight“ des Tages ist die jährliche Prognose der Weizenernte durch das Landwirtschaftsministerium. Haha, von wegen Highlight. Hmm, Moment – könnte das vielleicht doch das Ziel der Verschwörung sein?
Er wußte, daß man in dieser Stadt ganz früh am Morgen mit dem Konspirieren begann, damit man es zum Mittagessen erledigt hatte. Man konspirierte, um sich persönlich zu bereichern, um gesetzliche Vorteile zu erlangen, nationale oder internationale Macht und manchmal nur zum Spaß. (Auszug S.8)
Diese desillusionierte Sicht auf den poltischen Betrieb Washingtons ist ein typisches Merkmal der Werke von Ross Thomas. Er beschreibt das Spiel der Macht fast lakonisch, gönnt sich aber dennoch die eine oder andere Spitze. Etwa bei der Beerdigung von Crawdad Gilmore, als er den Besuch des Präsidenten, „kein übermäßig intelligenter Mann“, als plumpe politische Geste entlarvt und der Präsident eine erschreckend belanglose Konversation mit dem „klügsten Mann Washingtons“, Ancel Easter, führt. Thomas stellt heraus, dass sich im „Dschungel Washingtons“ allerhand Personen tummeln, die einen ausgeprägten Willen besitzen, die eigene Macht und das eigene Konto zu vergrößern. Die Verbindungen zum organisierten Verbrechen sind nicht weit, oft nur einen Strohmann entfernt.
In diesem Roman ist tatsächlich die Verkündung der Ernteschätzungen der Fokus der kriminelle Energie. Etwas unbemerkt von sonstigen Börsengeschäfte lässt sich am Rohstoffmarkt tatsächlich im großen Stil spekulieren. Mit Warentermingeschäften lassen sich mit dem richtigen Hintergrundwissen und etwas illegalen Insidertricks enorme Gewinne machen (Ganz aktuell ist der Weizenmarkt aufgrund des Krieges in der Ukraine auch ein Tummelplatz für Spekulanten). Und für diese geht man auch gerne über ein paar Leichen.
Was diese Ausgabe insbesondere spannend macht, ist die Geschichte der deutschen Übersetzung, die im Nachwort des Neuübersetzers Jochen Stremmel erläutert wird. Ross Thomas wurde in den 1970ern bei Ullmann in der „gelben Reihe“ verlegt. Die Vorgabe des Verlags damals: Kein Krimi durfte länger als acht Druckbögen (8×16=128 Seiten) sein. Um diese Vorgaben einzuhalten, wurden Originalausgaben teilweise radikal gekürzt. Mit einigen Beispielen beschreibt Stremmel die Auswirkungen auf den vorliegenden Roman, der an zahlreichen Stellen arg beschnitten und damit ein großes Stück Atmosphäre geraubt wurde. Immerhin bedauert Stremmel die damalige Übersetzerin Ute Tanner, die eine wahrlich undankbare Aufgabe hatte.
Durch die Neuübersetzung wird auch nochmal deutlich, wie präzise Ross Thomas auch die Szenerie und die Hintergründe beschreibt. Für die Figurenbeschreibungen nimmt er sich ausgiebig Zeit. Die Dialoge sind zudem herausstechend. Für mich war der Plot diesmal nicht ganz so herausragend, dennoch ist das Jammern auf hohem Niveau. „Fette Ernte“ ist zwar inzwischen fast ein halbes Jahrhundert alt, doch die Mechanismen sind doch immer dieselben. Sehr akribisch analysiert Thomas das Machtgeflecht und die schmutzigen Geschäfte im Politbetrieb. Und man spürt als Leser, dass sich hier niemand etwas aus den Fingern saugt, sondern aus dem Nähkästchen plaudert. Das Ganze ziemlich trocken, aber mit einem Schuss Verachtung serviert. Ein Klassiker, der immer eine Lektüre wert ist.
December 1, 2022
I'm gradually working my way back through the novels of Ross Thomas and I'm enjoying the ride tremendously. The Money Harvest was published in 1975 and takes place in then-contemporary Washington, D.C. Few people wrote tales of political corruption better than Thomas and this one is a gem in that department. The plot line is so thin as to be almost invisible, but the book is populated by such great characters that a reader, or at least this reader, couldn't possibly care less.
Thomas introduces a number of characters here, beginning with 93-year-old Washington, D. C. insider named William Makepeace "Crawdad" Gilmore. He then spends a significant amount of time detailing the lives of these characters up to the point where they intersect with the story. Normally this would be really annoying, but these characters are so interesting and so well drawn that you can't help but think, "What the hell, tell me all about this person and we can get back to the story later."
In this case, Gilmore has overheard a conspiracy taking shape in the men's room of a swanky club in D.C. He alerts his friend, Ancel Easter, but before he can relay the facts of the situation to Easter, he is murdered by a couple of street ruffians. It now falls to Easter and his friend, a sometime private investigator named Jake Pope to tease out the details of the conspiracy and put a stop to it.
It's a beautifully and cleverly written book. In one scene, Pope lets himself into Gilmore's house, searching for clues, only to be discovered by Gilmore's granddaughter, Faye, who has just arrived on the scene from her dude ranch in Montana: "She produced a cigarette from her shirt pocket and lit it with a green throwaway lighter. 'You don't say much, do you?' she said, blowing some smoke away and fanning it with her left hand. 'I mean you say things and your sentences parse all right, but so far all I've got is that you're somebody named Jake Pope who's poking around my dead grandfather's house at eleven o'clock of a June morning. So who are you, Jake Pope, and what do you want and would you like me to warm up your coffee?'"
It's a thoroughly entertaining tale that seems to end all to quickly. Along the way, one learns a great deal about things like commodity exchanges, and somehow Thomas makes even a subject as dull as this interesting. Not a lot of authors could, but then there aren't a lot of writers like Ross Thomas.
Thomas introduces a number of characters here, beginning with 93-year-old Washington, D. C. insider named William Makepeace "Crawdad" Gilmore. He then spends a significant amount of time detailing the lives of these characters up to the point where they intersect with the story. Normally this would be really annoying, but these characters are so interesting and so well drawn that you can't help but think, "What the hell, tell me all about this person and we can get back to the story later."
In this case, Gilmore has overheard a conspiracy taking shape in the men's room of a swanky club in D.C. He alerts his friend, Ancel Easter, but before he can relay the facts of the situation to Easter, he is murdered by a couple of street ruffians. It now falls to Easter and his friend, a sometime private investigator named Jake Pope to tease out the details of the conspiracy and put a stop to it.
It's a beautifully and cleverly written book. In one scene, Pope lets himself into Gilmore's house, searching for clues, only to be discovered by Gilmore's granddaughter, Faye, who has just arrived on the scene from her dude ranch in Montana: "She produced a cigarette from her shirt pocket and lit it with a green throwaway lighter. 'You don't say much, do you?' she said, blowing some smoke away and fanning it with her left hand. 'I mean you say things and your sentences parse all right, but so far all I've got is that you're somebody named Jake Pope who's poking around my dead grandfather's house at eleven o'clock of a June morning. So who are you, Jake Pope, and what do you want and would you like me to warm up your coffee?'"
It's a thoroughly entertaining tale that seems to end all to quickly. Along the way, one learns a great deal about things like commodity exchanges, and somehow Thomas makes even a subject as dull as this interesting. Not a lot of authors could, but then there aren't a lot of writers like Ross Thomas.
July 15, 2025
This is a 1975 thriller about fraud and deceit in Washington, in big business, and in the commodities market.
Thomas is a master at weaving five or six stories that gradually come together into a bang-up finale. At the heart of this story is an attempt to steal information from the Federal government for a scheme that will allow the insiders to clean up in the Commodities market.
Thomas is brilliant at creating memorable and three-dimensional characters. For example, Dr. Dallas Hucks is a government employee and a nasty piece of work at the center of the story. This is how we are introduced to him; "They threw Dr. Dallas Hucks out of the carpool at 8:15 that morning just after they crossed the Fourteenth Street Bridge."
The story starts with an overheard conversation in the bathroom of an exclusive club and the sudden death of the old man who heard it. An insider connected lawyer, Ancel Easter, with the help of an unorthodox investigator, Jake Pope, set out to unravel the mystery of what is going to happen on July 11.
Thomas is a master of the backrooms and schemes of politics and money. This is an excellent fast paced story.
Personal note. I was in a used bookstore in Manie last week and picked up this worn paperback copy for two bucks. By sheer coincidence, I began reading it last Friday, July 11, the mystery date at the heart of the story.
Thomas is a master at weaving five or six stories that gradually come together into a bang-up finale. At the heart of this story is an attempt to steal information from the Federal government for a scheme that will allow the insiders to clean up in the Commodities market.
Thomas is brilliant at creating memorable and three-dimensional characters. For example, Dr. Dallas Hucks is a government employee and a nasty piece of work at the center of the story. This is how we are introduced to him; "They threw Dr. Dallas Hucks out of the carpool at 8:15 that morning just after they crossed the Fourteenth Street Bridge."
The story starts with an overheard conversation in the bathroom of an exclusive club and the sudden death of the old man who heard it. An insider connected lawyer, Ancel Easter, with the help of an unorthodox investigator, Jake Pope, set out to unravel the mystery of what is going to happen on July 11.
Thomas is a master of the backrooms and schemes of politics and money. This is an excellent fast paced story.
Personal note. I was in a used bookstore in Manie last week and picked up this worn paperback copy for two bucks. By sheer coincidence, I began reading it last Friday, July 11, the mystery date at the heart of the story.
August 24, 2019
Another intriguing and offbeat thriller from the cynical and morbidly humorous Ross Thomas. The set-up: onetime presidential adviser, age 93, overhears a nefarious plot in a swanky club's bathroom, but before he can pass along the info to his onetime law partner, he's killed in a low-rent robbery. The partner brings in a private eye to figure out what the old man overheard. Soon we're hipdeep in a Mafia-connected attempt to rig the commodities market.
The solution to the mystery will be obvious to anyone who has seen the movie "Trading Places," but it's still a fun ride getting there, especially when Thomas ties the two threads of his plot together and we see the outcome.
One flaw: Thomas introduces an interesting female character and then doesn't do much with her. Ah well. Onward I go in my attempt to read his entire backlist.
The solution to the mystery will be obvious to anyone who has seen the movie "Trading Places," but it's still a fun ride getting there, especially when Thomas ties the two threads of his plot together and we see the outcome.
One flaw: Thomas introduces an interesting female character and then doesn't do much with her. Ah well. Onward I go in my attempt to read his entire backlist.
July 4, 2023
A good Ross Thomas, with everything that entails. A touch less bleak than some of his other books, with the feeling of a early Coen Brothers film at times - a bunch of bumblers who have all gotten in over their heads working at cross purposes.
July 19, 2021
This book takes place in Washington D. C. during the summer of 1975 and had interesting plot featuring power, money, and corruption.
September 21, 2023
Ross Thomas is a great storyteller.
October 2, 2024
Typical Thomas. Just wonderful. Terrific story and characters. Devious plot elements. So far as I know I’ve read all his books and have enjoyed every one.
July 2, 2015
Crawdad Gilmore, a 93-year-old presidential adviser, is murdered by a couple of muggers before he can reveal what he's overheard in the men's "crapper" of his private club. All we know is "something hot" will take place on July 11. . . and it's up to two of the old man's friends to find out what.
They're Ancel Easter, the successor to Gilmore's law firm, and Jake Pope, a multimillionaire former Senate subcommittee investigator.
Price of $8.95 on front flap of dust jacket
They're Ancel Easter, the successor to Gilmore's law firm, and Jake Pope, a multimillionaire former Senate subcommittee investigator.
Price of $8.95 on front flap of dust jacket
January 7, 2017
Ross Thomas hits his numbers reliably in this less-than-stellar novel, evidently cribbing from the notes for If You Can't Be Good (also DC, similar protagonist, the sum of $19M as an inheritance, similar meditations on Georgetown, etc).
This one's a bit grim and bloody, and there's less joy here than in his better works--there's a large focus on the nastiness of society.
Still better than a lot of books written by someone other than Ross Thomas, but far from his best work.
This one's a bit grim and bloody, and there's less joy here than in his better works--there's a large focus on the nastiness of society.
Still better than a lot of books written by someone other than Ross Thomas, but far from his best work.
August 16, 2012
Occasionally I go and pull an old favorite off the shelf. I think I learned more about writing from Ross Thomas than from anyone else. If you haven't discovered his jaded, laconic, quite funny and extremely knowing political thrillers, you are overdue. This one is about a plot to make a killing with a scam in the futures market. Nobody knew corruption the way Thomas did.
July 15, 2010
Delicious delving into the decadence of (I've run out of D's) politics, the commodity market, casual murder, all in Washington DC. As usual, the author has clever characters, clever dialogue, clever plotting. Well done.
January 14, 2013
Entertaining, but not especially memorable Thomas romp through mid-70s DC, involving a semi-retired investigator, an attempt to manipulate national farm reports, and a string of random murders. http://ow.ly/gO0S9
June 6, 2014
Witzig geschrieben mit intelligenten Anspielungen. Besonders die kindlichen Kleinkriminellen, die als roter Fäden durch das Buch geistern und schließlich den großen Coup verhindern
February 5, 2017
An enjoyable read. Not his very best, but any book by Ross Thomas is better than most.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews