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Briar Patch
A long-distance call from a Texas city on his birthday gives Benjamin Dill the news that his sister—it's her birthday, too, they were born exactly ten years apart—has died in a car bomb explosion. It's the chief of police calling—Felicity Dill worked for him; she was a homicide detective. Dill is there that night, the beginning of his dogged search for her killer. What he finds is no surprise to him, because Benjamin Dill is never surprised at what awful things people will do—but it's a real surprise to the reader. As Newsday said when the novel was first published, "One sure thing about Ross Thomas's novels: A reader won't get bored waiting for the action to start."
322 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1984
133 people are currently reading
1632 people want to read
About the author
Ross Thomas
58 books170 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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March 24, 2022
Benjamin Dill is investigating some shady international arms dealers for a US Senate subcommittee when he gets a call that his younger sister Felicity, a police detective in their Southern hometown, has been killed by a car bomb. Since Ben’s old buddy Jake Spivey just so happens to be one of the arms dealers they want to talk to, the ambitious senator that Ben reports to offers to pay his travel expenses if he deposes Spivey while he’s there.
Hey, dead sister or not, if you get a chance to travel on the company credit card instead of your own dime, you gotta take it.
When Ben arrives back home, he learns that his sister had bought some real estate she shouldn’t be able to afford on her salary and that she had named him as the beneficiary on a large life insurance policy she took out just weeks before. With the implication that Felicity might have been a dirty cop, Ben starts to ask questions even as the police department assures him that they’ll find her killer soon. As he digs into his sister’s death, Ben also reunites with Jake Spivey who hints that his arms dealing had been done for the CIA, and that he’ll deliver information on another dealer who is now an international fugitive in exchange for immunity. Ben finds himself trying to sort out both local and national political agendas while dealing with the various agendas and lies of all the people around him.
The only other Ross Thomas novel I’ve read is The Porkchoppers, but I already love the way he mixes grungy back-room politics with crime. This was published just a few years before the Iran-Contra scandal so the backdrop of shady arms deals seems perfectly plausible, as is the local good-ole-boy-network of the local town. Thomas also makes every place feel authentic by building up the fictional history of this town as Dill visits various locations, and there’s a story attached to every place he goes. The whole atmosphere is delightfully squalid in a Reagan-era kind of way.
There’s also a colorful cast of characters, and Ben Dill is a great lead who is determined to avenge his sister even if he has few illusions about the moral character of everyone, including himself. Jake Spivey is a lot of fun as a poor redneck who went looking for a fortune, and after making it returns to his hometown to flaunt his wealth and build a power base.
This won the 1985 Edgar Award for Best Novel, and it absolutely deserved it.
(Oh, and I’ve also watched the recent TV show based on the book, and while it isn’t as good as this, it had a lot of things I liked about it.)
Hey, dead sister or not, if you get a chance to travel on the company credit card instead of your own dime, you gotta take it.
When Ben arrives back home, he learns that his sister had bought some real estate she shouldn’t be able to afford on her salary and that she had named him as the beneficiary on a large life insurance policy she took out just weeks before. With the implication that Felicity might have been a dirty cop, Ben starts to ask questions even as the police department assures him that they’ll find her killer soon. As he digs into his sister’s death, Ben also reunites with Jake Spivey who hints that his arms dealing had been done for the CIA, and that he’ll deliver information on another dealer who is now an international fugitive in exchange for immunity. Ben finds himself trying to sort out both local and national political agendas while dealing with the various agendas and lies of all the people around him.
The only other Ross Thomas novel I’ve read is The Porkchoppers, but I already love the way he mixes grungy back-room politics with crime. This was published just a few years before the Iran-Contra scandal so the backdrop of shady arms deals seems perfectly plausible, as is the local good-ole-boy-network of the local town. Thomas also makes every place feel authentic by building up the fictional history of this town as Dill visits various locations, and there’s a story attached to every place he goes. The whole atmosphere is delightfully squalid in a Reagan-era kind of way.
There’s also a colorful cast of characters, and Ben Dill is a great lead who is determined to avenge his sister even if he has few illusions about the moral character of everyone, including himself. Jake Spivey is a lot of fun as a poor redneck who went looking for a fortune, and after making it returns to his hometown to flaunt his wealth and build a power base.
This won the 1985 Edgar Award for Best Novel, and it absolutely deserved it.
(Oh, and I’ve also watched the recent TV show based on the book, and while it isn’t as good as this, it had a lot of things I liked about it.)
April 6, 2017
Ross Thomas‘ first novel, The Cold War Swap, was published in 1967. It won the Edgar Allen Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America for the best first novel of that year. As the crime writer Lawrence Block relates in his introduction to the Kindle Edition of the political thriller Briarpatch, published 17 years later, Swap “launched a career that brought [Thomas] no end of awards, an army of fiercely loyal readers, and a whole shelf of books with his name on them, in none of which one will ever encounter an ill-chosen word, an infelicitous phrase, or a clunky sentence.” Amen to that. And Briarpatch is one of Thomas’ best. It earned the 1985 Edgar Award for best novel of the year.
In Briarpatch, Thomas ventures anew into the two areas that dominate his writing: the intelligence game, and domestic electoral politics. Thomas himself may have been an officer of the CIA, working in post-war Germany and in Africa. He definitely was involved in stateside political campaigns. It would be difficult to create a character better suited to writing a political thriller than Ross Thomas.
Briarpatch opens as a young homicide detective in a medium-sized Southwestern city is killed when her car explodes. The detective is Felicity Dill, the younger sister of Benjamin Dill, a Washington, DC-based political operative currently working as a “consultant” to a U.S. Senate investigations subcommittee. His boss, the subcommittee’s chief counsel, assigns him to take a deposition from an old friend of Dill’s when he returns home for the funeral. The friend lives in their old home town, the same city where Dill’s sister was murdered. Thomas never identifies the city. But he explains that it is “the capital of a state located just far enough south and west to make jailhouse chili a revered cultural treasure.”
In short order, Dill learns that his sister owned an expensive duplex she couldn’t possibly have afforded. Also, she’d left him the beneficiary of a $250,000 term life insurance policy (nearly $600,000 in 2017 dollars). She couldn’t even have afforded the cost of the policy. Though it’s widely assumed in the police department that Felicity Dill was on the take, Dill is convinced otherwise. He’s determined to uncover the true story and learn who killed his sister. Soon, Dill meets Anna Maud Singe, her friend and lawyer, a beautiful young woman with whom he (naturally) becomes involved. Anna Maud is also convinced Felicity would never have done anything illegal.
Dill’s investigation brings him into close contact with Felicity’s boss, the chief of detectives, and his boss, the city’s chief of police. As he pokes around in the debris of Felicity’s life, Dill takes care of the senator’s business, securing a deposition from his boyhood friend, Jake Spivey. Jake had made a huge fortune from illegal arms deals following the Vietnam War, which explains why the senator is targeting him. However, Dill, and the senator, are even more interested in imprisoning one of Spivey’s former partners—a crooked former CIA officer who has amassed an even greater fortune from crime.
As the story unfolds, this cast of characters becomes intertwined in a complex web of relationships that is difficult for Dill to untangle. Naturally, things will work out in the end, but it takes a while to get there—and there’s a great deal of fun along the way.
Incidentally, Thomas only explains the title, Briarpatch, close to the end of the book. Jake is explaining why he has built a fortune great enough for him to buy the biggest mansion in town and hire a trio of Mexican thugs to guard him. “What I figure I’m really doing is growing my own briarpatch. Grow it high enough and thick enough, there ain’t nobody gonna come poking around in it.” If you remember the Br’er Rabbit fable, you’ll understand.
In Briarpatch, Thomas ventures anew into the two areas that dominate his writing: the intelligence game, and domestic electoral politics. Thomas himself may have been an officer of the CIA, working in post-war Germany and in Africa. He definitely was involved in stateside political campaigns. It would be difficult to create a character better suited to writing a political thriller than Ross Thomas.
Briarpatch opens as a young homicide detective in a medium-sized Southwestern city is killed when her car explodes. The detective is Felicity Dill, the younger sister of Benjamin Dill, a Washington, DC-based political operative currently working as a “consultant” to a U.S. Senate investigations subcommittee. His boss, the subcommittee’s chief counsel, assigns him to take a deposition from an old friend of Dill’s when he returns home for the funeral. The friend lives in their old home town, the same city where Dill’s sister was murdered. Thomas never identifies the city. But he explains that it is “the capital of a state located just far enough south and west to make jailhouse chili a revered cultural treasure.”
In short order, Dill learns that his sister owned an expensive duplex she couldn’t possibly have afforded. Also, she’d left him the beneficiary of a $250,000 term life insurance policy (nearly $600,000 in 2017 dollars). She couldn’t even have afforded the cost of the policy. Though it’s widely assumed in the police department that Felicity Dill was on the take, Dill is convinced otherwise. He’s determined to uncover the true story and learn who killed his sister. Soon, Dill meets Anna Maud Singe, her friend and lawyer, a beautiful young woman with whom he (naturally) becomes involved. Anna Maud is also convinced Felicity would never have done anything illegal.
Dill’s investigation brings him into close contact with Felicity’s boss, the chief of detectives, and his boss, the city’s chief of police. As he pokes around in the debris of Felicity’s life, Dill takes care of the senator’s business, securing a deposition from his boyhood friend, Jake Spivey. Jake had made a huge fortune from illegal arms deals following the Vietnam War, which explains why the senator is targeting him. However, Dill, and the senator, are even more interested in imprisoning one of Spivey’s former partners—a crooked former CIA officer who has amassed an even greater fortune from crime.
As the story unfolds, this cast of characters becomes intertwined in a complex web of relationships that is difficult for Dill to untangle. Naturally, things will work out in the end, but it takes a while to get there—and there’s a great deal of fun along the way.
Incidentally, Thomas only explains the title, Briarpatch, close to the end of the book. Jake is explaining why he has built a fortune great enough for him to buy the biggest mansion in town and hire a trio of Mexican thugs to guard him. “What I figure I’m really doing is growing my own briarpatch. Grow it high enough and thick enough, there ain’t nobody gonna come poking around in it.” If you remember the Br’er Rabbit fable, you’ll understand.
April 5, 2018
One of the best by Ross Thomas, who was one of the best. He won an Edgar for this one in 1985. Thomas's political thrillers featured dry wit, a deep cynicism about politics, and cool, poker-faced heroes who have been around the block a few times. In this one, an aide to an ambitious senator gets a call telling him that his kid sister, a homicide dick back in their hometown, has been killed by a bomb planted in her car. He goes back for the funeral and finds that she was living well above her means, apparently banking dirty money. He doesn't buy it.
His attempts to clear her name take him into a complicated plot linking his childhood best friend, a jovial ex-spook, with a rival and more sinister ex-spook, a fugitive who happens to be the target of his boss's subcommittee investigation back in Washington. As the connections emerge and the chess pieces get moved, multiple homicides ensue. The best part is the keen eye turned on the hometown (most likely a fictionalized Oklahoma City, where Thomas grew up), lovingly caricatured with all its quirks and characters. Sharp social observation in the guise of a political thriller.
His attempts to clear her name take him into a complicated plot linking his childhood best friend, a jovial ex-spook, with a rival and more sinister ex-spook, a fugitive who happens to be the target of his boss's subcommittee investigation back in Washington. As the connections emerge and the chess pieces get moved, multiple homicides ensue. The best part is the keen eye turned on the hometown (most likely a fictionalized Oklahoma City, where Thomas grew up), lovingly caricatured with all its quirks and characters. Sharp social observation in the guise of a political thriller.
March 25, 2020
Η πρώτη φορά που είδα κάπου το όνομα του Ross Thomas ήταν σ' ένα άρθρο για τον Jean-Patrick Manchette όπου αναφερόταν πως ο πρώτος επηρέασε τον δεύτερο στο να ξεκινήσει μια σειρά βιβλίων με κατασκοπικό υπόβαθρο, πολιτική σκέψη και νουάρ ατμόσφαιρα (κάτι που δεν κατάφερε, μιας και ο καρκίνος τον πήρε μακριά και μας άφησε παρακαταθήκη την ημιτελή "Πριγκίπισσα του Αίματος"). Η δεύτερη φορά που είδα όμως το όνομα του Thomas ήταν με την ανακοίνωση της μεταφοράς του παρόντος διαμαντιού σε τηλεοπτική σειρά με πολύ καλό setting και ενδιαφέρον καστ (στην Rosario Dawson όχι δε λες). Και κάπως έτσι είχα διπλό λόγο να το βρω και να το διαβάσω: αφενός για να είμαι μέσα στα πράγματα με μια πράγματι ενδιαφέρουσα τηλεοπτική σειρά, αφετέρου γιατί ήθελα πραγματικά να συναντήσω το κείμενο του ανθρώπου που οδήγησε έναν πραγματικό master να θελήσει να γίνει καλύτερος.
Μια απλή υπόθεση, όπου η αστυνομικός Φελίσιτι Ντιλ δολοφονείτε με βόμβα στο αμάξι της και ο αδερφός της, Μπεν, ένας ερευνητής για την Γερουσία, επιστρέφει στην γενέτειρα του προκειμένου να βάλει σε μια τάξη τα πράγματα. Όταν όμως μαθαίνει πως η αδερφή του είχε πολλά χρήματα και πως του έχει αφήσει μια περιουσία ολόκληρη με μια πρόσφατη ασφάλεια ζωής τα πράγματα γίνονται πιο μπερδεμένα, ενώ η ίδια η υπηρεσία του εκμεταλλεύεται την παρουσία του εκεί για δικές της σκοπιμότητες. Καθώς σε αυτή την μικρή πόλη τίποτα δεν είναι όπως δείχνει ο Ντιλ μπαίνει σ' έναν λαβύρινθο που όσο πιο μέσα προχωράει τόσο πιο πολύ αισθάνεται πως όλα είναι αδιέξοδα.
Δεν θα μπω σε μεγάλες περιγραφές γιατί βαριέμαι, όμως θα μπορούσα να πω πως πρόκειται για ένα βιβλίο που θυμίζει πολύ τον "Κόκκινο Θερισμό" του Dashiell Hammett αλλά δεν εμμένει σε αυτόν, μιας και χτίζει μια εξαιρετική αφήγηση και ένα από τα καλύτερα βιβλία που έχω διαβάσει τελευταία. Συνδυάζοντας την πολιτική ίντριγκα με την νουάρ ατμόσφαιρα και την παράνοια με το χιούμορ ο Thomas δημιουργεί ένα βιβλίο που θα ήθελα πολύ να έβλεπα μεταφρασμένο στα Ελληνικά αντί για κάτι γιαλαντζί διαμάντια που οι εκδότες φαίνονται να ανακαλύπτουν τα τελευταία χρόνια. Από την άλλη, όμως, δεν μπορώ να μην σκεφτώ πόσο τυχερός νιώθω που διάβασα αυτό το βιβλίο στην μητρική του και πόσο δύσκολο είναι να ορίσεις τα ελληνικά την λέξη "briarpatch".
Ίσως καλύτερα να δείτε την σειρά ή να διαβάσετε το βιβλίο και να μου πείτε κι εμένα.
Μια απλή υπόθεση, όπου η αστυνομικός Φελίσιτι Ντιλ δολοφονείτε με βόμβα στο αμάξι της και ο αδερφός της, Μπεν, ένας ερευνητής για την Γερουσία, επιστρέφει στην γενέτειρα του προκειμένου να βάλει σε μια τάξη τα πράγματα. Όταν όμως μαθαίνει πως η αδερφή του είχε πολλά χρήματα και πως του έχει αφήσει μια περιουσία ολόκληρη με μια πρόσφατη ασφάλεια ζωής τα πράγματα γίνονται πιο μπερδεμένα, ενώ η ίδια η υπηρεσία του εκμεταλλεύεται την παρουσία του εκεί για δικές της σκοπιμότητες. Καθώς σε αυτή την μικρή πόλη τίποτα δεν είναι όπως δείχνει ο Ντιλ μπαίνει σ' έναν λαβύρινθο που όσο πιο μέσα προχωράει τόσο πιο πολύ αισθάνεται πως όλα είναι αδιέξοδα.
Δεν θα μπω σε μεγάλες περιγραφές γιατί βαριέμαι, όμως θα μπορούσα να πω πως πρόκειται για ένα βιβλίο που θυμίζει πολύ τον "Κόκκινο Θερισμό" του Dashiell Hammett αλλά δεν εμμένει σε αυτόν, μιας και χτίζει μια εξαιρετική αφήγηση και ένα από τα καλύτερα βιβλία που έχω διαβάσει τελευταία. Συνδυάζοντας την πολιτική ίντριγκα με την νουάρ ατμόσφαιρα και την παράνοια με το χιούμορ ο Thomas δημιουργεί ένα βιβλίο που θα ήθελα πολύ να έβλεπα μεταφρασμένο στα Ελληνικά αντί για κάτι γιαλαντζί διαμάντια που οι εκδότες φαίνονται να ανακαλύπτουν τα τελευταία χρόνια. Από την άλλη, όμως, δεν μπορώ να μην σκεφτώ πόσο τυχερός νιώθω που διάβασα αυτό το βιβλίο στην μητρική του και πόσο δύσκολο είναι να ορίσεις τα ελληνικά την λέξη "briarpatch".
Ίσως καλύτερα να δείτε την σειρά ή να διαβάσετε το βιβλίο και να μου πείτε κι εμένα.
February 19, 2016
Audiobook: A Briar Patch can be many things: a hiding place, a place to avoid (as in Star Trek), a thicket of prickly bushes, and a place where you can get all tangled up. Ben Gill experiences all of those things in this book.
Felicity Dill, homicide detective, collects rent due on her duplex, gets in her car, and is blown to bits. Her brother, Ben, is an investigator for a Senate subcommittee. He immediately flies down to his hometown where she worked and discovers a mystery. Felicity had paid $37,000 cash for a very expensive duplex several months earlier and just a few weeks before her death had taken out a $250,000 term life policy with her brother as the beneficiary. Where did she get the money, and why would a twenty-eight-year-old woman take out a life insurance policy that large. Ben soon discovers a quagmire of murder and corruption.
He’s also been sent to get a deposition from an old friend Jake Spivey, ex-CIA who is being pursued by Clyde Brattle. All three had been involved during the Ford administration with trying to locate a threesome, known as the Jaspers who had apparently made off with millions that had been dispensed by Nixon to the “plumbers.” Brattle and Spivey were also the targets of the subcommittee's investigation that involved weapons sales after Vietnam.
Ross is a very good writer with images like, “it had no color unless winter rain has color.” And while I have nothing against protagonists who hop into bed with every woman (or girl) they meet (you know, like Reacher) Ben has plenty of offers but the good sense to hold off since virtually everyone has some kind of alternate agenda. Everything is linked together as one might expect. The ending is a bit unsatisfying and perhaps a sequel was intended.
As usual, well read by Frank Muller, who regretfully is no longer with us.
Felicity Dill, homicide detective, collects rent due on her duplex, gets in her car, and is blown to bits. Her brother, Ben, is an investigator for a Senate subcommittee. He immediately flies down to his hometown where she worked and discovers a mystery. Felicity had paid $37,000 cash for a very expensive duplex several months earlier and just a few weeks before her death had taken out a $250,000 term life policy with her brother as the beneficiary. Where did she get the money, and why would a twenty-eight-year-old woman take out a life insurance policy that large. Ben soon discovers a quagmire of murder and corruption.
He’s also been sent to get a deposition from an old friend Jake Spivey, ex-CIA who is being pursued by Clyde Brattle. All three had been involved during the Ford administration with trying to locate a threesome, known as the Jaspers who had apparently made off with millions that had been dispensed by Nixon to the “plumbers.” Brattle and Spivey were also the targets of the subcommittee's investigation that involved weapons sales after Vietnam.
Ross is a very good writer with images like, “it had no color unless winter rain has color.” And while I have nothing against protagonists who hop into bed with every woman (or girl) they meet (you know, like Reacher) Ben has plenty of offers but the good sense to hold off since virtually everyone has some kind of alternate agenda. Everything is linked together as one might expect. The ending is a bit unsatisfying and perhaps a sequel was intended.
As usual, well read by Frank Muller, who regretfully is no longer with us.
June 17, 2017
Although he never became the household name that other authors such as Elmore Leonard did, Ross Thomas reputation among crime fiction aficionados is sterling. Briarpatch is an intricately plotted, though relatively straightforward mystery about the killing (by car bomb) of a homicide detective Felicity Dill. At first blush, Dill appears to be corrupt. She owns a rental property that she couldn't necessarily afford. But as her brother Benjamin Dill delves into the case, he discovers that more was going on than meets the eye.
May 9, 2018
I finished this about 20 minutes ago and have already forgotten everything about it except that it seemed mostly likable. Like a distant cousin at a wedding named Carol or maybe it was Carrie. (spoiler: it was Cayden)
July 26, 2020
I learned who Ross Thomas was through reading that Jean Patrick Mansette translated him and was seriously influenced by him. Read the superb “Chinaman’s chance” and now Briarpatch. If hard-boiled fiction had an honest line of top-five writers Thomas would have followed modestly behind the grand masters that were Hammett and Chandler. But Thomas’ books are almost out of print, however thanks to these expensive editions they are still reachable.
Witty without being smarty; well-plotted without being over-crowded or in need of side-notes to keep track of names and sub-plots; atmospheric without being boringly descriptive; well-paced without being hectic; light summer reading without being embarrassing - on the contrary, ones feels that one reads a classic of the kind.
A corruption tale, with just about the right number of murders, culprits and open ending. And wonderful prose with enough one-liners to get away with if one uses some or paraphrasing others in real life.
There are numerous “popular” and foolishly translated modern crime writers, for no reason at all. Ross Thomas is not widely read anymore and this is totally beyond me. I have one more lined up and his other works will also follow. Highly recommended. Truly.
Witty without being smarty; well-plotted without being over-crowded or in need of side-notes to keep track of names and sub-plots; atmospheric without being boringly descriptive; well-paced without being hectic; light summer reading without being embarrassing - on the contrary, ones feels that one reads a classic of the kind.
A corruption tale, with just about the right number of murders, culprits and open ending. And wonderful prose with enough one-liners to get away with if one uses some or paraphrasing others in real life.
There are numerous “popular” and foolishly translated modern crime writers, for no reason at all. Ross Thomas is not widely read anymore and this is totally beyond me. I have one more lined up and his other works will also follow. Highly recommended. Truly.
May 27, 2017
Ross Thomas was one of the best American writers, more than just a genre writer although he was excellent at that. His characters are great as are his descriptions of Americana and could turn a phrase as well as any one. Entertaining too. Can't beat all of that.
January 31, 2024
This was a great read, and seems somewhat typical of the Ross Thomas style I've seen in his other books - complex political shenanigans that keep you on your toes trying to separate the good guys from the bad. I'm still not totally sure in this one, and it ended too quickly for me, but fortunately there are still more. But this was one of my favorites, I think. It's a little hard to remember some of the earlier ones I read, back before I knew much about him. Probably some are good for a reread, if I ever get a chance.
The story starts off with a bang - literally - when a female detective gets on the wrong side of a car bomb. Her older brother, a political consultant in DC, gets the news and prepares to come out to the funeral. We never do find out the actual location, but it seems to be in the Southwest somewhere, probably near Texas. And his boss, a Senator from New Mexico, offers to pay his expenses if he will take a statement from a person of interest there about arms dealings after the Viet Nam War.
The more we learn about his sister, the more of a loss it seems to be, except there were a few things that seemed odd to her brother right off, and he decides to investigate and try to find out the who and why of the killing. That's one part of the story. The other is the dealings with suspected arms dealers. This twisted plot is expertly woven by Ross Thomas, much like his other books, and he is a master, in my opinion.
This book won an award, the 1985 Edgar for Best Novel. Awards are nothing new for Thomas; his first novel, The Cold War Swap, was written in six weeks and won a 1967 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. The book I read had an introduction by Lawrence Block, which was so enthusiastic that it made me want to quit reading his introduction and get on with the book.
The story starts off with a bang - literally - when a female detective gets on the wrong side of a car bomb. Her older brother, a political consultant in DC, gets the news and prepares to come out to the funeral. We never do find out the actual location, but it seems to be in the Southwest somewhere, probably near Texas. And his boss, a Senator from New Mexico, offers to pay his expenses if he will take a statement from a person of interest there about arms dealings after the Viet Nam War.
The more we learn about his sister, the more of a loss it seems to be, except there were a few things that seemed odd to her brother right off, and he decides to investigate and try to find out the who and why of the killing. That's one part of the story. The other is the dealings with suspected arms dealers. This twisted plot is expertly woven by Ross Thomas, much like his other books, and he is a master, in my opinion.
This book won an award, the 1985 Edgar for Best Novel. Awards are nothing new for Thomas; his first novel, The Cold War Swap, was written in six weeks and won a 1967 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. The book I read had an introduction by Lawrence Block, which was so enthusiastic that it made me want to quit reading his introduction and get on with the book.
November 16, 2023
'They all killed her in a way, he thought, and now all will pay just a little something on account. Otherwise, the preacher was wrong and she will have died in vain, although dying in vain wasn’t really all that bad since nearly everyone does it. It’s the living in vain that you really have to watch out for, and Felicity never wasted a day doing that.'
July 2, 2023
(3 1/2). The Goodreads Godfather of thriller/Mystery, Jim Thane, reviewed this book a couple of months ago so I put it on reserve at the library. What a great tale. Ben Dill is not only a super protagonist, he is a great character. The way this story evolves is really well done, and the side characters are nothing but fun. What starts out simple becomes more and more complex, all to the reader's delight. Twist and turns, layers unpeeling, not many stones left upright in this one. Real good stuff.
April 19, 2020
I came across this novel quite by accident when I read a tweet by Lawrence Block, where he listed some of his favourite crime novels and this was one of them. I hadn’t heard of it before although I was aware of Ross Thomas but had never previously read any of his work but on the strength of this novel I’ll certainly be exploring his canon further.
Ben Dill returns to his hometown following the murder of his sister Felicity, who was a Homicide Detective, in a car bomb attack. Ben and his sister were close but when he arrives home he learns a lot about his sister that he wasn’t aware of from various different sources. While at home Dill is also tasked with obtaining a deposition from a witness Jake Spivey, who was a childhood friend. As the story progresses it becomes a tangled web of intrigue where some of his sister’s colleagues and acquaintances also have links to Spivey and the stories start to intertwine.
I really enjoyed this novel as it’s one of those books where you’re never quite sure what’s going on as Thomas never really discloses what his protagonist Ben Dill is thinking. Thomas also has a very unique style when describing characters physical descriptions. It’s very idiosyncratic style but also very effective as you know exactly what that character looks like. He never mentions the name of Ben Dill’s home town but yet he goes into great detail to provide descriptions and histories of certain streets, buildings and districts which in themselves are unique and give you a real sense of the place. It’s a complicated tale with several twists along the way but eventually at the end everything becomes clear.
A great crime/political thriller that I thoroughly recommend and I also just became aware that there is a new tv series based on the novel which I must try and catch up with too.
Ben Dill returns to his hometown following the murder of his sister Felicity, who was a Homicide Detective, in a car bomb attack. Ben and his sister were close but when he arrives home he learns a lot about his sister that he wasn’t aware of from various different sources. While at home Dill is also tasked with obtaining a deposition from a witness Jake Spivey, who was a childhood friend. As the story progresses it becomes a tangled web of intrigue where some of his sister’s colleagues and acquaintances also have links to Spivey and the stories start to intertwine.
I really enjoyed this novel as it’s one of those books where you’re never quite sure what’s going on as Thomas never really discloses what his protagonist Ben Dill is thinking. Thomas also has a very unique style when describing characters physical descriptions. It’s very idiosyncratic style but also very effective as you know exactly what that character looks like. He never mentions the name of Ben Dill’s home town but yet he goes into great detail to provide descriptions and histories of certain streets, buildings and districts which in themselves are unique and give you a real sense of the place. It’s a complicated tale with several twists along the way but eventually at the end everything becomes clear.
A great crime/political thriller that I thoroughly recommend and I also just became aware that there is a new tv series based on the novel which I must try and catch up with too.
December 12, 2018
When Detective Felicity Dill dies in a car-bomb outside her home, her brother Ben is shocked to hear the news. He is a congressional investigator in Washington. Ben returns home and starts his own investigation into his sister’s death. There seem to be a pretty large pool of candidates, the ugly case she was working on, a rejected lover and the married police officer she was sleeping with and apparently engaged to. Ben discovers that Felicity was leading a double-life. He also knows this just doesn’t fit with who he knows his sister is, there’s something else going on, lots of something else it turns out.
As sure as I was about what happened, I wasn’t right, several times. A good read, interesting characters and hairpin twists
As sure as I was about what happened, I wasn’t right, several times. A good read, interesting characters and hairpin twists
June 27, 2020
If you happened to watch the 10-part miniseries of Briarpatch, you may find the book a little disappointing. That's not because the book is bad; far from it! It's another highly entertaining
product from the brain of Ross Thomas. As with the previous nine of his books, this one kept me
turning pages.
However,... The TV series has been injected with a HEAVY dose of surrealism, and that is the almost psychedelic frosting on the cake. Can't say enough good things about the TV series. The best thing it did for me was to turn me on to Ross Thomas. For that, I'll be forever grateful.
product from the brain of Ross Thomas. As with the previous nine of his books, this one kept me
turning pages.
However,... The TV series has been injected with a HEAVY dose of surrealism, and that is the almost psychedelic frosting on the cake. Can't say enough good things about the TV series. The best thing it did for me was to turn me on to Ross Thomas. For that, I'll be forever grateful.
August 9, 2016
Probably closer to a 3.5 but nevertheless a good read. Was a 4 up until the last couple of chapters. Finding out who the killer was somewhat spoiled what had been a very good story. I didn't like how the book gave barely a clue leading up to the killer's unveiling, it could have been anyone for all the same reasons. Well written even with the gratuitous wealth of information about every location. My first Ross Thomas but not my last.
April 14, 2020
This was totally a page turner. But I still prefer The Fools In Town Are On Our Side, more of an idea there, and what felt like a cleverer hero. That said, do enjoy this kind of writing - it helps keep your attention when the world’s gone crazy.
October 29, 2022
BRIARPATCH is an almost perfect suspense and mystery novel with two seamlessly joined storylines. One is the murder of a Deputy Sheriff, and the sister of the protagonist Ben Dill, and the other is a political power play under the guise of law and order. The setting, an unnamed city in what is likely Texas, is a perfect match for the tale. Hot, unsettled, and desolate. Dill is an excellent protagonist. His ambiguous ethics give the narrative a zing of suspicion, and a touch of paranoia.
BRIARPATCH is one of the best novels you'll read about politics and murder, good guys and bad guys. The problem, it's difficult to decide which is which.
BRIARPATCH is one of the best novels you'll read about politics and murder, good guys and bad guys. The problem, it's difficult to decide which is which.
June 29, 2022
Spectacular. Exactly what you want from Thomas and a few things you might not have expected, which are handled with the customary expertise.
December 11, 2013
This was a real disappointment. I picked it up on Nancy Pearl's recommendation, and the reviews on the back cover sounded promising. But it just didn't work. Thrillers are supposed to be thrilling; this one wasn't. The pace was slow and there was no action to speak of. Plus, the author kept taking time out to give a back story for every location the main character visited. I didn't really need to know the history of every restaurant where Ben Dill had a ham sandwich, but Ross Thomas made sure to provide it anyway.
And let's talk about Ben Dill for a second. What a cold fish of a protagonist! He supposedly loves his sister and was so motivated by grief over her death that he flew home to investigate, right? So why does he show almost no emotion about her when he gets there? Two women throw themselves at him and he treats that as just slightly more enjoyable than a toothache. He gets accosted in his hotel room and takes it all in stride--so blasé about the whole thing that he has time to notice the guy's pulse rate. All this stoic cool and self-assurance from a low-level Washington functionary? I'm sorry, it won't wash.
Overall a slow slog of a story, a boring trip through a boring city with a main character that I couldn't stand. Didn't finish it and will not try to read it again.
And let's talk about Ben Dill for a second. What a cold fish of a protagonist! He supposedly loves his sister and was so motivated by grief over her death that he flew home to investigate, right? So why does he show almost no emotion about her when he gets there? Two women throw themselves at him and he treats that as just slightly more enjoyable than a toothache. He gets accosted in his hotel room and takes it all in stride--so blasé about the whole thing that he has time to notice the guy's pulse rate. All this stoic cool and self-assurance from a low-level Washington functionary? I'm sorry, it won't wash.
Overall a slow slog of a story, a boring trip through a boring city with a main character that I couldn't stand. Didn't finish it and will not try to read it again.
June 27, 2012
People seem to fart sparklers when they talk about Ross Thomas, and Briarpatch won an Edgar award. So I was expecting Big Things. And it was...pretty good. With zero positive billing, I think I would have been very pleasantly surprised, like the time I ran across Fast & Furious at 2am on USA. When you add in the hype, it's maybe a little bit of a letdown.
Still, it's a perfectly competent thriller in the same tone as early Robert B. Parker stuff. The main character, Dill, is an innocent DC bureaucrat who gets tangled in a BRIARPATCH (Get it?) of intrigue when he goes back home for his sister's funeral. The cool thing is that Dill has this layer of darkness and violence that is never fully delved into. It takes an impressive brand of restraint to only hint at things like that with your main character, so hats off to good ol' Ross. Also, he named his top guy DILL. That's balls is what that is.
Still, it's a perfectly competent thriller in the same tone as early Robert B. Parker stuff. The main character, Dill, is an innocent DC bureaucrat who gets tangled in a BRIARPATCH (Get it?) of intrigue when he goes back home for his sister's funeral. The cool thing is that Dill has this layer of darkness and violence that is never fully delved into. It takes an impressive brand of restraint to only hint at things like that with your main character, so hats off to good ol' Ross. Also, he named his top guy DILL. That's balls is what that is.
August 21, 2015
One of the things I'm trying to do is go back and find classic crime fiction writers whom I may have missed out on. Ross Thomas is one of those. Charles Willeford is another.
Ross Thomas's novel, Briarpatch, is fantastic, and makes me want to IMMEDIATELY buy more of his books.
(This isn't a review, exactly, just a visceral reaction to the book.)
Ross Thomas's novel, Briarpatch, is fantastic, and makes me want to IMMEDIATELY buy more of his books.
(This isn't a review, exactly, just a visceral reaction to the book.)
June 11, 2020
A fast paced, well written, cleverly plotted, crime thriller with interesting characters and plenty of unexpected incidents. The book has a similar style to a Raymond Chandler novel. Benjamin Dill, a 38 year old Senate committee investigator receives a long distance phone call from a Texas city with news that his 28 year old sister, Felicity Dill, died in a car bomb explosion. He flies to the Texas city, his hometown, reacquainting himself with his long time friend Jake Spivey. Spivey is now very well off with political and police connections. Spivey’s once time business partner, Clyde Brattle, is now a bitter enemy of Spivey. The Spivey / Brattle dispute, more murders and Ben Dill’s blossoming affair with Felicity Dill’s lawyer, Anna Maude Singe, make for an interesting, entertaining read.
(The ‘introduction’ to the ‘Briarpatch’ Thomas Dunne Books Edition states that Ross Thomas had just finished running a political campaign for a friend and had a spare couple of months, so decided to try his hand at a novel. He typed it up, doubled spaced and sent it off to an editor of a particular publishing house. Two weeks later he received a letter from the editor in his mailbox stating that they would like to publish his novel. The manuscript published as ‘The Cold War Swap’, was widely praised, winning the Edgar Allan Poe Award for best first novel of the year. Ross Thomas went on to have 24 more novels published, receiving a number of awards).
The ‘Briarpatch’ was winner of the 1985 Edgar Award.
(The ‘introduction’ to the ‘Briarpatch’ Thomas Dunne Books Edition states that Ross Thomas had just finished running a political campaign for a friend and had a spare couple of months, so decided to try his hand at a novel. He typed it up, doubled spaced and sent it off to an editor of a particular publishing house. Two weeks later he received a letter from the editor in his mailbox stating that they would like to publish his novel. The manuscript published as ‘The Cold War Swap’, was widely praised, winning the Edgar Allan Poe Award for best first novel of the year. Ross Thomas went on to have 24 more novels published, receiving a number of awards).
The ‘Briarpatch’ was winner of the 1985 Edgar Award.
April 25, 2019
This is an engrossing, fast-moving mystery that's full of the usual Ross Thomas cynicism but, unfortunately, lacks the mordant humor that make his best books so enjoyable. Still, it did win the 1985 Edgar Award for best novel.
The book starts, quite literally, with a bang, as bright and attractive homicide detective Felicity Dill gets in her car and is blown to bits. Her brother Ben, a congressional investigator for a New Mexico senator, flies down from Washington to his old hometown to see if he can figure out what happened.
He soon learns his little sister led a complicated life he knew nothing about, with dual apartments, suitors he'd never heard of and a lot more money than an honest cop would normally possess. Meanwhile, his boss has sent him to reconnect with an old buddy, Jake Spivey, whom a congressional committee wants to interview about war profiteering in Vietnam. Dill's trip turns into a sentimental journey of sorts, as he wanders the streets where he grew up and where he and Jake were often pulling some scam or another. Meanwhile he meets his sister's attorney, an attractive woman named Anna Marie Singe, who quickly becomes far more than legal counsel to Ben.
Ben carries a gun in a few scenes but never uses it, and instead relies more on his wits and his deep knowledge of the people involved to squeeze out the answers he needs.
The dialogue is sharp and the characters vivid and believable, as always with Thomas. But usually the dark tone and deadly doings in Thomas' novels are lightened by little touches of absurdity and wicked humor (for instance, in "Ah, Treachery," an activist group whose initials spell VOMIT). And you can often count on some great wisecracks from the lead characters. You'll find none of that here, and so while I sped through the book to find out whodunit, I kind of wished there were some reasons to pause for a chuckle or a smle along the way.
The book starts, quite literally, with a bang, as bright and attractive homicide detective Felicity Dill gets in her car and is blown to bits. Her brother Ben, a congressional investigator for a New Mexico senator, flies down from Washington to his old hometown to see if he can figure out what happened.
He soon learns his little sister led a complicated life he knew nothing about, with dual apartments, suitors he'd never heard of and a lot more money than an honest cop would normally possess. Meanwhile, his boss has sent him to reconnect with an old buddy, Jake Spivey, whom a congressional committee wants to interview about war profiteering in Vietnam. Dill's trip turns into a sentimental journey of sorts, as he wanders the streets where he grew up and where he and Jake were often pulling some scam or another. Meanwhile he meets his sister's attorney, an attractive woman named Anna Marie Singe, who quickly becomes far more than legal counsel to Ben.
Ben carries a gun in a few scenes but never uses it, and instead relies more on his wits and his deep knowledge of the people involved to squeeze out the answers he needs.
The dialogue is sharp and the characters vivid and believable, as always with Thomas. But usually the dark tone and deadly doings in Thomas' novels are lightened by little touches of absurdity and wicked humor (for instance, in "Ah, Treachery," an activist group whose initials spell VOMIT). And you can often count on some great wisecracks from the lead characters. You'll find none of that here, and so while I sped through the book to find out whodunit, I kind of wished there were some reasons to pause for a chuckle or a smle along the way.
July 29, 2018
(4.5) About a third of the way through this book, I began to worry. It was such a good read and yet I was concerned it wouldn’t have the velocity to keep up til the end. Fortunately, I was wrong. This is a banger.
I’m a latecomer to Ross Thomas’ work and I have only myself to blame. He really does for the political novel* what Leonard did for noir. The dialogue reminds me of how I thought grownups talked when I was a kid: wry, direct and mature with a light wit. The mystery itself kept me guessing and while I docked it a half star because I wasn’t a huge fan of the book’s central relationship, all the characters, male and female, are 3D.
I will read more Ross Thomas. Maybe his entire oeuvre. But I’m not sure it gets better than this.
*aided greatly by Thomas being nonpartisan
I’m a latecomer to Ross Thomas’ work and I have only myself to blame. He really does for the political novel* what Leonard did for noir. The dialogue reminds me of how I thought grownups talked when I was a kid: wry, direct and mature with a light wit. The mystery itself kept me guessing and while I docked it a half star because I wasn’t a huge fan of the book’s central relationship, all the characters, male and female, are 3D.
I will read more Ross Thomas. Maybe his entire oeuvre. But I’m not sure it gets better than this.
*aided greatly by Thomas being nonpartisan
February 14, 2019
I wasn't aware of Ross Thomas until after my cousin raved about him. I made a note to check out his work, but never followed up on it - - until my cousin decided to relinquish a coveted copy of Biarpatch and loan it to me. Thanks, Dianne! Now I'm a believer and will be reading more.
This starts out with a bang, then gets a little bogged down in the details until all the planted plot threads start to unravel rapidly, and the last third of the book charges like a bullet train. There were enough suspects that I couldn't identify one character who seemed the most guilty. The reveal came as a surprise, even though the chapters leading up to it made a good case for the how and why.
Thomas writes tautly, and doesn't clutter things up with nonessential details. The dialogue is crisp, and the characters are well-defined. There's an appropriate cynical tone to the account of government -approved criminal behavior which then becomes part of an investigation by a young politician hoping to rise up in the ranks on the backs of the accused. Written in 1984 and still very topical, these events could have occurred last month.
This starts out with a bang, then gets a little bogged down in the details until all the planted plot threads start to unravel rapidly, and the last third of the book charges like a bullet train. There were enough suspects that I couldn't identify one character who seemed the most guilty. The reveal came as a surprise, even though the chapters leading up to it made a good case for the how and why.
Thomas writes tautly, and doesn't clutter things up with nonessential details. The dialogue is crisp, and the characters are well-defined. There's an appropriate cynical tone to the account of government -approved criminal behavior which then becomes part of an investigation by a young politician hoping to rise up in the ranks on the backs of the accused. Written in 1984 and still very topical, these events could have occurred last month.
December 21, 2018
Often, Thomas draws in his audience with the subtle allure of crime and double crosses a lá Chinaman's
Chance or Eighth Dwarf. Yet, here Briarpatch's front man subtly wrangles the reader by no virtue of being 'cool' but rather, being rational, believable and the perfect amount of relatable.
Chance or Eighth Dwarf. Yet, here Briarpatch's front man subtly wrangles the reader by no virtue of being 'cool' but rather, being rational, believable and the perfect amount of relatable.
June 23, 2023
A true five. Well paced who-dunnit. I’d read more by this author
March 20, 2017
ross thomas was a gifted writer & storyteller.
June 1, 2020
Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote -
https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...
I came to this book after watching Briarpatch, the television series. I've posted my review of that series noting the changes between the book and the series (which genderswaps multiple characters.)
This is a competently done mystery. It's 1983. Ben Dill is an investigator for a Washington DC subcommittee. He gets word that his younger sister has been killed in a car explosion. He decides to return to his unnamed home town for her funeral. He's asked by his senator to "take a deposition" of his childhood friend Jake Spivey, who was into questionable dealings in Southeast Asia after the fall of Saigon with the even shadier Clyde Brattle.
When he gets there he immediately runs into love interest Anna Maude Singe. The two of them then begin to deal with the corruption of his hometown. Murders happen. Everyone has a scam or an angle.
Ben Dill comes across as a competent, fairly likeable individual with some interesting quirks. On the whole, the story movied along at a good clip to a satisfying concluion.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...
I came to this book after watching Briarpatch, the television series. I've posted my review of that series noting the changes between the book and the series (which genderswaps multiple characters.)
This is a competently done mystery. It's 1983. Ben Dill is an investigator for a Washington DC subcommittee. He gets word that his younger sister has been killed in a car explosion. He decides to return to his unnamed home town for her funeral. He's asked by his senator to "take a deposition" of his childhood friend Jake Spivey, who was into questionable dealings in Southeast Asia after the fall of Saigon with the even shadier Clyde Brattle.
When he gets there he immediately runs into love interest Anna Maude Singe. The two of them then begin to deal with the corruption of his hometown. Murders happen. Everyone has a scam or an angle.
Ben Dill comes across as a competent, fairly likeable individual with some interesting quirks. On the whole, the story movied along at a good clip to a satisfying concluion.
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