Book Review: BRIARPATCH by Ross Thomas

BRIARPATCH by Ross Thomas (St. Martin Griffin, January 2003 - first published in 1984) Trade paperback, 336 pages.  ISBN # 0312290314 / # 9780312290313.  Winner of Edgar Award for Best Novel 1985, Deutscher Krimi Preis for 1.Platz International 1987.

 

Summary from the Goodreads website . . . .

 

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." 

 

My review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

 

     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.