Ross Thomas (author)

Ross Thomas (February 19, 1926 in Oklahoma City December 18, 1995 in Santa Monica, California) 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 with the infantry in the Philippines during World War II.[1] He worked as a public relations specialist, correspondent with the Armed Forces Network,[1] union spokesman, and political strategist in the USA, Bonn (Germany), and Nigeria before becoming a writer.[2]

His debut novel, The Cold War Swap, was written in only six weeks and won a 1967 Edgar Award[3] for Best First Novel. Briarpatch earned the 1985 Edgar for Best Novel.[2] In 2002 he was honored with the inaugural Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award, one of only two authors to earn the award posthumously (the other was 87th Precinct author Ed McBain in 2006).

He died of lung cancer in Santa Monica, California two months before his 70th birthday.[2]

Novels

  • The Cold War Swap (1966)
  • Cast a Yellow Shadow (1967)
  • The Seersucker Whipsaw (1967)
  • Singapore Wink (1969)
  • The Fools in Town are on Our Side (1970)
  • The Backup Men (1971)
  • The Porkchoppers (1972)
  • If You Can't Be Good (1973)
  • The Money Harvest (1975)
  • Yellow Dog Contract (1976)
  • Chinaman's Chance (1978)
  • The Eighth Dwarf (1979)
  • The Mordida Man (1981)
  • Missionary Stew (1983)
  • Briarpatch (1984)
  • Out On The Rim (1987)
  • The Fourth Durango (1989)
  • Twilight at Mac's Place (1990)
  • Voodoo, Ltd (1992)
  • Ah, Treachery! (1994)

As Oliver Bleeck

  • The Brass Go-Between (1969)
  • Protocol for a Kidnapping (1971)
  • The Procane Chronicle (1971) basis for the 1976 Charles Bronson movie St. Ives.
  • The Highbinders (1973)
  • No Questions Asked (1976)

Non-Fiction

Recurring characters

Aside from Philip St. Ives, the following characters appear in more than one novel:

References

  1. 1 2 Sara Paretsky (preface) in Ross Thomas (2003) [1989]. The Fourth Durango. Thomas Dunne Books. ISBN 0312315856.
  2. 1 2 3 Myrna Oliver (19 December 1995). "Ross Thomas; Award-Winning Mystery Writer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  3. William Heffernan (preface) in Ross Thomas (2005) [1978]. Chinaman's Chance. New York: Thomas Dunne Books. ISBN 0-312-33414-1.

External links

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