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mcf's review
4.0
While this installment isn't as good as the first two in the series (which are, in order: 1)great and 2)astounding), it nevertheless offers some pretty wonderful insights into the relationship between Mac and Padillo, something which, to this point in the series, had often been more tangential than anything else.
sandin954's review
3.0
A quick, entertaining read with a fairly convoluted plot but the main characters more than make up for it.
ericwelch's review
4.0
Not sure how I could have missed Ross Thomas over the years. I have read two of his books now and both were excellent.
Padillo and McCorkle are recurring characters in Thomas’s novels. An unlikely pair of sidekicks, they partner in owning a bar in Washington. Both have somewhat shady but apparently reputable pasts, and Padillo is approached by the Gothar twins to provide backup in providing security for the soon-to-be king of a very small but very oil-rich Middle Eastern country. There are others who want to make sure the prince makes no deals nor returns to his country.
The book has a definite old-fashioned feel to it with some of the action having a slight fantastical feel to it. What makes the book sparkle is the dialogue that propels the book forward. Thomas has a gift for writing dialogue. Some of the short conversations reminded me of those between Boyd Crowder and Raylan Givens. The ending came as a nicely complicated surprise. Quite enjoyable.
Padillo and McCorkle are recurring characters in Thomas’s novels. An unlikely pair of sidekicks, they partner in owning a bar in Washington. Both have somewhat shady but apparently reputable pasts, and Padillo is approached by the Gothar twins to provide backup in providing security for the soon-to-be king of a very small but very oil-rich Middle Eastern country. There are others who want to make sure the prince makes no deals nor returns to his country.
The book has a definite old-fashioned feel to it with some of the action having a slight fantastical feel to it. What makes the book sparkle is the dialogue that propels the book forward. Thomas has a gift for writing dialogue. Some of the short conversations reminded me of those between Boyd Crowder and Raylan Givens. The ending came as a nicely complicated surprise. Quite enjoyable.
nigellicus's review
dark
mysterious
tense
5.0
McCorkle and Padillo are just trying to run their bar, but a pair of deadly twins turn up trying to persuade Padillo to back them up in a tricky job. Padillo says no, then someone turns up dead in McCorkle's home and suddenly they're involved in the protection of a soon-to-be-king of a soon-to-be-oil-rich state targeted by a pair of very professional assassins, who are not twins. Things get bloody and occasionally brutal, but never not dry and laconic and rest assured there is many a twist before the end.
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