Ross Thomas (born February 19, 1926 in Oklahoma City, USA, died December 18, 1995 in Santa Monica, USA) was a mystery writer. He is best known for his witty thrillers that expose the mechanisms of professional politics. Some of his books were published under the pseudonym Oliver Bleeck. February 19 is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1926 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Downtown Oklahoma City The State Capitol of Oklahoma Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the state of Oklahoma in the United States of America. ... December 18 is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Santa Monica Pier Santa Monica is a coastal city located in Los Angeles County, California USA, by the Pacific Ocean, south of Pacific Palisades and Brentwood, west of Westwood, Los Angeles, and north of Venice. ... The thriller is a genre of fiction in which tough, resourceful, butt essentially ordinary heroes are pitted against villains determined to destroy them, their country, or the stability of the free world. ...

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. He won an Edgar Award For Best First Mystery for The Cold War Swap, and an Edgar Award For Best Mystery for Briarpatch. World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that engulfed much of the globe... Bonn is a city in Germany (Population (2004 est): 313,605 ; the 19th largest city in Germany), in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, located about 20 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine. ... The Edgar Allan Poe Awards (popularly called the Edgars), named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America. ...

Novels

• Other
• The Cold War Swap (1966)
• Cast a Yellow Shadow (1967)
• The Seersucker Whipsaw (1967)
• Singapore Wink (1969)
• The Brass Go-Between (1969)
• The Fools in Town are on Our Side (1970)
• The Backup Men (1971)
• The Procane Chronicle (1971)
• Protocol for a Kidnapping (1971)
• The Porkchoppers (1972)
• If You Can't Be Good (1973)
• The Highbinders (1973)
• The Money Harvest (1975)
• Yellow Dog Contract (1976)
• No Questions Asked (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)

Recurring characters

The following are those of his main characters that occur in more than one novel:

• Mac McCorkle, pub owner in Bonn and Washington, DC, and his friend Mike Padillo, spy. The Cold War Swap, Cast a Yellow Shadow, Twilight at Mac's Place.
• Philip St. Ives, professional go-between. The Brass Go-Between, The Procane Chronicle, Protocol for a Kidnapping, The Highbinders, No Questions Asked.
• Artie Wu and Quincy Durant, businessmen, and their associate Otherguy Overby. Chinaman's Chance, Out on the Rim, Voodoo, Ltd. Georgia Blue, spy, joins them in the latter two.

Bonn is a city in Germany (Population (2004 est): 313,605 ; the 19th largest city in Germany), in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, located about 20 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United...

External links

• Ross Thomas at the Internet Movie Database