From Publishers Weekly
Past and present sins involving covert army operations and shady campaign financing give rise to murder in this sprightly new suspense thriller from two-time Edgar winner Ross (Voodoo, Ltd.). In 1989, army major Edd "Twodees" Partain took part in an illegal operation in El Salvador that his former comrades now want expunged from the record. Meanwhile, top political fund-raiser Millicent Altford needs to recover $1.2 million in stolen under-the-table contributions. These two scenarios dovetail as Altford engineers to have Partain, who was drummed out of the service for assaulting a superior officer, fired from his job in a Wyoming gun store in order to hire him to "ride shotgun" as she goes after the loot. As their associates begin meeting violent, sometimes shockingly brutal, ends, Partain and Altford seek to flush out their enemies (among whom military honchos figure prominently), recover the money and keep themselves alive. Set primarily in L.A. and D.C., Thomas's yarn reaffirms his expertise at the black-humored political thriller, from the sarcastic title and swift pacing through the acronym for a veterans' outfit (Victims of Military Intelligence Treachery) to Altford's offhand remark that "Little Rock" is "real, real grateful for the two hundred and fifty-four thousand I bundled up for them, not the party, just three days after the New Hampshire primary." As usual with Thomas, the plotting is intricate and nearly as difficult to follow as that of his fellow iconoclast Carl Hiaasen, but readers willing to stick with his unpredictable, sometimes loopy story line will surely enjoy the ride. Major ad/promo. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
"Ah, treachery! One of history's favorite shortcuts." Now there is a signature Ross Thomas line. Look closely, and you'll see all the ingredients: a special mix of world-weary resignation and bitter irony; an implied sense of knowing a whole lot more about how things work than you or I do; and a nice, healthy dollop of mischievousness. This is Thomas' twenty-fifth novel, and it offers a return to one of the author's favorite haunts: Washington, D.C., and the treacherous (there's that word again) double-dealing of an assortment of behind-the-scenes types from both Capitol Hill and the Pentagon. It's early 1993, just prior to the Clinton inauguration, and cashiered army major Edd (with two d's; hence his nickname, Twodees) Partain finds himself riding shotgun for political fund-raiser Milicent Altford, who has lost 1.2 million in very soft money and fears for her life. What follows is a typical Thomas plot of labyrinthine complexity involving dirty doings in Central America (including the "disappearing" of Twodees' Salvadoran wife), the deadly cover-up attempt of two nasty army intelligence types, and the counterintelligence activities of a group calling itself VOMIT (Victims of Military Intelligence Treachery). As usual, the various plot elements are forged into an architecturally stunning whole, and the interplay between characters leaves us wishing we could, just once, see the world as clearly and react as shrewdly as a Ross Thomas hero. Bill Ott


Review
"It's good to see the world again through Ross Thomas' cool, clear gaze."
--Los Angeles Times



Review
"It's good to see the world again through Ross Thomas' cool, clear gaze."
--Los Angeles Times



Review
"It's good to see the world again through Ross Thomas' cool, clear gaze."
--Los Angeles Times



Book Description
Ah, Treachery!, the last novel Thomas wrote before his death, tells the story of one Captain Edd "Twodees" Partain, drummed out of the Army and hounded by rumors of his involvement in a secret operation in El Salvador. Twodees gets hired on to help a fundraiser for the "Little Rock folks" recover funds that were stolen from an illicit stash used to smooth over problems and pay off hush money. Meanwhile, Partain is involved in a storefront operation called VOMIT (Victims of Military Intelligence Treachery) trying to defend former intelligence operatives such as Partain from those who are trying to cover up the past permanently.



About the Author
Ross Thomas is ranked as one of the very top thriller writers by his fellow authors, and his readers loudly agree. Two Edgar Awards, and other prizes, only complement the abundant praise that Thomas has received.

Thomas died in 1995, and since then all but one of his twenty-five novels have gone out of print. This should never have happened to the man of whom The New Yorker has said "Very few...are as consistently entertaining...even fewer can match him for style and power." Minotaur is proud to remedy this situation by reissuing Thomas's novels. So start reading, and prepare to join Ross Thomas's legions of admiring fans.

ANNOTATION

Millicent Altford is a rainmaker, showering politicos with cash. Edd "Twodees" Partain was a clerk at Wanda Lu's gun shop in Wyoming. Now, he's heading to L.A. to help Millicent get back the $1.2 million someone stole from her war chest. That means returning to his former life in a world of spies, counterspies, revolutionaries, soldiers, and murderers.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Cashiered U.S. Army major Edd "Twodees" Partain is working as a clerk in Wanda Lou's Weaponry in Sheridan, Wyoming. That is, he works there until the tall man in the lamb's wool topcoat walks into the shop and announces that a certain secret operation that took place in El Salvador is about to hit the media fan. For Partain, the visit from the man in gray leads to an unforeseen career move. Flying to L.A., the ex-major is grilled by a woman hiding out - in a $2000-a-day hospital room - from the "Little Rock folks." Millicent Altford is a rainmaker, and a good one, adept at shaking the money tree for deserving politicos. Her secret war chest is missing $1.2 million, and she wants Partain to ride shotgun while she gets it back. And that leads Partain across the continent to Washington, where the blunders of U.S. covert action in Central America are at last percolating up through the political ranks. A storefront organization called VOMIT - Victims of Military Intelligence Treachery - is trying to defend a network of former intelligence operatives, soldiers, and covert warriors, including Partain himself, from a plot to keep the truth buried. VOMlT has its hands full. Because Twodees Partain is making even more enemies than he used to, a number of bags containing $1.2 million are floating around, and some old El Salvador hands are stirring up the ashes of political sin - with corpses sprawling from Georgetown to Beverly Hills...

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly