I discovered Mike Lawson’s political thriller series about Congressional fixer Joe DeMarco a few years ago and have followed it ever since. His work is often compared to that of Ross Thomas (1926-1995), and I finally got around to finding a couple of books by Thomas to see for myself. He was an American reporter, foreign correspondent, and public relations executive in the United States, Europe, and Africa. He turned to crime fiction in the mid-1960s. He is best known for his entertaining thrillers that expose the morally ambiguous wheeling and dealing of professional politics. He also wrote five novels under the pseudonym Oliver Bleeck about professional go-between Philip St. Ives. His work includes four books about Michael Padillo and Mac McCorkle, three about Artie Wu and Quincy Durant, and another dozen or so stand-alones. The Cold War Swap (Morrow, 1966) received the 1967 Edgar Award for Best First Novel and Briarpatch (Simon & Schuster, 1984) won the 1985 Edgar Award for Best Novel.
The Mordida Man (Simon & Schuster, 1981) is a nicely twisted tale of ex-Congressman Chub Dunjee whose fall from grace was meteoric due to his then-wife’s escapade with the notorious Weathermen radicals. After a stint with the United Nations and another driving a cab, Chubb went to Mexico and negotiated for the release of a group of hostages with spectacular success. He has taken refuge in a villa in Portugal while his lawyer negotiates with the IRS over a claim for back taxes owed on his fee in those negotiations. There political fixer Paul Grimes finds him and asks for his help.
It seems the Libyans have kidnapped Bingo McKay, the brother of and brains behind the current resident of the Oval Office. They have sworn to dismember him bit by bit until a notorious agent named Felix who was taken off a London street in broad daylight is returned to them. No one is admitting to actually having Felix or claiming to know where he is, the Libyans simply believe if they continue to trim Bingo’s appendages, it was his left ear to start with, the United States will find Felix for them.
Not having the slightest idea where to look or who to ask does not intimidate Chubb. He plunges into deep waters that involve espionage agents from multiple countries in the Middle East as well as the U.S. and the U.K., a fleeing embezzler, representatives to the United Nations, and a large assortment of supporting players of all stripes. Fast-moving, intricately plotted, engaging, serious one minute, antic the next. Fans of spy thrillers and political espionage heretofore unfamiliar with Thomas’s books will want to add them to their reading lists.