The Porkchoppers

It’s amazing that a book called The Porkchoppers doesn’t have an ounce of fat. Porkchopper is actually a slang term for a union official who is more interested in helping himself than the labor he represents, and there’s a couple of them on display here. Don Cubbin is an aging president of a powerful......more

Superbly written and plotted, this book about an election for the head of one of the largest unions in America had great characterizations, lots of dirty tricks, and political intrigue.......more

Not sure why I picked up this first on my great Ross Thomas re-reading adventure of 2007 (this is after locating, buying, and reading all 26 of his masterpieces last year). But I'm glad I did. I defy you -- defy you! -- to find a more masterful beginning to a thriller than the first, follow-the-lett......more

It’s kind of liberating, knowing that whatever you write in GR instantly falls into the realms of oblivion as the approximate number of its readers is probably next to zero. It means you can write anything you pretty much like, as long as it doesn’t offend anyone, at least not blatantly. Perhaps you......more

Anytime I read a Ross Thomas novel, I lament that he or someone like him is not around to capture these times. True, we live in an era of Peak Cynicism thanks to Trump and his gang. But it’s not like the late-60s/early-70s era which this novel takes place was some sort of political paradise either. I......more