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    The Backup Men: A Mac McCorkle Mystery
    The Backup Men: A Mac McCorkle Mystery
    The Backup Men: A Mac McCorkle Mystery
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Backup Men: A Mac McCorkle Mystery

    Written by Ross Thomas

    Narrated by Brian Holsopple

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Saloon owner Mac McCorkle and former CIA agent Mike Padillo team up to help a pair of bodyguards being pursued by assassins-who soon add McCorkle and Padillo to their hit list.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateNov 5, 2013
    ISBN9781622310661
    The Backup Men: A Mac McCorkle Mystery
    Author

    Ross Thomas

    The winner of the inaugural Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award, Ross Thomas (1926–1995) was a prolific author whose political thrillers drew praise for their blend of wit and suspense. Born in Oklahoma City, Thomas grew up during the Great Depression, and served in the Philippines during World War II. After the war, he worked as a foreign correspondent, public relations official, and political strategist before publishing his first novel, The Cold War Swap (1967), based on his experience working in Bonn, Germany. The novel was a hit, winning Thomas an Edgar Award for Best First Novel and establishing the characters Mac McCorkle and Mike Padillo.  Thomas followed it up with three more novels about McCorkle and Padillo, the last of which was published in 1990. He wrote nearly a book a year for twenty-five years, occasionally under the pen name Oliver Bleeck, and won the Edgar Award for Best Novel with Briarpatch (1984). Thomas died of lung cancer in California in 1995, a year after publishing his final novel, Ah, Treachery!

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    Reviews for The Backup Men

    4/5

    34 ratings4 reviews

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    • 4/5
      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.
    • 5/5
      Witty and suspenseful noir-esque entertainment. Excellent narrator, both with the first person narrative requirement and other characters.
    • 4/5
      Mac McCorkle and Mike Padillo are "saloon" keepers in Washington D.C. They came to Washington after their place of the same name in Bonn on the banks of the Rein had been blown up. Oddly enough, despite their reputations, their Washington D.C. establishment has yet to be assaulted. Despite the fact they are trying to put their pasts behind them and keep their noses clean, through various mishaps they find themselves with a new job, to protect a young man from assassination. Peter Paul Kassim is on the brink of becoming King of Llaquah, a country that has recently discovered it sits on nearly 100 billion barrels of oil reserves. Kassim stands in the way of political enemies who are extremely interested in getting Kassim out of the way.The Backup Men is a fast paced suspense novel, but what really hold the story together is McCorkle and Padillo's relationship. Their characters and conversations are witty, humorous and at times, utterly astonishing.
    • 4/5
      Every time I read another Ross Thomas, I tell myself I need to read more. It’s perfection, really. If you like buddy stories with complex plots and great dialog, look no further. Padillo and McCorkle just crackle with life and personality. I can’t help comparing them with Wu and Durant, the vibe is similar, but their adventures have an element of tragedy and sadness that I haven’t seen with the other two. The noir component is heavier in these books as well. I swear every time a door opened and the pair walked into a room, they had a drink. Or a smoke. Or both. And they need it! The body count just keeps climbing. They know they can only trust each other, but plans go awry and the final confrontation is a good one. Great shadowy villains and menace. I know our heroes will triumph, but at what cost?