New Releases by Ross Thomas

Als Lucifer Dye aus einem Hongkonger Gefängnis entlassen wird, erfährt er, dass seine Karriere als Agent der US-Spionageabteilung Sektion Zwei endgültig beendet ist. Gleich nach seiner Ankunft in San Francisco tritt der Troubleshooter Victor Orcutt mit einem Angebot an ihn heran: Dye soll die texanische Stadt Swankerton korrumpieren. An seiner Seite die ehemalige Prostituierte Carol Thackerty und der Ex-Polizeichef Homer Necessary. Während Orcutt die Regie führt, erschleicht sich Dye das Vertrauen des inoffiziellen, von der Mafia unterstützten Oberhaupts von Swankerton. Und bald fragen sich beide Parteien im Kampf um die Kontrolle der Stadt, auf welcher Seite der Ex-Spion eigentlich steht. Aus dem Amerikanischen von Gisbert und Julian Haefs Eine um mehr als die Hälfte gekürzte deutsche Ausgabe erschien 1972 unter dem Titel »Unsere Stadt muss sauber« werden.

Abner Procane, der beste Dieb der Welt, stellt fest, dass die minutiös genauen Aufzeichnungen aller Diebstähle, die er in 25 Jahren begangen hat, gestohlen worden sind. Einzig Philip St. Ives, professioneller Vermittler und Überbringer von Lösegeldern mit ausgezeichneten Kontakten zur Unterwelt, könnte sie ihm wiederbeschaffen. Dafür ist Procane bereit, hunderttausend Dollar lockerzumachen. Doch spätestens, als die Übergabe scheitert und St. Ives statt der Papiere einen Toten findet, weiß der Meisterdieb, dass der Erfolg seines letzten, millionenschweren Coups ernsthaft auf dem Spiel steht ...

1981: Ein international gesuchter Terrorist wird von amerikanischen Agenten entführt. Kurz darauf lässt der Nachfolger Gaddafis den Bruder des amerikanischen Präsidenten kidnappen, um mit ihm den Freiheitskämpfer freizupressen, nicht ahnend, dass dieser schon tot ist. Der Einzige, der die Kohlen jetzt noch aus dem Feuer holen kann, ist Chubb Dunjee. Der ehemalige amerikanische Kongressabgeordnete war lange Mittelsmann in den unruhigen Gegenden dieser Welt; seine besondere Spezialität: Bestechung – "mordida".

Der zweite Fall für Philip St. Ives, den pokernden Dandy und professionellen Mittelsmann: Der amerikanische Botschafter in Belgrad will eine zukünftige Nonne heiraten und wird zur Strafe von seinem eigenen Geheimdienst gewaltsam entführt, der für seine Freilassung eine Million Dollar zahlt – an sich selbst! Ein Witz? Das denkt zunächst auch St. Ives – bis das erste Blut fließt und ihn vom tödlichen Ernst der Sache überzeugt.

At the height of the Cold War, two Americans are runnng a bar in the West German capital. One of the pair, Michael Padillo, isn''t around a lot. He keeps disappearing on ''business trips''. McCorkle, his partner, wisely doesn''t ask questions; he knows Padillo has a second job. Padillo is a (reluctant) US agent. However, McCorkle is ready to answer a call for help from Padillo, and he joins his friend in a journey with no inkling of what they will encounter at the turn of each dark and dangerous corner.

The Two-Minute Warning is a novel that takes a journey with John Starr, who is an evangelist and watchman in the end times, in his travels sounding the alarm of warning that God has appointed him to sound. It is a story of revival and of the end-time harvest. “This is a must-read for anyone who wants to expand their understanding of spiritual warfare and catch the enthusiasm of the author in taking up their cross to follow Jesus. Great story! I loved it!” —Melissa Geno, Kingdom Warriors “I find Bob Ross Thomas’s book, The Two Minute Warning, a timely warning to the Church in America to truly walk in repentance and humility. From his evangelistic travels to the prophetic dreams given to him by God, I truly believe he is a watchman and must blow the trumpet of warning.” —Gene Schmidt, exec vice president, Hand pf Help Ministries

Nachdem Padillo, McCorkles Geschäftspartner der gemeinsamen Bar, von seiner Geheimdienst-Vergangenheit eingeholt wird und kurz darauf ein ehemaliger Kollege Padillos in McCorkles Wohnung tot aufgefunden wird, bleibt dem Duo keine Wahl: Es gilt, den zukünftigen König des ölreichen arabischen Staates Llaquah zu beschützen. Auf dem Weg zum entscheidenden Treffen mit den Öl- Gesellschaften entwickelt sich dabei ein erbitter- ter Kampf um Leben und Tod.

A journalist tries to save an abducted ambassador—even though he despises the man—in this entertaining thriller by an Edgar Award–winning author. Philip St. Ives loses his first job in journalism as soon as he realizes he hates the man who gave it to him. Chicago Post editor Amfred Killingsworth is a pompous blowhard, and fires his newest reporter for failing to fawn over him. St. Ives goes to New York, where he lands a daily column and the close friendship of an assortment of crooks. Killingsworth goes in a less respectable direction, becoming the US ambassador to Yugoslavia. By the time the ambassador gets himself kidnapped, the only man who can save him is his former cub reporter. The kidnappers demand the release of a Slavic poet in exchange for the ambassador, and St. Ives goes behind the Iron Curtain to arrange the hand-off. To protect a trove of ugly Washington secrets, he''ll have to save the life of a universally disliked man.

An old CIA connection brings trouble for a Washington, DC, barman in this thriller from "America''s best storyteller" ( The New York Times Book Review). As the saying goes, you can''t pick your friends. If you could, Mac McCorkle would disown Padilla. They owned a bar together in Bonn, the West German capital, and stayed partners even after Padilla''s sideline as a CIA operative got the bar blown up. Padilla was thought to be dead and erased from the CIA''s files—but now he''s back on the agency''s turf. Mac moved to Washington, DC, after the trouble in Bonn to get married and open his bar anew. His new bride is beautiful, the bar is a success, and Padilla''s reappearance threatens everything. A group of African terrorists want Padilla to assassinate the prime minister of their small sub-Saharan republic—and they''ve kidnapped Mac''s wife to use as leverage.

Mac McCorkle and Mike Padillo team up to help twin bodyguards in a thrilling crime caper from "America''s best storyteller" ( The New York Times Book Review). The twins who walk into Mac McCorkle''s bar look identical, despite their differing genders. Their names are Wanda and Walter Gothar, and from the steel in their eyes it''s apparent that their business isn''t the friendly kind. They''ve come seeking help from Mac and his partner, Padilla, an ex-CIA agent who has skulked in the world''s darkest corners. Anxious for a big payday, the twins took an assignment out of their depth, working as bodyguards for a Saudi prince who came to Washington to sign an oil deal. The job fell apart, and now the twins are being pursued by the world''s two finest killers—who take out Walter without breaking a sweat. Now Mac and Padilla are faced with a choice: Save Wanda, or join her in the grave.

From the Edgar Award–winning author: "[A] highly readable novel of political adventure . . . a cracking good story and the Africa mentality is fascinating" ( Kirkus Reviews). Clinton Shartelle doesn''t seem like a good choice to run a political campaign in Albertia. For one thing, he''s American, and Albertia is a small coastal republic in Africa, about to be cut loose from the English Crown. For another, Shartelle is Southern and fiercely proud of it, and his ideas about racial politics veer unpredictably from progressive to rigidly old-fashioned. But Shartelle is the best, and the political future of Albertia is too important to be left to anyone else. If history is any indication, this first fair election will probably be the country''s last. Rich natural resources make it attractive to businessmen on both sides of the Atlantic, opening Albertia up to political corruption. For his part, Shartelle is hired to make sure that a British industrialist''s favored candidate wins the presidency. But the opposition is backed by the CIA, for whom murder is just another political tool.

Es ist ein geruhsames Leben, das der Amerikaner Mac McCorkle als Barbesitzer in Bonn führt - bis eines Tages ein Mann namens Maas auftaucht, dessen Gesprächspartner in Mac''s Place niedergeschossen wird. Mit den Schüssen beginnt für Mac und seinen Partner Mike Padillo, der gelegentlich zu ''kleinen Agentenjobs'' abkommandiert wird, eine Geheimmission. McCorkle beteiligt sich an der ''blinden'' Reise seines Freundes und muß bald nach Berlin, um dort Kopf und Kragen bei einer überaus undurchsichtigen Rettungs- und Tauschaktion zu riskieren. ''Die Kneipe, die die Protagonisten McCorkle und sein Partner Padillo in Bonn führen, heißt ›Mac''s Place‹. Mac''s Place ist ein neuer Ort auf der Landkarte der Kriminalliteratur. Selbst ein Marlowe würde hier zwar nicht als Trinker, aber als puritanisch räsonierendes Überbleibsel aus ferner Zeit auffallen. Mac ist definitiv eine Figur unserer Zeit: zu abgebrüht für jede Parole, zu zynisch, um nicht sein Schäfchen ins Trockene zu bringen. Die Story ist raffiniert gestrickt, die Atmosphäre stimmt haarklein, die Schreibe ist exzellent - ein absoluter Hit der Thriller-Szene.'' Jörg Fauser

Edd Partain, ein unehrenhaft aus der US-Army entlassener Exmajor, erhält einen Auftrag von Millicent Altford, einer einschlägig bekannten Geldwäscherin, der 1,2 Millionen Dollar auf rätselhafte Weise abhanden gekommen sind. Edd, wieder mal abgebrannt, macht sich auf die Suche, doch hat er kaum Zeit, sich um die Millionen zu kümmern, eine Reihe von Morden geschieht, und Edd Prtain trifft auf alte Bekannte aus finsteren Zeiten, die ihn schon damals gern aus den Weg geräumt hätten.

Artie Wu und Quincy Durant, zwei ehemalige Waisenkinder, die ihre Lektion gelernt haben, leben am Strand von Malibu, Kalifornien. Als Artie Wu beim Joggen über einen toten Pelikan stolpert, haben die beiden kurz darauf den Millionär Randall Piers und seine nymphomane Frau im Haus. Die Ermittler verstricken sich bald in einem Netz aus offenen Rechnungen und alten Versprechen, geknüpft von den schmutzigen Fingern der Mafia und CIA. Durchgesehene Neuausgabe der 1984 erschienenen deutschen Erstausgabe.

"This report details the findings of the 2010 survey for seagrass habitat in and around the mouth of the Skardon River. The survey included assessment of approximately 30 sq. km of intertidal and shallow subtidal substrate. One seagrass species was identified that formed only a small community within the survey area. Other small seagrasss meadows are known from previous surveys to exist further upstream within the Skardon River system. These meadows are all likey to be regionally important and also highly variable beween both years and seasons. No significant algae of benthic macro-invertebrate communities were identified in the 2010 survy area. --p.1.

"Hain''t we got all the fools in town on our side? And ain''t that a big enough majority in any town?" -- Mark Twain When Lucifer Dye is released from three months in a Hong Kong prison, debriefed, handed a false passport, a new wardrobe and a $20,000 check, his haughty control makes it clear that Dye''s career with his country has been permanently terminated. But a good agent is always in demand, and just a few hours later Dye is being interviewed for a highly ingenious position. Victor Orcutt, although a not very good imitation of a British pre-war gent, has creative talents of his own. He has his sights a small southern city, with the ordinary run-of-the-mill corruption one would expect in such a place. The canny Orcott knows there''s no profit in that. His creed is "To get better, it must be much worse." He and his two associates have looked up Dye''s history, and he now offers the ex-spy a mission: for two and a half times the government''s bounty, Dye is to thoroughly corrupt the town. And the sly Dye takes the offer.

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.

Originally published: New York: Simon & Schuster, 1978.

The son of a dead CIA agent is offered $100,000 for the rights to his father''s memoirs sight unseen.

"Booth Stallings, 60-year-old Washington expert on terrorism and perennial drunk," is fired from his job, but Georgia Blue plans to deliver $5 million to rebels in the Philippine jungle, and Stallings, Otherguy Overby, Artie Wu, and Stallings'' sidekick Durant "have other destinations in mind."--Audio cassette container.

This unique visual history features over 200 vintage images, many previously unpublished, from the rich collections housed at the University of New Hampshire''s Special Collections and Archives and the Durham Historic Association Museum. With Durham: A Century in Photographs, we follow the town from the 1840s to the eve of World War II ; from its roots in a region dependent on farming, forest resources, and the surrounding rivers and bays, to the era of its transformation into a college town which strove to retain its rural charm. For all who have lived and grown up in Durham, and for newcomers, students, and friends searching for connections to the quiet past amidst these fast-moving times, this book provides an avenue to reminiscence and revelation.