I finished this very old paperback the first time after a haircut at Chicago Hair on Su 12/22/96.
PROTAGONIST:
Lucifer Dye- He's involved with the American spy network- Section 2. He's being let go because a Chinese agent that they were trying to turn died while they were administering a lie detector test.
-Born in Montana by raised in on of Shanghai's most distinguished bordello.
After his severence he's approached by Victor Orcutt (red hair, very short, and a sharp dressed man) and asked to help 'clean up a town'. His motto is, 'to get better, it must get worse'.
The town that they have picked is nearly totally corrupt. All the group does is to replace the corrupt bosses with men that are on their payroll. "Nothing will change", it's just that the corruption will be delivered to different bad guys.
Dye gets $50,000 to clean up Swankerton, a medium sized city on the Gulf Coast.
-Homer Necessary is the corrupt cop who is appointed the new chief in Swankerton. He's a most cagey individual.
"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
Ross Thomas chose the quotation from Huckleberry Finn as the text of his post World War II story as well as for the title. 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's 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."
The link to the book's page at Wikipedia:
I liked the book and I would read more by Ross Thomas.
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