The Final Country

It's been too long since James Crumley's last Milo Milodragovitchadventure, but the wait was worth it. The Final Country is a fullysatisfying read with plenty of action, even more sex, and superbcharacterization."A chase after money and revenge had brought me to Texas, and a woman had keptme here," Milo explains. But trying to salvage a love affair, keep his PIbusiness going, and run a tavern (whose real business is laundering drug money) hasn't kept trouble from following Milo--or maybe it's the other way around.When a man kills a drug dealer right in front of him, Milo can't help but trackthe shooter down, if only to keep the Texas cops from railroading him into thedeath chamber. Soon one beautiful woman frames Milo for the murder of a well- connected Texan, and another one with ties to both killings disappears, settingup the intricately plotted action of this fast-paced thriller.Crumley's narrative gifts and poetic talents set this crazy-funny mystery apart.Milo is a consistently interesting protagonist, especially here, as Crumleydepicts him in the fullness of middle age, a hard-boiled, bruised, and battereddick who, despite all evidence to the contrary, still believes in the redemptivepowers of love--not to mention liquor, cocaine, and sex. Texas may not be Milo'snatural habitat, but it's a big enough backdrop for his unique talents, and forCrumley's, too. --Jane Adams