Ross Thomas: The Seersucker Whipsaw (USA 2021)

From the Publisher:
An old-school Southerner is recruited to run a political campaign in a dangerous African election
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.

Ross Thomas: The Seersucker Whipsaw. Mysterious Press / Open Road Media, ISBN: 9781453234785 (November, 2021), 384 p., $23.99.

Ross Thomas: The Seersucker Whipsaw (USA 2013)

From the Publisher:
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. Rich natural resources make Albertia attractive to businessmen on both sides of the Atlantic, opening it 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.

Ross Thomas: The Seersucker Whipsaw. Overlook Press, ISBN: 9781468303674 (March, 2013), 279 p., $13.95.

Ross Thomas: The Seersucker Whipsaw (USA 2011)

From the Publisher:
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.

Ross Thomas: The Seersucker Whipsaw. Mysterious Press / Open Road Media, ISBN: 9781453228142 (October, 2011), 5 MB (ca. 290 p.), $2.99 (?).

Ross Thomas: The Seersucker Whipsaw (USA 1985)

From the Publisher:
The seersucker-suited southern gentleman Clinton Shartelle is the best rough and tumble political manager in the United States, and he is persuaded by public relations man Peter Upshaw to run a campaign for Chief Sunday Akomolo, a man seeking the premiership of the soon to be independent African colony of Albertia. American razzmatazz collides head on with traditional African culture, and as events turn toward the chaotic, the cynical Upshaw surprises himself by falling in love with a lovely Peace Corps worker, while Shartelle is smitten by a ravishing Creole...

Ross Thomas: The Seersucker Whipsaw. New York: Harper & Row / Perennial Library, 1985, ISBN: 0060807288, 280 p., $2.95.

Ross Thomas: The Seersucker Whipsaw (USA 1967)

From the Publisher:
A provocative and entertaining novel of political adventure in contemporary Africa...
The Seersucker Whipsaw
by ROSS THOMAS
author of The Cold War Swap

Clinton Shartelle, a Southern gentleman partial to seersucker, is the best rough-and-tumble politi-cal campaign manager in the United Scates. Peter Upshaw, the narrator, is a public relations man who searches out Shartelle and persuades him to run a very unusual campaign. The candidate is Chief Sunday Akomolo, and the office sought is the premiership of Albertia, an African colony soon to achieve independence.

In Albertia, Shartelle and Upshaw encounter a score of exotic characters and situations. Their strategy of American political "razzmatazz" col-lides head-on with African culture, and the results are grotesque, humorous and violent. Upshaw, the cynical p.r. pro, meets lovely Peace Corps worker Anne Kidd, and surprises himself by fall-ing in love. Shartelle is smitten by the ravishing "Widow Claude" Duquesne, a delicious Creole. The campaign, meanwhile, proves more challeng ing than anticipated, resulting in a shocking climax.

THE SEERSUCKER WHIPSAW is an exciting and suspenseful story, full of wild but wise humor and penetrating insights into American and African attitudes. But it is Clinton Shartelle, the Seersucker Whipsaw, who animates the entire narrative with his wit, charm and cunning. Whether he is planning his opponents’ mistakes or performing a drunken cakewalk, Shartelle is the unique character who makes this novel unforgettable.

Ross Thomas: The Seersucker Whipsaw. A Novel of Political Adventure. New York: William Morrow, 1967, 318 p., $4.95.