The Ultimate Good Luck

I was inspired to read some early Richard Ford after reading an essay about him by Elizabeth Hardwick. I’d previously read the frank Bascome novels: The Sportswriter and Independence Day, but haven’t read anything by him in probably 10 years or more.  I really enjoyed The Ultimate Good Luck. It had a sense of foreboding menace throughout but it was also a fast moving thriller. It's about a Vietnam vet who goes to Mexico to try and help his estranged wife, Rae, get her drug mule brother, Sonny, out of Mexican prison. This takes place in Oaxaca among student protests, dealings with corrupt soldiers and cops, drug lords, hippie tourists, and violent guerrillas. There is plenty of drug taking, violence, and betrayals to fuel the adventure. It reminded me of novels like Dog Soldiers, Dog of the South, and No Country For Old Men. There are hippies and never-do-wells in malevolent Mexico chasing drug money. And you know it’s not going to turn out well for somebody.