Ross Thomas, King of Crime

An error of fact appeared in “The Quiet Killer,� by Joseph Dalton (Nov. 8): One of Ross Thomas’ books, “Chinaman’s Chance,� was incorrectly referred to as “Chinaman’s Chant.� Author Dalton was, however, correct in describing it as the best of Thomas’ earlier books.

Incidentally, “Chinaman’s Chance� has one of the best, most provocative opening sentences I’ve ever read. I can’t quote it because we loaned our copy to a friend who, apparently, liked it so well that he never returned it.

Patricia J. Smith

Santa Monica