Donald Westlake was a master of over a hundred crime novels - a Grandmaster of the Mystery Writers of America and Oscar nominated for the screenplay of The Grifters. This is one of the best comedic crime capers ever written.
Super enjoyable.
"I've heard of the habitual criminal...but this may be the first instance in the history of the world of a habitual crime".
The day John Dortmunder exits prison for the second time, he falls in with his old gang for another heist. Simple enough: steal an African emerald securely on display in a New York Convention Center. They almost pull it off when the one holding the hot rock is captured. Phase Two: break him out of jail via helicopter. Just one thing, he leaves the rock behind. Phase Three: break back into jail.
The twists keep coming as it ends up in the hands of a man now in an insane asylum. So all that's left to do is break him out, using this time a train. Problem solved? No, because the next step is to break into a downtown Manhattan bank vault, via a device you can't imagine.
So, let's go get it.
This crime gem was so well written that it's easy to overlook the deft handling of intricate plot alongside truly comedic moments. Westlake has created in Dortmunder a very capable everyman, who succeeds at his various capers, indeed does everything right, but never gets ahead. His team includes a driver who likes to listen to records of car engines, a locksmith who loves trains, a swinger, and Kelp - his semi-partner-in-crime. A quirky bunch that roll with the ups and downs, always looking for another hustle.
Robert Redford played Dortmunder in the 1972 film of The Hot Rock (scripted by William Goldman), but I imagined him more as Walter Matthau (with a hangdog face and "lifeless, thinning, hair-coloured hair"), who alongside Paul Sorvino, Harvey Keitel, and Alan Arkin would make a good version of Westlake's laidback schemers. Redford starred with George Segal, which sounds about right.
I see now Westlake wrote about 14 novels featuring Dortmunder and the gang, so I will keep an eye out. My aged paperback copy is so dated, this is a book I would look for as a keeper copy for my library. If you are looking for intelligent writing with twists and turns aplenty, you can't do better than this. Check it out.
1970 / Paperback / 249 pages
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