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The Cutie

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In the first chapter of "The Cutie", Hard Case Crime's reprint of a very early Donald Westlake novel, we're introduced to a heroin addict accused of murder, a morally gray mob fixer with a dancer girlfriend, and an overly earnest copy. In less interesting hands, the cop would have been the hero of this piece. In Westlake's hands, the cop drops out about halfway through the novel -- not due to death or disgrace, but simply because I think Westlake just felt the other players were far more interesting.

The protagonist is Clay, mob fixer and right-hand man to a Manhattan circa 1960 version of Tony Soprano. He narrates the novel with alternating purposes: first, he's trying to prove to his boss that the heroin-addled murder suspect was actually framed, and second, he's trying to justify his career choice to his dancer girlfriend. Both mysteries have interesting resolutions, and like any great mystery, the final chapter raises new questions just as interesting as the ones it answered.

Westlake's writing is crisp and tense, with only the occasional slip into bad pulp (such as when he describes Manhattan's air as having halitosis). Clay drives all over New York City, from Riverdale to the Lower East Side to an abandoned subway station under 95th Street. The characters with whom he interacts are mostly minor mob figures or hangers-on, many with hidden agendas and dark secrets, and even the heroin addicts come across as faintly sympathetic. However, threaded throughout is Clay's questioning the morality of his own lifestyle, and the choice he makes in the final pages is nicely contrasted against the book's kicker ending.

One nice little easter egg is that one of "The Cutie"'s key characters shares a name with an early Westlake pseudonym. Coming out as a grace note to his career just a few weeks after his death, "Cutie" is a nice monument to Westlake's legacy.

Mavis St. Paul has been murdered, and Billy-Billy Cantell, a stuttering dope user/seller is the prime suspect, mostly because he was found at the scene of the crime with the gun in his hand. Only there's no way he could've done it. His friend and colleague Clay believes this and, following order from their boss, gangster Ed Ganolese, is trying to clear his name because the police aren't interested in another suspect.

But Billy-Billy has disappeared, and the police are getting too involved in Ganolese's operation, so Clay (who creates "accidents" for people who cross Ganolese) has to play amateur detective and discover who the "cutie" (as Ganolese refers to him) is that killed Mavis and framed Billy-Billy, apparently just to sabotage Ganolese's outfit.

Will Clay find out who did it? Will he get any sleep? Will his girlfriend Ella leave when she finds out what Clay does for a living?

The Cutie is a reprinting of Donald E. Westlake's debut novel under his own name. (He had previously published so-called "sex novels" under a pseudonym.) As The Mercenaries (its original title), it was nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for that year (it did not win, but the author would eventually win multiple times for other books).

The Cutie was always Westlake's preferred title, and it's actually more appropriate once you read the book. The funny thing is that the girl on the cover is not the "cutie" of the book, but she is the only one referred to as "mercenary."

For a debut novel, Westlake's familiar style is already apparent: a semihumorous approach, clever plotting, and an engaging mix of smart and dumb characters. (And I have to imagine that, before Westlake, nobody else was combining those things in just that way.) It's reassuring to know that the author emerged fully formed from the literary womb. In fact, it's only in later portions that The Cutie shows signs of inexperience -- even as one character practically confesses before our eyes, Westlake tries to force us down the wrong path by having Clay continually remind us who the "only" suspects are. When the solution is finally revealed, it's actually a relief.

On top of this, however, the author offers an ending that reinforces the notion (spoken throughout) that emotion has no place in business. I never saw it coming. Westlake fans will undoubtedly enjoy this reprinting of yet another early novel by Hard Case Crime. And fans of the author's Dortmunder series will appreciate that Westlake already has a character stealing a car with M.D. plates.

Hard Case Crime knows how to package a book. Wow. They have some of the best covers in the business.

Cutie is an early work by Westlake, and at times it shows. Still, it's a fun, fast read. Yeah, the ending is so-so, and there are several huge plot holes, but if you're in the mood for a quick crime noir read, this one will do the trick.

The Cutie was originally published as The Mercenaries in 1960, it has also previously appeared under the title The Smashers. Westlake has mentioned in other novels' intros or afterwords that The Cutie was the title he originally wanted but didn't get.

This is Westlake's first novel, if you don't include All My Lovers which he wrote under the Allan Marshall pen name to pay the bills before he made enough money from proper novels to survive (read the great novel Adios Scheherazade : The Secret Life of a Sensuous Man and its intro where Westlake makes fun of these old lady porn (romance) novels that he was forced to write to put food on the table before and after The Cutie).

Ironically it's actually bedroom action where the Cutie begins. That action being interrupted by a persistent knock on the New York apartment door of George Clayton (Clay), mob boss Ed Ganolese's right hand man. On the other side is a terrified junkie Billy-Billy Cantell. He awoke in a strange woman's apartment after passing out on the street, problem is she had been stabbed to death and in his confusion and rush to escape the scene he left his hat behind, with his name and details written inside. It's not long before the police are also banging on Clay's door so Cantell is hidden in a cupboard. It appears that they only missed Cantell by minutes after being tipped off by an anonymous witness and tracked his movements to Clay's apartment. With the hat and Cantell's fingerprints all over the apartment the police are ready to close the case. Clay knows he should just give Cantell an "accident" but upon checking with his boss for some reason Ganolese says to keep him alive and hide him instead. Only problem is when the cupboard is opened Cantell's long gone. The murder victim was special to someone, so pressure is on the police and they inturn are putting pressure on Clay and the mob's operations so they'll hand over Cantell. Ganolese wants the "cutie" who is causing all these problems and he's assigned Clay the job of playing Sherlock Holmes and finding out who that cutie is.

Many of Westlake's novels are classified as mysteries when they are in fact not. This is a hard crime novel but at the same time a mystery as you the reader try and figure out who the cutie is from the clues becoming available to Clay. Of course the reader doesn't have Clay's added burden of the Cutie trying to silence them so they can just sit back, relax, read and try and solve this dilemma. If you can't Clay will work it out by the final chapters for you.

It's great to see Hard Case Crime reprinting this classic novel (and it was advertised as coming soon before Westlake passed away in December 2008, so it's not just a publisher cashing in on his death). It's a great story, with elements Westlake would later develop into other characters such as Parker (under pen name Richard Stark). There is some slight observational humour but those after Westlake's first comic caper before the Dortmunder series was invented in 1970 with The Hot Rockshould grab the The Fugitive Pigeon written five years after the Cutie in 1965.

2008 ended with the loss of one of the greatest mystery writers, Donald Westlake. Although best known for his comic novels and his pseudonymously written hard-boiled Parker novels, Westlake got his start with more straightforward crime novels. The Cutie is a re-release of one of those early novels.

The Cutie was originally titled The Mercenaries, which probably wasn't the best title, as it implies a tale of cutthroat soldiers fighting in some foreign land. This is a murder mystery taking place (as most of Westlake's stories) in New York City. The narrator is Clay, the chief assistant to mobster Ed Ganolese. As the story opens, mild-mannered junkie Billy-Billy Cantrell comes to Clay for help: he's just been framed for murder. Billy-Billy is incapable of such a crime, but the police won't see it that way; he also has powerful friends, so he can't just be killed to clean up the mess.

Billy-Billy goes into hiding and Clay is tasked with finding the real killer, who he calls "the cutie". Soon enough, there will be more dead bodies and Clay will be a suspect himself. What's worse, the cutie is out to kill him.

It is possible to see Clay as a prototype for Parker. Both are crooks who are willing to kill to maintain their lifestyles. Unlike Parker, however, Clay is not completely amoral and needs to rationalize to himself and others his behavior (Parker is incapable of guilt or remorse). In fact, a new love will make him question his way of life.

Even if this is one of Westlake's first novels, it is as adeptly written as his later works, albeit with a slightly more formulaic feel that was probably imposed by his publisher. Even if you're new to Westlake, however, The Cutie will be a nice treat.

Clay and his girlfriend Ella are sleeping when Billy-Billy Cantrell, a heroin junkie, comes with a desperate plea for help. Found next to the dead body of a woman after a drug-induced stupor that leaves him with no memory of the night in question, Billy-Billy needs help and fast. The police are hot on his trail but he is innocent. In normal circumstances, Clay would have no qualms about taking care of business and disposing of Billy-Billy, especially if he brings trouble alongside him. A job is a job. Clay just follows orders from Ed Ganolese, the head of the organization. What Ed wants, Clay does and does efficiently. This time, however, Ganolese orders him to find the cutie who is bringing the heat closer to home and messing with the organization. Mavis St.Paul was the mistress of a rich man, a man who thinks more about his personal possessions than love. Was Mavis just another one of his possessions? As Clay investigates the shadowy past of Mavis St. Paul and her mercenary attitude towards men, the cutie seems one step ahead of him. The case has his girlfriend asking questions about his job and turning Clay in all directions. Can Clay find the killer before the killer finds him and just get himself and the organization back to the normal operating procedure?

Originally published in 1960 under the title THE MERCENARIES, Hard Case Crime pays tribute to the master of crime fiction and three time Edgar award winner with this reissue of his earliest novel published under his own name. What a wonderful tribute for his fans to be released so soon after Donald E. Westlake's death on Dec. 31, 2008! Like the earlier title, the new title plays with the connection between the victim and the killer although the new title more accurately describes the tone and the genre of the book.

THE CUTIE is a must read for Westlake and hard-boiled crime fiction fans! Dark and twisted, THE CUTIE has several plot twists that will leave the reader stunned until the very last chilling line. Memorable characters populate this story, giving the reader a feel for the tough, gritty side of New York City as well as the just as chilling home of Ernest Tesselman, a man respected in the community. Even if by chance a reader guesses the identity of the killer, which I did not, nothing can prepare the reader for some of the mind-thrilling twists left to discover! Clay's unsentimental commentaries and insights haunt with a twisted mob version of everyday values turned to extreme. Through Clay and his investigation, THE CUTIE makes intriguing comparisons and connections between characters that maximize the intrigue. Even the unlikely, unnerving Ernest Tesselman becomes a source of Clay's self-reflection. If you haven't discovered Donald E. Westlake as of yet, THE CUTIE is a perfect choice to read a suspense-filled crime novel from a master, a novel that will keep you poised on the edge of your seat in the way only Donald E. Westlake can. If you are a Westlake fan, here's a chance to rediscover the early beginnings. Although more than 40 years have passed since the original publication of this book, THE CUTIE still has the ability to leave a reader stunned with its freshness and cutting edge noir suspense.

COURTESY OF BOOK ILLUMINATIONS

What if Parker wanted to justify himself to us? Well, he wouldn't be Parker, of course. But what if there was a time when Parker wasn't Parker yet, was a young guy who had fallen into his way of life and still had doubts about what he was doing? Then he'd be something like Clay, the protagonist of The Cutie, who clearly enjoys the power of being a cold bastard for a Vito Genovese-like mobster but wants to feel good about himself too... and, like Parker, prizes the orderliness of a well-run criminal enterprise, and is ruthless when it comes to restoring the equilibrium disturbed by other, less reliable criminals. (Note that "Clay" is a descriptor applied to Parker more than a few times.)

Westlake's first crime novel is a slightly naive youthful work-- his insights into how the dirty world works have a young man's lack of subtlety (the whole mob-political understructure of New York seems to consist of three guys who we're told are all powerful), and draw too much on old movies at times (all those fish tanks, straight out of General Sternwood's orchid room). From here to the abstraction of The Hunter in two years is a pretty spectacular stylistic leap. But The Cutie clips right along, and Clay is an engaging character who may not seem entirely consistently realized, but the contradictions are part of what make him interesting. You can see nearly all of Westlake in embryonic form here (Clay's running self-justification will recall The Ax's narrator as well). And as with another early work Hard Case has reprinted, 361, you can't help but feel that Mario Puzo took a look at these books before conjuring up a mob family that seemed like a real family with familial issues and relationships, not just a standard set of Hollywood gangsters. If 361 is the first draft of Michael's story of accepting his gangster patrimony, Clay is just as plainly the model for Tom Hagen.

Clay, the hero of Donald Westlake's The Cutie (1960, reprinted 2009), is having a classically bad day - one that starts in the early hours of the morning. Clay's enjoying a little bit of special squashy time with his ladyfriend, Ella, when he's interrupted by a freaked out junkie, Billy-Billy. Billy-Billy has been framed for the murder of Mavis St. Paul, professional mistress. He knows he's screwed, and needs Clay to sort him out. Clay, as the right-hand man to mob boss Ed Ganolese, is sadly used to this sort of situation.

Ed, oddly, doesn't ask Clay to "clean the problem up" (that is, shoot Billy-Billy twice in the head). It turns out that the neighborhood junkie has important connections. Clay puts Billy-Billy into hiding and heads off on his own. However, Mavis St. Paul had some connections of her own. As well as a host of ex-lovers, she was currently boinking the head of the city's political machine. In a misguided attempt to avenge her murder, the grieving political chieftan has unleashed the police with instructions to take down Ed Ganolese.

Clay is at the center of the storm as Ganolese orders him to sort the situation out. The only way to get the cops to go away is to solve the murder. Clay, cold-hearted bastard and seasoned killer that he is, finds himself on the side of the angels, making him a very unlikely hero.

The book's original title was The Mercenaries, and Clay is, ostensibly, a shining example of the breed. He's well-paid and well-appointed, moving with shark-like smoothness through the city's corrupt waters. But nothing's ever that simple with Donald Westlake. Clay's a creature of deep loyalties. His connection with Ganolese is based on an emotional debt, not a monetary one. He's also loyal to Ella, who patiently applies pressure on her lover to quit his criminal life.

The combination of tricky detective work and ever-increasing tension makes The Cutie another Westlake masterpiece. The ambiguous ending leaves the reader wondering. Clay's lifestyle is unsustainable. Sooner or later, Ella or Ganolese will win his soul wholly, and until then, he's living hour by hour.

Billy-Billy Cantrell is involved in narcotics, as a junkie and as a retailer on New York City's Lower East Side. Heroin is his thing...Bigtime!. He's a "meek, nervous, quiet little guy whose only offense is dope." One evening he shoots up and falls asleep in a doorway. When he wakes up, in a drug induced stupor, he finds himself in the apartment of Mavis St. Paul, who until very recently was a would-be actress and singer. Now, Ms. St. Paul is a fresh corpse. Cantrell is no killer. He doesn't ever carry a weapon and has no memory of leaving his doorway, let alone making his way to the Upper East Side apartment. As he flees the scene in terror, he sees a police car pull up in front of the St. Paul residence. Someone had called in the crime and set him up. Unfortunately, he left behind his fingerprints and his hat.

Cantrell knocks on George "Clay" Clayton's door in the early morning hours and tells him he's been "patsied." Clay, our narrator, is the "right-hand man and trouble shooter for crime czar Ed Ganolese." His appearance doesn't fit his job description, however. He looks more like a respectable insurance salesman than a hit man. But then, the organization he works for is run like a top-notch business enterprise and Clay would fit right in as a junior executive.

Usually, in a situation like this, Ganolese would tell Clay to make Billy-Billy disappear. The addict knows too much about the narcotics business and all the police would have to do to get him talking is put him in a cell and deprive him of a fix. When Clay contacts Ganolese, the boss tells him that Billy-Billy has some powerful friends in the European organization - people he met while soldiering during WII. ("The Cutie" was published for the first time in 1960 as "The Mercenaries"). These friends want Cantrell to remain alive and well...or as well as possible, given his line of work and favorite pastime. But the police want to close the case. The victim also has some powerful friends who are pressuring the commissioner to arrest Cantrell and throw away the key. The solution: to find the "cutie" who murdered Ms. St. Paul and set-up Billy-Billy, who must leave town ASAP. Clay is supposed to drive him to a safe house in New England. When the police knock on Clay's door, Cantrell escapes through the bathroom window. Will Clay be able to find him before the cops do?

As Clay investigates he finds out more and more about Mavis St. Paul, aka Mary Komak, her shady past and long list of lovers. Apparently, she had a most mercenary attitude toward men. When the cutie murders again and then tries to kill Clay, the situation becomes desperate, with the wise guy always just a step ahead of him.

Complicating Clay's life further is his dancer girlfriend Ella, who loves him but is reasonably ambivalent about his career. Although he is wedded to his work, he thinks about the morality of his lifestyle throughout this very noir crime novel.

The author's writing is tight and the narrative's pace is fast. The humor is wry. The ending is a wowser!!!

This is Donald E. Westlake's debut novel and, although not my favorite, I really liked the book and found myself riveted on many occasions. To the author's credit, "The Cutie" stands up well after 49 years. Mr. Westlake, who recently died, was a three-time Edgar Award winner, one of only two writers to win Edgars in three different categories: 1968, Best Novel, "God Save the Mark"; 1990, Best Short Story, "Too Many Crooks"; and 1991, Best Motion Picture Screenplay,"The Grifters." The Mystery Writers of America named Westlake a Grand Master in 1993, the highest honor bestowed by the society. Once again, kudos to Hard Case Crime for paying tribute to the author and publishing this book.
Jana Perskie

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There are glimpses of the great Donald Westlake in this clearly very early work. If I had to guess, I would venture that Mr. Westlake wrote this when he was no older than 16. It's probably better than a lot of others' mature work, but if you're a Dortmunder fan it's pretty thin.