Put a Lid on It [Hardcover]

Donald E. Westlake (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2002

The critically acclaimed, bestselling author of The Ax and The Hook is back in rare form as he introduces Meehan, a character who keeps the lid from blowing off Washington politics.eehan, a career thief staring at life without parole, is awaiting sentencing at the Manhattan Correctional Center when he is called to a meeting by someone masquerading as his lawyer. The man, it turns out, represents the presidential re-election campaign committeenow finding itself in need of a little professional help. So they outsource Meehan in return for a walk from all pending criminal charges. All he has to do is steal a compromising video tape before the other side springs an October Surprise on the president. A shrewd burglar, Meehan bites, and shows just how easy Watergate would have been had they left it to the professionals.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Penzler Pick, April 2002: According to his publisher's statistics, the peerless Donald E. Westlake, who has made his mark both with witty capers and with gritty noir thrillers, has more than a million copies of his Mysterious Press books in print, as well as more than a million copies of his many titles in print around the world. And I'd like to go on record as saying that he deserves every bit of that success. This is a case of an immensely talented author getting his due, with the vast (and, alas, sometimes taste-impaired) reading public revealing a great discernment.

Westlake has been well and truly acknowledged by his peers over the more than four decades of his career, having, among other honors, been named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, been the recipient of the Bouchercon Lifetime Achievement Award, and been nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay of The Grifters.

His latest book, Put a Lid on It, is a far cry from his recent throat-grippers (The Hook, The Ax) and also different from his recent revivals of his earlier cold-blooded/hard-boiled Parker series (Firebreak , Flashfire) written under his Richard Stark pseudonym. It is closest in tone to his Dortmunder titles (most recently, Bad News), but it introduces a different sort of thief than the protagonist who is featured in The Hot Rock, Bank Shot, and others. Meehan, the hero of Put a Lid on It, like any other Westlake lead character, is a one-name kind of guy and is as recognizably a Westlake creation as if he were branded with a giant "W."

Smart as he is, though, Meehan wouldn't be a Westlake hero if bad luck were unknown to him. When we first encounter him, he's sitting in jail in the Manhattan Correctional Center, denied parole and stoically awaiting sentencing. Out of the blue, a chance to alter his fate presents itself when a clandestinely dispatched representative of the president's reelection campaign presents himself as Meehan's potential savior.

All Meehan has to do is come up with a workable plan to steal a hideously incriminating videotape from the upstate-New York estate of a wacko millionaire. He must find the appropriate accomplices to help him and so forth... while the clock is furiously ticking.

Fans of such sophisticated political farce as Larry Beinhart's American Hero (transferred to the screen as Wag the Dog) or Joe Klein's (a.k.a. Anonymous) Primary Colors will enjoy the twisted application of Westlake's merry cynicism to the idea of the bungled high-level cover-up. They will admire, as well, his long-perfected ability to blend incredible smartness with an ever entertaining degree of smart-aleck impudence. More Meehan, please. And more Westlake, too, for as long as he can tap the keys of the old portable typewriter on which he still works. --Otto Penzler

From Publishers Weekly

Every Westlake book surprises in a different way, from the hilarious Dortmunder series (Bad News, etc.) to the dark, ominous novels of suspense (The Ax, etc.), and this latest comic caper is no exception. Francis Xavier Meehan, one of Westlake's luckless crooks, is in federal prison for hijacking a mail truck he thought contained computer chips. A presidential reelection official offers him a pardon with a Watergate-type scheme: Meehan must steal a video that, if made public, may prevent the president's reelection. Meehan's court-appointed lawyer cuts the best deal she can for him, and we're off on the caper as Meehan assembles his heist crew, figures the logistics and cases the estate of the elderly, right-wing gun collector who has the video. Egyptian and Israeli spies, plus a plethora of presidential aides ("A hundred thousand big mouths," says Meehan about Washington insiders), provide intermittent interference. By the time Meehan learns the video involves national security and he's superfluous, we've also learned that he's a lot smarter and more savvy than the better-educated president's men. The novel ends with a typical Westlake twist funny and perfectly appropriate. Westlake hooks the reader from the first sentence, maintaining the suspense with unpredictable turnabouts and dead-on descriptions: a presidential aide has "a store of meaningless smiles like Halloween masks." Though not one of the author's very best, you'll read this one with a meaningful smile and many a chuckle. Mystery Guild Featured Alternate. (Apr. 24)Richard Stark, has won three Edgar Awards.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Press; 1ST edition (May 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892967188
• ISBN-13: 978-0892967186
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #172,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful return to old Westlake territory, April 23, 2002

By 

Bruce Trinque (Amston, CT United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Put a Lid on It (Hardcover)

After the superb (and darkly satirical) social commentary of "The Ax" and the intense psychological morality of "The Hook" Donald Westlake has returned to old, familiar and very funny territory for him -- the humorous crime caper novel. Once again we have a likable, non-violent career criminal who finds himself getting in over his head. Francis (not "Frank") Meehan finds himself for the first time in his life in a Federal lockup awaiting trial for an accidental Federal crime (well, how could he have known there was registered mail, for goodness sakes, in that trailer truck supposed to full of computer gear?). And then fate intervenes. Or, more exactly, the political committee for the reelection of the President of the United States intervenes. Wishing to carry out a Watergate-type endeavor without all that unfortunate publicity, the presidential advisors have decided to employ a professional burglar instead of using amateur enthusiasts and spies. Enter (or, rather, exit from jail) Francis Meehan. And he and the reader are off and running. No, "Put a Lid on It" doesn't possess the emotional whallop of "The Ax" or "The Hook" but sometimes it is enough just to have a darned good time. It's fast, it's funny, and it even involves a joint Israeli-Egyptian Intelligence team. How can you go wrong?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Free to be Wry, December 21, 2005

By 

J. Brian Watkins (Laie, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Put a Lid on It (Mass Market Paperback)

I haven't had as fun a read in a long, long time. Written with the typical matter-of-fact prose endemic to the genre, Westlake infuses his crime story with a wit that keeps you chuckling from beginning to end. Our hero is, of course, a thief--a criminal quite cognizant of his social shortcomings but trustworthy in his own fashion and making his way through the world as best he can.

Where Westlake absolutely excels is in his wry exposition of the absurdities with which "straight" society seems to have no problem. In this book the criminals have to teach the politicians their own business. There is a running theme in Westlake's story that has one set of characters engaged in what they rationalize as mere dirty tricks, which the criminals recognize as simple felony conduct. As the protagonist helpfully points out--housebreaking, however noble the intent, is still burglary. And therein lies the humor--the all-powerful political operatives simply fail to see that they are engaged in a criminal enterprise. It is to be regretted, I suppose, that the typical reader will have no problem believing that political operatives think this way.

The line between acceptable (or "legal") and unacceptable (or "criminal") conduct is being redrawn. Obviously, nobody should get too exercised about a good caper story--Westlake is careful to make his bad guys not too bad and his "good" guys horribly flawed. I think that Westlake's point is that our world is trading morality for legality and losing in the bargain. What is worse? A thief who honors his promises and exercises his or her own brand of income redistribution with self-restraint or a politician who, within the law, has no problem enriching themselves with the widow's mite.

But forget the philosophy--the author's gentle tweaking of values makes the book both hilarious and thought-provoking.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful summer week-end read, July 12, 2004

By 

Kathryn R. Sullivan (Passaic, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Put a Lid on It (Mass Market Paperback)

Weary of torturous plots that didn't make sense that I've been suffering through because they were "highly recommended" by people with "reputations", I reached for and started reading "Put a Lid On It" by Donald Westlake who wrote the dark "The Ax" and "The Hook". Every word of this comic caper was a joy including the dedication. I won't give you the plot (it's readily available). But let me tell you no plot summary can tell you the subtle ironic messages about our presidential election process I found in this crime caper. The ending is funny and touching. Don't miss this.