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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
How To Win Friends...,
By Untouchable (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Why Me (Paperback)
John Dortmunder still operates with plenty of luck going his way. Unfortunately, it's still all bad. From the master of sticky situations and the brilliant, yet doomed to failure plans to overcome them, comes another Westlake farce highlighting the incredibly unlucky Dortmunder.John inadvertently steals a large and very important ruby and sapphire ring that had in turn, just been stolen before it was to be given to Turkey. The resulting manhunt and shaking down of every known criminal in New York has not only the NYPD and the FBI on his tail, but also every known criminal in New York wants a piece of him too. So the question is, how can Dortmunder evade the police, the Feds, some terrorists and the entire criminal element of New York, and still somehow come up smelling of roses with a cleared name? How indeed! In an ironic twist, compared to his adventures in The Hot Rock where he couldn't get hold of a valuable jewel no matter how ingenious the plan, Dortmunder know finds himself racking his brain trying to get rid of a similarly valuable jewel - safely, anyway. Once again, Westlake provides a humorous story where, if anything can go wrong then it will. The predicament that Dortmunder finds himself in is typical of his unfortunate run of luck and is the reason that these books are so enjoyable.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Dortmunder Treasure,
This review is from: Why Me (Audio Cassette)
The Byzantine Fire is a magnificient ruby set in a ring coveted by various Eastern European political groups. When it is presented to the Turkish people by the people of the US, it is immediately stolen by the Greeks and placed in a safe. Unfortunately, hiding behind a counter near the safe is the irrepressible Dortmunder, out for a night on the job. His job-burglary. The ring is so valuable that the FBI joins the NYPD and the various political groups in the hunt for the ring. The resulting heat on the criminal community becomes so intense that the criminals decide to hunt for the thief themselves. Figuring prominently in this hunt is the menacing giant Tiny Bulcher, who looks to commit bodily mayhem on several persons in his hunt for the thief. This book is a masterpiece of comedic writing and timing. As always, Westlake's chapters are brief and to the point with more laughs packed in one 3 page chapter than an entire Saturday Night Live season. The action skips from group to group as the hunt begins. Also as always, we have the usual Westlake set pieces-Andy Kelp's latest scheme, the backroom of OJ's, and Dortmunder's frustration with Kelp. In one scene, we are treated to Dortmunder sitting in the police station with the ring stuck on his finger, trying to keep it hidden from his interrogaters. All in all this is another tour de force from Westlake. Have the French critics discovered him yet?
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ohmygawd!,
By
This review is from: Why Me (Hardcover)
In my house, I have a shelf for books that reach an unmatched level of perfection. Inbetween Hawthorne's "Blithdale Romance" and a battered, but loved Curious George lurks Westlake's Dortmunder books. They have all been read and reread, stained with tears of laughter and cheap gin, dog eared copies that only a collector could love. "Why Me" is my favorite and as priceless to me as a 80 year old New York grandmother giving the finger to an oblivious passing cab. Westlake can do it all, but his true unrecognized talent is bringing New York to life with a group of small time crooks and John Dortmunder as their tired and beaten leader. What should be an easy jewelry store robbery, leaves Dortmunder with a priceless ring and everybody out to get him. Oh sure, some people will complain that they could follow the story without difficultly and there weren't enough "the-cereal-killer-had-a-twin-brother-who-just-happened-to-work-at-the-police-department" twists, but they are missing the rock-um, sock-um robot pacing and kidney stone passing laughs that only Westlake can deliver. Without hesitation, I recommend all of Westlake's books, but if you have to start with just one, I suggest "Why Me." It's a frickin' masterpiece.
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