Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
really good, May 31, 1999
By A Customer
Involving,full of action,humorous but sad.Absolutely to read
|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Comic Caper!, August 19, 2008
I have been trying to obtain all of Westlake's classic comic capers for a while now, a lot are hard to find, Cops and Robbers is no exception but believe me, it's well worth the time and money. Just in case you are unfamiliar with the term Comic Caper, a lot of Westlake's earlier independent storylines were classified with this title by his fans and the media. These books usually have a main character or two who is basically a nice guy/s but not always the most moral or ethical person. This person usually has a sudden monumental hurdle come their way and to achieve their goal or get their normal life back, has to deal with a range of eccentric characters along the way. The majority of these comic capers are crime capers.
In Cops and Robbers a couple of New York policeman named Tom and Joe have had a rather hard life. Each day they carpool into Manhattan together watching Yuppies in their cars travelling in air conditioned comfort and wonder why life is so unfair. It is during one of these mornings that Joe tells Tom not long ago he walked into a convenience store in his uniform and robbed the place. These two decide that some crimes are justifiable, and decide as cops, due to their access they can pretty much commit any crime they want. They are also fully aware they will go to jail if they are caught so decide to limit themselves to just one crime. And if they are going to commit a crime it better be a big one. What to steal, what to steal? Tom and Joe will come with a grand plan, but to pull it off they're going to have to contact the mafia.
Cops and Robbers has very likeable main characters. Written in 1972 it does show its age at times such as obviously they'd now have mobile phones and things like this, but then again their scheme probably couldn't work in today's modern world anyway. A very enjoyable novel, of Westlake's comic capers I've read so far this is one of my favourites.
If you haven't already done so check out Westlake's other comic capers. The best three at an absolute masterpiece level are, Smoke, The Spy in the Ointment and a New York Dance (also published as Dancing Aztecs). Other comic capers also worth checking out are The Fugitive Pigeon, The Busy Body, God Save the Mark, Who Stole Sassi Manoon?, Help I am Being Held Prisoner, Castle in the Air, Enough and High Adventure.
|
|
|
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not Your Typical Crime Novel, July 3, 2000
Tom and Joe are two New York cops who are getting tired of being cops. So, they plan to heist a New York brokerage firm of bearer bonds and sell them to the mob. But the big problem is, where to store the bonds until the Mafia buys them, and how to keep the mob from silencing them after the bonds are sold.This is an atypical Westlake book. It's certainly not as funny as the Dortmunder series but it is clever and entertaining. The way the two cops solve their problems of safekeeping and getting away from the mob are clever. I didn't like this as much as other Westlake novels, but I'd still recommend it.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
by Donald E. Westlake
by Donald E. Westlake
by Donald Westlake
by Donald E. Westlake
by Donald E. Westlake
See all 20 books citing this book
