Collection of published and unpublished gems: a memoir about learning to write, an imaginary interview between Westlake's various identities, essays on writing, introductions, and letters to writers like Stephen King and Brian Garfield. A true miscellany, this includes a piece by Abigail Westlake, a recipe for "May's Famous Tuna Casserole" and a 'Midnight snack'."--From the publisher.
DIVIn the comfort station at Bryant Park, worlds collide and lives are changed forever/divDIV Look past the grandeur of the famous New York Public Library and you will see the true architectural marvel of Forty-Second Street: the comfort station. A small building, modest in its proportions but undeniable in its importance, its handful of stalls and urinals provide a haven for rich and poor alike. The restroom’s keeper is Mo Mowgli, a meek man whose only trouble is chronic tardiness, and who is about to have the encounter of a lifetime./divDIV Today, a strange cast of characters descends on the comfort station: a mobster and a cop, a countess and a dictator, colliding with a force that will upend Mo Mowgli’s world. When this globetrotting group gets together, no stall is too small for adventure./divDIV Written in the style of Hotel, Airport, and—perhaps more accurately—Airplane!, Comfort Station shows the genius of Donald E. Westlake at his comic best./div
Disillusioned with His own creation, God has decided to wipe humanity out for good, but the rag-tag collection of human misfits His chief angel has selected to trigger the Apocalypse will endanger this divine plan. Reprint.
In what may be the "best Dortmunder yarn yet," Westlake's seasoned but often scoreless crook must take on an impossible crime, one he doesn't want and doesn't believe in -- but a little blackmail goes a long way (Associated Press). All it takes is a few underhanded moves by a tough ex-cop named Eppick to pull Dortmunder into a game he never wanted to play. With no choice, he musters his always-game gang and they set out on a perilous treasure hunt for a long-lost gold and jewel-studded chess set once intended as a birthday gift for the last Romanov czar, which unfortunately reached Russia after that party was over. From the moment Dortmunder reaches for his first pawn, he faces insurmountable odds. The purloined past of this precious set is destined to confound any strategy he finds on the board. Success is not inevitable with John Dortmunder leading the attack, but he's nothing if not persistent, and some gambit or other might just stumble into a winning move.
The three-time Edgar Award–winning Grand Master of Mystery serves up a dangerous case of mistaken identity in “the best spy comedy I have ever read” (The New York Times). J. Eugene Raxford is not what anyone would call a debonair man of action. He has no class, no skills, and all the physical prowess of a napping tree sloth. James Bond would think twice before letting him park the Aston Martin. Though he is a devoted pacifist, Raxford is also—thanks to a tragically consequential typo—the supposed leader of a half-baked and violent radical organization. That’s why the FBI wants him to go undercover and spy on the consortium of real-life terrorists and deadly assassins. Now, with the help of his girlfriend—who is even more clueless than he—Raxford is about to enter a realm of danger and deception unlike any he has ever imagined. And the safety of the entire world depends on his every move. “If the suspense doesn’t kill you, the laughter will.” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution “Inventive . . . Wholly delightful.” —The New York Times “No writer can excel Donald E. Westlake . . . but he has excelled himself . . . If you miss it, you’ll regret it.” —Los Angeles Times Praise for Donald E. Westlake “Westlake has no peer in the realm of comic mystery novelists.” —San Francisco Chronicle
One man’s quest to make history—and a lot of money: “High entertainment” from the three-time Edgar Award–winning Grand Master of Mystery (Elmore Leonard). Kirby Galway may be a low-level marijuana smuggler in Belize, but the man has a dream—to make lots and lots of money. So when a local official offers him a back-jungle tract of land he swears would make a perfect cattle ranch, Kirby jumps at the opportunity. Unfortunately, he lands himself in a swamp—that he now owns. Kirby begins selling homemade “artifacts” from his property to American museums and witless tourists, even building a fake ancient temple and recruiting a tribe of Mayan Indians who know a good scam when they see one. But his cash-cow paradise soon attracts the attention of two snooping New York reporters, a beautiful archaeologist from UCLA, and a troop of Guatemalan guerillas just itching to shoot somebody. Kirby is going to have to talk fast, move faster, and pull out every dirty trick he knows if he’s going to get out of this alive . . . “I thoroughly enjoyed High Adventure.” —Elmore Leonard “Westlake at his best: intriguing, fast moving . . . Ends with a slam-bang climax.” —Los Angeles Times Praise for Donald E. Westlake “Westlake has no peer in the realm of comic mystery novelists.” —San Francisco Chronicle
The Grand Master of Mystery delivers “nerve-end-entertainment” when two of New York’s finest set out to become two of New York’s richest (Kirkus Reviews). Tom and Joe have been walking the beat on the mean streets of the Big Apple longer than they can remember—or care to. They’ve been good cops, protecting the public and holding the line against crime and chaos in a city that has plenty of both. And all they have to show for it is a whole lot of nothing. But now the partners have devised a scheme to make all their dreams come true: the perfect heist. Tom and Joe are going to rob the fat cats on Wall Street for millions and walk away clean. With the right connections and the proper execution, there’s no way their plan can fail. And that’s why they’re so surprised when everything goes totally, hysterically wrong . . . With Cops and Robbers, the three-time Edgar Award–winning author, named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, offers “another very hot and successful” novel with “a siren shrill finale” (Kirkus Reviews). Praise for Donald E. Westlake “Westlake has no peer in the realm of comic mystery novelists.” —San Francisco Chronicle “No writer can excel Donald E. Westlake.” —Los Angeles Times
John Dortmunder doesn't like manual labor. So when he gets the offer of money to dig up a grave, he balks . . . then he wonders why Fitzroy Guilderpost, criminal mastermind, wants to pull a switcheroo of two 70-years-dead Indians.
Hiding in the darkness of the trees, he was waiting for the state police car to move on, but it would not. Red lights filled the road below, flashlights began to search the woods around him. But he would not go back to Doctor Chax. He could take no more shocks. No more dying, day after day, and coming to life in pain. Whatever it takes, he will be free.
BUT SERIOUSLY, FOLKS. The year is 1977, and America is finally getting over the nightmares of Watergate and Vietnam and the national hangover that was the 1960s. But not everyone is ready to let it go. Not aging comedian Koo Davis, friend to generals and presidents and veteran of countless USO tours to buck up American troops in the field. And not the five remaining members of the self-proclaimed People's Revolutionary Army, who've decided that kidnapping Koo Davis would be the perfect way to bring their cause back to life... The final, previously unpublished novel from the legendary Donald Westlake!
The men who did dangerous work had a special kind of insurance policy. But when somebody wanted to collect on that policy, the claims investigator suddenly became a member of ... THE RISK PROFESSION
In Donald E. Westlake's Get Real, the bad get better, the good slide a bit, and Lord help anyone caught between a thief and the current object of his attention: laughs "land on every page" (New York Times). Getting caught red-handed is inevitable when a TV producer convinces a thief named John Dortmunder -- and his merry gang -- to do a reality show that captures their next score. The producer guarantees to find a way to keep the show from being used in evidence against them. They're dubious, but the pay is good, so they take him up on his offer. A mock-up of the OJ bar is built in a warehouse down on Varick Street. The ground floor of that building is a big open space jumbled with vehicles used in TV world, everything from a news truck and a fire engine to a hansom cab (without the horse). As the gang plans their next move with the cameras rolling, Dortmunder and Kelp sneak onto the roof of their new studio to organize a private enterprise. It will take an ingenious plan to outwit viewers glued to their television sets, but Dortmunder is nothing if not persistent, and he's determined to end this shoot with money in his pockets.
In Uganda in 1977, a particular trainload of coffee, mostly belonging to dictator Idi Amin, is worth six million dollars. As a group of scoundrels and international financiers hijack the train, the double and triple crosses pile up and the comic tension escalates in a brawling brew of buffoons, bumblers, beans and boxcars.
“A delightfully feisty, smart heroine” is up against a country music killer in this comic thriller from the Edgar Award–winning author of Trust Me on This (Publishers Weekly). Having endured the seedy world of tabloid journalism at the Weekly Galaxy, ambitious reporter Sara Joslyn has finally moved on to Trend, a hip New York magazine. But news is news, and Sara is immediately sent to Branson, Missouri, the capital of wholesome entertainment, to cover a sensational celebrity trial. Embattled country music legend Ray Jones is accused of a brutal kidnapping and killing. Making—and mucking—matters worse, Sara’s sleazy former colleagues from the Weekly Galaxy have also infested the town. Sara is surprised by how much she enjoys a bit of pure, proud Americana—as well as the ruggedly smooth Ray Jones. But when he’s suspected of a second homicide, Sara realizes there’s more to the story. And that someone decidedly unwholesome is getting away with murder in the heartland. “The action is jet-fast, and the satiric commentary on country western stars and fans is wonderfully wicked.” —Library Journal “Lots of ingenious twists and turns.” —Booklist Praise for Donald E. Westlake “Westlake has no peer in the realm of comic mystery novelists.” —San Francisco Chronicle “No writer can excel Donald E. Westlake.” —Los Angeles Times
The con is on. the mark is Monroe Hall, a corrupt CEO who lavished more of his company's money on himself than the boys at Enron and WorldCom combined. The loot? A fleet of vintage automobiles that would leave the Sultan of Brunei blushing. The catch? Trying to outsmart a collection of angry union men who've been taken for a ride and blue-blooded suckers who've been taken for their family fortunes. But if Dortmunder and his merry band of crooks are to drive off with the loot, they'll have to act fast - before they get caught in a deadly crossfire.
In this uproariously funny novel from "a national literary treasure," a career criminal is offered a new life outside of prison -- if he can steal a compromising video of the president (Booklist). Meehan, 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 committee -- now 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.
Due to a foiled burglary in a high-tech lab doing research for cigarette manufacturers, Freddie Noon, the thief, is now invisible. This condition has clear-cut advantages for a man in Freddie's profession, but now everybody wants a glimpse of Freddie. But Freddie doesn't dare show his face, his shadow, anything. Because Freddie Noon has gotten a taste of invisibility--and he can't quit now.
They built a spaceship, is the long and the short of it," Darquelnoy, the alien who'd been on the earth's moon for ages. observing. Ebor, an old friend of his, stopped in astonishment. "No " "Don't tell me no " cried Darquelnoy. "I "saw" it " He was obviously at his wit's end. "It's unbelievable," said Ebor. "I know," said Darquelnoy. He led the way into his quarters, motioned Ebor to a perch, and rang for his orderly. "It was just a little remote-controlled apparatus, of course," he said. "The fledgling attempt, you know. But it circled this Moon here, busily taking pictures, and went right back to the planet again, giving us all a terrible fright. There hadn't been the slightest indication they were planning anything "that" spectacular." "None?" asked Ebor. "Not a hint?
Dortmunder agrees to do a dangerous favor for a gang of nuns It was supposed to be a simple caviar heist. Dortmunder is almost in the building when the alarm sounds, forcing him up the fire escape and onto the roof. He leaps onto the next building, smashing his ankle and landing in the den of the worst kind of creature he can imagine: nuns. Although decades removed from his Catholic orphanage, Dortmunder still trembles before the sisters’ habits. But these nuns are kinder than the ones he grew up with. They bandage his wound, let him rest, and don’t call the cops—for a price. The father of the youngest member of their order, disgusted by their vow of silence, has kidnapped his daughter, locked her in a tightly guarded penthouse apartment, and is attempting to convince her to renounce her faith. The nuns ask Dortmunder to rescue the girl. It’s an impossible assignment—but one he cannot refuse.
Fro 25 years, Burke Devore has provided for his family and played by the rules. Until now. Downsized from his job, Devore is slipping away: from his wife, his family, and from all civilized norms of behavior. He wants his life back, and will do anything to get it. In this relentlessly fascinating novel, the masterful Westlake takes readers on a journey of obsession and outrage inside a quiet man's desperate world.
Dortmunder draws international attention when he steals the wrong ring The Byzantine Fire is much more than a ninety-carat ruby. As a stone it’s worth over a million dollars, a value vastly increased by its pure gold band—but its history makes it priceless. A ring that has been fought for with sword and pen, and passed from nation to nation by all manner of theft and trickery, it finally made its way to the United States. The US has agreed to return it to Turkey, but it’s about to be stolen twice more. A gang of Greeks armed with Sten guns burst into the security room at JFK Airport and escape with the priceless stone, which they deposit in the safe at a small jeweler’s shop in Queens. A few hours later, unlucky thief John Dortmunder, expecting a routine robbery, steals it again. Much blood has been shed for this little ruby, and Dortmunder’s could be next.
One of America's best-loved authors returns with a delightfully chilling new stand-alone in the vein of his bestsellers The Ax and The Hook. Josh Redmont was 27 when the first check arrived, and he had absolutely no idea what it was for. Issued by "United States Agent" through an unnamed bank with an indeterminate address in D.C., someone seemed to think Josh was owed $1,000. One month later, another check arrived, and then another, and another...and Josh cashed them all. Month after month, year after year, never a peep from the IRS, never an explanation for all this seemingly found money; the checks even followed Josh from one address to another as he moved through life. Now, after a full seven years, we find him on his way to meet the wife and kids for a summer vacation. Puzzled by the approach of a smiling stranger, Josh's stomach seizes with dread when the unwanted greeting begins with, "I am from United States Agent." Dumbstruck, Josh attempts to feign ignorance until he hears the words, "You are now active.
When sixteen copies of a famous Aztec statue arrive in New York, men will die to find out which one is the real thing A small South American republic has decided to capitalize on its national symbol: a prized gold statue of a dancing Aztec priest. The president asks a sculptor to make sixteen copies of it for sale abroad. The sculptor replaces the original with one of his fakes, and ships the real one to New York City for an under-the-table sale to a museum. The statues travel to America spread out among five crates, labeled to ensure that delivery goes as planned. But it doesn’t work. Asked to pick up the crate marked “E” at the airport, delivery man Jerry Manelli, confused by his client’s Spanish accent, takes crate “A” instead. The statue disappears into the city, leading him on a baffling chase, which—if he comes up with the wrong Aztec—could cost him his life.
Critically acclaimed for his recent bestseller, "The Ax, " Westlake returns with a tale of twisted psychological suspense involving two cunning authors--and one deadly proposition.
Fred Fitch, a hapless sucker for any type of con, inherits three hundred thousand dollars from his long-lost Uncle Matt, an ex-crook murdered by persons unknown, who have now set their sights on Fred.
“A boffo performance” of crime, romance, and tabloid journalism from the three-time Edgar Award–winning author of Baby, Would I Lie? (Publishers Weekly). Sara Joslyn is fresh from journalism school and ready to take on the world. Unfortunately, she has to settle for the galaxy—the Weekly Galaxy, to be precise, the sensational gossip rag where no low is too low, and no story is too outlandish to print. From finding a dead body in a car before she even finds her desk to making her bones by interviewing a pair of one-hundred-year-old twins (never mind that one of them is dead) and jockeying for brownie points against a crew of ruthless fellow reporters who will do literally anything to make the front page, Sara soon learns the ropes—how to climb them, and how to use them to strangle the competition. But when Sara gets tapped to cover the clandestine wedding of TV idol Johnny Mercer, she will have to fight tooth and nail—and pen—for every scoop and picture if she wants to stay at the top of the bottom . . . “Versatile Westlake delivers another offbeat story about picaresque types in his inimitably satiric, irresistible style.” —Publishers Weekly Praise for Donald E. Westlake “Westlake has no peer in the realm of comic mystery novelists.” —San Francisco Chronicle “No writer can excel Donald E. Westlake.” —Los Angeles Times
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