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Why Me? (1994)

Why Me? (1994)

Book Info

Series
Rating
4.04 of 5 Votes: 4
Your rating
ISBN
0446403466 (ISBN13: 9780446403467)
Language
English
Publisher
mysterious press

About book Why Me? (1994)

Why Me is the fifth book in this series. I’ve read the first three in order, but couldn’t easily get a copy of the fourth novel, Nobody’s Perfect. That’s too bad as some of the later book’s characteristics (e.g. Andy Kelp always letting himself in to John & May’s apartment) must have been established then.This book has faint echoes of the first one. A large and important gem is stolen, there are nations involved, Tiny reappears, and Dortmunder is in the middle of it all. But the resemblance is only superficial. The story is actually another masterful piece of plotting and writing. Like the other books, there are very strong and colorful characters to act as foils to John and friends. Without them the books would be far less interesting. Think of John & co. as white rice: by itself almost tasteless. Now cook it with some strong seasoning and other things and it becomes a flavorful medley.This book has plenty of spice: NYC cops, FBI agents, three or four teams of foreign nationals and all of them after the gem and the perpetrator. The police begin an intensive crackdown on the known criminal element. Thousands are pulled in for interrogative. They don’t solve the heist, but they do uncover evidence in a few hundred other cases. Dortmunder’s friends are all grabbed and eventually he is, too.Things begin to look very bleak for the dour anti-hero. Eventually he decides that he must trust someone and that person is long time friend Andy Kelp (and May, of course). Not only is Kelp sympathetic he also has some newly acquired skills that help them evade capture while setting up a nifty “exit” for John. He manages to convince the top cop investigating the crime to go along with his “solution” and then changes things up with a final twist. Like many of his other jobs, he comes out with nothing much to show for all his hard work except his hide. But he has strengthened his friendship with Andy and is ready to try again.I continue to be impressed by how different each of these books is. The plots are unique; the antagonists are unique and even the gang show different facets at times. I know that the books were spaced out 2-3-4 years apart and maybe that was because Mr. Westlake wanted to interleave other books (definitely wouldn’t want Parker to go cold). Or maybe it just took that long for the next good idea to evolve. I don’t care and I suspect most readers would not either. This was another quick read and a bit darker than the first three novels. Four (4) well-deserved Stars.

“Why” was our introduction to Westlake’s Dortmunder series – 15 novels in all published over a remarkable nearly 40-year span – featuring an amusing character who is a professional thief, albeit kind of a bumbler. In this comic crime story, he happens to burglarize a jewelry store that coincidentally was being used to overnight store a priceless gem (a 90-carat ruby!) stolen earlier that day in a United Nations scheme with huge political implications. It takes a couple days for our protagonist and nice wife May to discover what he stumbled into – and the rest of the story sees everyone from the FBI and NYPD and even the mob helping to try and find the gem – not to mention Dortmunder’s need to just get rid of it somehow!We might try another in the set (which other reviewers feel is better read in order, as ongoing characters and relationships develop) when we’re in the mood for a lighter tale to add to our reading menu.

Do You like book Why Me? (1994)?

Read some of my other Dortmunder reviews to get an idea of what I think of this superb and wacky set of books. I love 'em. And Why Me? is one of the lightest, silliest ones Westlake wrote. He was certainly in a screwy mood when he wrote this book. A short read, this one had me laughing so much I was reading bits and pieces of it to my wife, who doesn't really like these types of books, but she enjoyed the excerpts, laughing along with me. And what more can you say about John Dortmunder's bad luck? Even when he gets lucky, and it's the best piece of luck he's ever had, all it does is put him at odds with every cop, every FBI agent, and every criminal in the greater New York area. Worst of all, this "good" luck of his puts him on the bad side of Tiny Bulcher, and Tiny's bad side is so bad you could run for years and never get to a corner that turns in the direction of Tiny's good side. But Dortmunder's persistent belief in his eventual demise aside, he doggedly holds fate at bay as he pessimistically waits for that one moment when he'll come up with a plan to thwart his doom. All with his best friend Andy Kelp and his dear lady friend May at his side.Great stuff, from beginning to end.
—Jason Reeser

Meanwhile, at the United Nations...While two of the intruders made determined but clumsy efforts to reclose the door they'd just demolished, their leader (known as Gregor) turned to the leader of the group at the table (code name Marko) and said, "We are here to negotiate with you dogs."Marko grimaced, scrinching up his eyes and baring his upper teeth: "What kind of debased language is that?""I am speaking to you in your own miserable tongue.""Well, don't. It's painful to my ears.""No more than
—Jonah

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