Scan barcode
thefourthvine's review
3.0
It's sort of hard to rate this one fairly; I understand that there's another Dortmunder book coming out in 2009, but this still feels like the end of an era, given Westlake's death. So there was something of a nostalgia factor at work here.
But, overall, this is just another middling Dortmunder novel - which means it's fun, yes, but not laugh-out-loud funny, the way some of the earlier novels are, and not as complex and devious as most of middle ones are.
Part of the problem is that the formula is starting to show. (No, part of the problem is that there is a formula; the early and middle books lacked that.) It's easy to predict the plot; you take threads A, B, and C, and if you've read other books in the series, you know exactly how it will end up. Part of the problem is that these last books just don't have the edge that the early ones did.
But still - Dortmunder and company are good companions for an afternoon, and this book is fun and engaging, if not exactly off the charts. I'd recommend it for people who have read all the books before [book:Bad News] and still aren't satisfied - and for anyone who is sad that with Westlake gone, Dortmunder is now a very limited commodity.
But, overall, this is just another middling Dortmunder novel - which means it's fun, yes, but not laugh-out-loud funny, the way some of the earlier novels are, and not as complex and devious as most of middle ones are.
Part of the problem is that the formula is starting to show. (No, part of the problem is that there is a formula; the early and middle books lacked that.) It's easy to predict the plot; you take threads A, B, and C, and if you've read other books in the series, you know exactly how it will end up. Part of the problem is that these last books just don't have the edge that the early ones did.
But still - Dortmunder and company are good companions for an afternoon, and this book is fun and engaging, if not exactly off the charts. I'd recommend it for people who have read all the books before [book:Bad News] and still aren't satisfied - and for anyone who is sad that with Westlake gone, Dortmunder is now a very limited commodity.
nigellicus's review
5.0
Great to see Dortmunder being published on this side of the pond again! Here he’s coerced into going after a closely protected chess set worth a large fortune, but just can’t see a way to do it. Not as laugh out loud funny as some of the earlier heists, the wry tone, the New York attitudes and the deliciousness of the plot will keep the smile on your face and your hands on the book all the way to the end.
More...