A review by northstar
The Hot Rock by Donald E. Westlake

4.0

If you like caper mysteries, run to your library and grab this 40-year-old classic. I'd read some of Donald Westlake's short mysteries and always planned to read his Dortmunder series when I stumbled on the first book and decided to check it out. It was just what I needed: light, hilarious, suspenseful and a bit eccentric. Ex-con John Dortmunder and four crooked associates agree to steal an emerald from a Pan-African exhibit in New York and give it to the self-proclaimed rightful owner, a second (also invented) African country. This single caper turns into a string of six ever-more-fantastical heists involving a carnival locomotive, a helicopter and a hypnotist. While not entirely PC, this book is highly entertaining and Westlake's humor includes the broad sweep of Dortmunder's antics and little throwaway jokes, like restrooms in a bar labeled with pictures of dogs: Pointers and Setters. Good for laughs and a break from more serious fiction or nonfiction.