Westllake's comic Dortmunder novels are among my favorite series of crime/caper novels. Dortmunder is a professional thief who along with his crew tend to foul up most every job they pull. THIEVES' DOZEN is a collection of short stories featuring Dortmunder written by Westlake from 1981 through 2000. The stories originally appeared in various publications including Playboy magazine.
The stories were all very enjoyable and included the usual humor that is always present in the Dortmunder novels. Among the stories Dortmunder tries to steal a race horse valued at over $300,000 with the usual consequences; attempts a bank robbery through a tunnel only to find that it was already being robbed by another crew; on the run from a burglary, Dortmunder slips into a window and blends in by helping the caterer with a Christmas party; and Dortmunder is mistaken for a substitute player as he slips into a poker game with Otto Penzler with a bag of stolen Roman coins in his pocket. I still have several of the Dortmunder novels left to read and I'm definitely looking forward to them.
The stories were all very enjoyable and included the usual humor that is always present in the Dortmunder novels. Among the stories Dortmunder tries to steal a race horse valued at over $300,000 with the usual consequences; attempts a bank robbery through a tunnel only to find that it was already being robbed by another crew; on the run from a burglary, Dortmunder slips into a window and blends in by helping the caterer with a Christmas party; and Dortmunder is mistaken for a substitute player as he slips into a poker game with Otto Penzler with a bag of stolen Roman coins in his pocket. I still have several of the Dortmunder novels left to read and I'm definitely looking forward to them.
This book is a delight. If you haven't read the Dortmunder series, now is the time to start.
The rest of the series is all novels. This is a book of short stories. While the stories are wonderful, Donald Westlake's comments in the introduction to the book and the introduction to the final story are priceless. Westlake is a comic genius, but he is also a perfect example of a true author. In the final story, he had to write his story about Dortmunder but use a different name for the main character and his cronies. (It was written during a time when Hollywood was trying to steal the rights to his character name.)
He says that once he decided on the name, John Rumsey, he realized that Rumsey wasn't as tall as Dortmunder. Really? Yes, really. He says there was nothing he could do about it; Rumsey was just a different guy.
But all that is a wonderful side issue. The stories here are as clever, funny, and interesting as any of the novels.
The final story, the Rumsey story entitled "Fugue for Felons," is a masterpiece of irony. Once you've read the story, read the definition of "fugue" in a dictionary. The story fits it so beautifully....
Read this book!
The rest of the series is all novels. This is a book of short stories. While the stories are wonderful, Donald Westlake's comments in the introduction to the book and the introduction to the final story are priceless. Westlake is a comic genius, but he is also a perfect example of a true author. In the final story, he had to write his story about Dortmunder but use a different name for the main character and his cronies. (It was written during a time when Hollywood was trying to steal the rights to his character name.)
He says that once he decided on the name, John Rumsey, he realized that Rumsey wasn't as tall as Dortmunder. Really? Yes, really. He says there was nothing he could do about it; Rumsey was just a different guy.
But all that is a wonderful side issue. The stories here are as clever, funny, and interesting as any of the novels.
The final story, the Rumsey story entitled "Fugue for Felons," is a masterpiece of irony. Once you've read the story, read the definition of "fugue" in a dictionary. The story fits it so beautifully....
Read this book!
Another Dortmunder Gang comic mystery!
