Petey's
Fiction Review
The Road to Ruin
by
Donald E. Westlake
Unlucky
John Dortmunder and his wayward gang of thieves launch a new
caper when they pose as household servants in order to infiltrate
wealthy executive Monroe Hall's estate. Their purpose? Scam
the biggest scammer of all and make off with his collection
of valuable cars.
What
Dortmunder and his crew don't realize is that two other gangs,
each bent on revenge, are simultaneously working both independently
and in concert to find a way to drain Monroe Hall's offshore
bank accounts.
Soon,
all their paths converge, and the best-laid plans of rats and
men begin to go awry. Hall and Dortmunder are kidnapped and
spirited away to a mountain hideout. When resourceful Hall executes
a daring escape, he sets into motion a convoluted chain of events
that all are powerless to stop.
Westlake's
comic genius and intricate plotting keeps readers of The
Road to Ruin laughingand guessingat every
turn of a page. To say that Donald E. Westlake ranks among such
notable writers as Patricia Cornwell (Isle
of Dogs) and Carl Hiaasen (Basket
Case) for humorous crime fiction may be an understatement.
Indeed, Westlake may be the leader of the pack.
Prolific
author Donald E. Westlake, whose writing career spans more than
35 years, has won three Edgar Awards and a Mystery Writers of
America Grand Master Award. He also writes under various pseudonyms,
which include Richard Stark. He lives in New York State.
Visit
Donald's Web site at www.donaldwestlake.com/
Review
by Phil Hanson

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Road to Ruin.
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© 2005 by Phil Hanson
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