What's the Worst That Could Happen?

October 2, 1996
John Dortmunder, the taciturn con man who is the hero of Westlake's funniest series of caper novels, is someone perfectly capable of nursing a grievance. When billionaire hotshot Max Fairbanks, who has caught Dortmunder burgling his Long Island estate, tells the arresting police that the good-luck ring on Dortmunder's finger was stolen from him (when it was in fact a gift from Dortmunder's girlfriend, May), Max's fate, no matter how well protected he may be, is sealed. Dortmunder makes repeated attempts to get his ring back, hitting on ingenious ways to get into the billionaire's lavish Times Square and Watergate apartments, making off each time with considerable loot. But only when Fairbanks goes off to his huge casino/hotel/theme park in Las Vegas, in a deliberate attempt to entrap Dortmunder, does the dour vengeance-seeker shift into really high gear. Picturesque rogues from previous Dortmunder outings are collected into a formidable army, pitted against the best security Max's millions can buy, all leading to a showdown only Westlake could have conceived. As can be expected from this expert hand, the narrative is at once laconic and fast, the jokes constant, fresh and funny. Dortmunder, as always, is a potent brew that makes the world look brighter. Mystery Guild featured alternate.

September 15, 1996
John Dortmunder is back! Having stolen a religious Eastern European relic in Don't Ask (LJ 3/1/93), the con man and his gang return in the ninth installment of Westlake's comic series to wreak revenge on one Max Fairbanks. In the midst of burglarizing a Long Island mansion, Dortmunder is caught by billionaire Fairbanks, who claims to the police that Dortmunder's lucky ring (given to Dortmunder by his girlfriend, May) actually belongs to him. Unluckily for Fairbanks, he has robbed the wrong man. Determined to get the ring back, Dortmunder enlists his old cronies in pursuing Fairbanks from Washington's notorious Watergate (unlike Nixon's burglars, they don't get caught) to a glitzy Las Vegas casino where Dortmunder exacts a satisfying vengeance. Once again, four-time Edgar Award winner Westlake's deft prose, cleverly funny plot, and amusing characters proves why this remains one of the most popular series in the genre. A welcome addition to all mystery collections.--Wilda Williams, "Library Journal

August 1, 1996
Dortmunder, Westlake's highly professional but star-crossed thief, thinks burgling a vacant Long Island mansion owned by media mogul Max Fairbanks will be a walk in the park. Unfortunately, Max is there entertaining Playboy's Miss September, and Dortmunder is no sooner in the door than he's captured by the tycoon. Getting arrested is a normal business risk, but Fairbanks tells the police that Dortmunder's lucky ring is the only thing the thief had time to steal from him. Having his ring stolen from him by his victim offends Dortmunder's sense of fair play, and he begins to stalk Fairbanks' many residences looking for a chance to recover his property. Each time, he just misses the peripatetic mogul. He finds so much to steal that he gets rich, but recovering his ring becomes an affair of honor that ultimately requires him to heist an entire Las Vegas casino--as a diversion. Westlake's Dortmunder stories are among the best comic crime novels in existence, and this one is a worthy addition to the series. Tout it to any patron with a sense of humor or who looks like she/he can use a laugh. ((Reviewed Aug. 1996))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1996, American Library Association.)

September 15, 1996
John Dortmunder is back! Having stolen a religious Eastern European relic in Don't Ask (LJ 3/1/93), the con man and his gang return in the ninth installment of Westlake's comic series to wreak revenge on one Max Fairbanks. In the midst of burglarizing a Long Island mansion, Dortmunder is caught by billionaire Fairbanks, who claims to the police that Dortmunder's lucky ring (given to Dortmunder by his girlfriend, May) actually belongs to him. Unluckily for Fairbanks, he has robbed the wrong man. Determined to get the ring back, Dortmunder enlists his old cronies in pursuing Fairbanks from Washington's notorious Watergate (unlike Nixon's burglars, they don't get caught) to a glitzy Las Vegas casino where Dortmunder exacts a satisfying vengeance. Once again, four-time Edgar Award winner Westlake's deft prose, cleverly funny plot, and amusing characters proves why this remains one of the most popular series in the genre. A welcome addition to all mystery collections.--Wilda Williams, "Library Journal"

Copyright 1996 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.