Bad News

by Donald E. Westlake

Book Overview

"I'm a robber, " John Dortmunder says, "not a grave robber." Yet he soon finds himself in a Long Island cemetery, in the very dead of night, with dirt up to his knees. His old friend Andy Kelp is to blame--Andy Kelp and the Internet. For it was while ambling on the Net that Kelp met up with master manipulator Fitzroy Guilderpost and his nefarious companions, the flunked teacher Irwin Gabel and the Las Vegas showgirl Little Feather Redcorn. What these...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 089296717X
• ISBN13: 9780892967179
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: Mysterious Press
• Length: 342 Pages
• Weight: 1.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Great News!!

I am new to the Dortmunder series and I have been listening to several as books on tape (Don't Ask, The Hot Rock, Good Behavior, Bank Shot, Nobody's Perfect Jimmy the Kid) all in the last few months (as well as Put a Lid on it and The Axe) I had never heard of Dortmunder or Westlake and never read fiction. So as a novice to the genre I have to say that I find Mr. Westlake to be a remarkable communicator. His writing brings me into the action and I laugh out loud and feel the tension as if I was sitting there with the gang. I am hesitant to disagree with those more experienced reviewers when it come to this series but I found this book to be the best of the lot (understanding I think all of the are 5 Stars).....I think maybe because of the order I have been reading I was getting a little too comfortable with the Dortmunder formula and this one seems to take me just enough out of that formula to keep me going. I love Mr. Westlakes development of characters (although some of the Indian characters were his weakes) and the twists and turns that are his trademarks ( I also read The Axe and it was GREAT). I strongly encourage you to read this book or listen to it on tape...you will not be disappointed!! The only weak part for me was the regular guys at the bar scene that I so look forward to....but even that was good. Read this book and any of the others in the series...I am pressing on to try and finish all of the Dortmunders series in the next few months!!

Dortmunder rules!

Mr. Westlake seems to be a neverending source of new and great storylines featuring his famous hero - the robber and perfect planner John Dortmunder. "Bad News" is not an exception. Moreover, I must say that "Bad News" is the best Dortmunder novel so far. You will meet well-known Dortmunder's pals Andy Kelp, Stan Murch [with his mom] and Tiny Bulcher as well as several new [but created with the same detailed perfection] characters - captious organizer Fitzroy Guilderpost, ex-teacher Irwin Gabel and Indian casino showgirl Little Feather Redcorn.So, what to steal this time? Nothing more crazy than a corpse of a dead Indian of Pottaknobbee tribe. Why? To replace the body with Little Feather's dead great grandfather to take over a prosperous Indian casino by proving that Little Feather is a descendant of the last one of the Pottaknobbee which have a right to own one third of the whole casino.As a reader of Westlake's comic crime novels can suppose, the plan will fail on some particular reason but nothing like it can knock off a man like Dortmunder and there is always a way how to be a step before the opponents.Even in case you never read any Dortmunder book you can start with Bad News because the art of author's storytelling and sense of humor is so marvelous that you will go through the whole book at once without looking at the last page to see how many pages remain.

Westlake's Brilliant (Criminal) Career

What's bad news for John Dortmunder, the talented but unlucky thief, is good news for mystery readers. It's been five years since we've heard from Donald Westlake's creation, but while he's been away, Dortmunder hasn't lost any of his zip, whether evading police inside a Sam's Club-like megastore to planning the burglary of a mansion guarded with the latest high-tech security measures.It wouldn't be giving too much of the book away to say that "Bad News" could also be subtitled, "Or, the Last of the Pottaknobbees." That is the scam Dortmunder stumbles into while switching bodies during a contract job in a Long Island cemetery. Soon, he and his confederates -- the massive Tiny and the smooth car thief Andy Kelp -- are freezing in the woods of upstate New York, helping to pass off a Las Vegas casino dealer as the last of her Native American tribe, and therefore the one-third owner of a reservation casino worth millions. It's not an easy task, dodging stake-outs, the police, the casino's owners and the trio's reluctant partners, but "Bad News" hums along as Dortmunder and crew maneuver -- on eggshells sometimes -- among a gallery of rogues, imbeciles and everyday misfits. Westlake has been around long enough that it may be difficult to realize just how truly inventive and consistent he is. He's delivered the goods in works ranging from comic novels ("Baby Would I Lie?") to his hard-edged Richard Stark series, to caper novels that tread a fine line in between the extremes ("Kahawa," set in Idi Amin's Uganda), and the corporate satire, "The Axe." "Bad News" is another welcome addition to Westlake's collection of must-read and must-re-read books.

Bad News is good news

Death, taxes, and a "Dortmunder" novel from Donald Westlake -- they're all something you can count on (and the "Dortmunder" novel is a lot more fun than the other two).Another thing guaranteed is that nothing ever goes right for John Dortmunder, a simple, honest (well, sort of), hard-working thief who never gets an even break. As with all of Donald Westlake's novels about Dortmunder and his cohorts, just hang on because it is going to be a strange and funny ride. In previous books in the series, we have seen Dortmunder stealing jewels and paintings and banks (yes, "stealing" a bank, not robbing it), but never before has he had to steal a dead Indian. Of course, it is all in a good cause -- money. And rest assured, all will come out wrong in the end. Dead Indians, live Indians, Indian casinos, double-crossing con artists, small town lawyers, big city lawyers, coffins playing musical chairs ... No wonder John Dortmunder always looks so downcast. This one is money in the bank, folks. "Bad News" is good news for readers.

A delightful caper

After he escapes from his own failed Jersey robbery attempt, John Dortmunder reluctantly agrees to join his friend Andy Kelp on a caper. Fitzroy Guilderpost, Irwin Gabel, and Little Feather Redcorn hire Andy and John to dig up the coffin of a deceased Native American and replace it with a dead relative of Little Feather. Before Fitzroy and Irwin can kill the duo, John and Andy leave with a corpse.Several weeks later during Thanksgiving dinner, Fitzroy calls Andy to arrange a new deal. They meet at Jones Beach where Tiny Bulcher accompanies Andy and John who demand in on the caper. Forced to concede, they explain how they plan to obtain a share of a successful upstate New York Indian casino. Everyone agrees to the new terms, but neither side trusts the other. The edge belongs to John and his cohorts because they stand together as one unit while the other team remains divided.The good news is that Dortmunder and friends are back in an exciting caper. The BAD NEWS is that readers will now have to wait for the next tale of what is perhaps the funniest mystery series on the market today. The story line is amusing and entertaining as John and his team engages in a battle of wits and fights with Fitzroy's finest. The support cast adds to the feel that these thieves are genuine individuals whose GOOD BEHAVIOR proves NOBODY'S PERFECT. Clearly THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN to fans of a light but taut mystery novel is to miss Donald E. Westlake's superior book, series, and other works.Harriet Klausner