Drowned Hopes

by Donald E. Westlake

Book Overview

Based on the 1990 Warner book. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0892961783
• ISBN13: 9780892961788
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Mysterious Press
• Length: 422 Pages
• Weight: 1.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.7" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

My First Westlake

I listened to Drowned Hopes in audio form and part of my great enjoyment of the book was from narrator Kramer's skill at deadpan delivery of Westlake's humor. His voices are dead-on perfect and his timing borders on genius. I'd much rather have him perform the next Dortmunder book for me than read it to myself! Westlake is an unexpected surprise: he is intellectual, funny, and meticulous in his research (thus creating easily believable locales, characters and situations.) His wordcraft is right up there with the best, and I especially love his similes. I'll be looking for his other books, both Dortmunder and not.

Classic Westlake/Dortmunder

Having read all of the previous Dortmunder novels, I found it increasingly difficult to think that Westlake would or could top himself with the genius of this series. Again, he proved me wrong with "Drowned Hopes." No one can turn a phrase, develop a character or dream a scenario the way Westlake does. "Drowned Hopes" brings back many of the great characters from the previous Dortmunder novels and as always, throws in a few new ones to round out the brilliant cast. The story is a wild adventure unrivaled in the previous books of the series, taking our hero from NYC, to Oklahoma and even up Abe Lincoln's nose on Mt. Rushmore. I can recommned this book in print and on audio-cassette (with a wonderful performance by Michael Kramer - reader of all the Dortmunder books on tape) where the characters come to life. This one leaves you hungry for more.

Westlake is the best

It's not entirely accurate for me to be reviewing just "Drowned Hopes" because, truly, *all* of Donald E. Westlake's comic crime novels are wonderful and entertaining. Don't limit yourself to just this one book (though "Drowned Hopes" is definitely among the better ones, as it features Dortmunder and his hapless crime syndicate). Since many of Westlake's books seem to be out of print at the moment, the library is probably your best bet to catch up on these treasures. But let's start a new campaign to reissue all of Westlake's books!

Entertaining plot-twisted mystery adventure

Plot twists prevail as hero/crook Dortmunder does his best to keep an upstate NY village from being flooded by a crazed ex-inmate. The narratives are excellent, but the unearthing of loot out of Lincoln's nose at Mt. Rushmore was a little too over the top. One of his best

One of his best

Drowned Hopes is one of the funniest follow-throughs on one of the better Westlake premises. The treasure that was buried by the mobster before he went to jail is underneath what is now a reservoir. That presents challenges, but Dortmunder and his gang are at least AS challenged by being in proximity to a real criminal, who is a lot meaner than they are. I'd put this with the best of Westlake's books, and I'm one of his biggest fans