Money for Nothing

by Donald E. Westlake

Book Overview

When it comes to crime-the good, the bad, and the hilarious-nobody does it like Donald E. Westlake, the creator of the uproarious Dortmunder novels and the dark classic The Ax. Westlake's outrageous... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0892967870
• ISBN13: 9780892967872
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: Mysterious Press
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Another great one from a master

Money for Nothing begins with college student Josh Redmont receiving a check for $1000. The few clues he has about who gave it to him lead nowhere, and the following month he gets another check in the mail. This continues for years, as Josh gets married, has a kid and establishes a career; by this point, he has ceased to question why he is getting the funds and just considers them a bit of fluky luck. Unfortunately, the luck in question turns out to be bad. By accepting the money, he has unknowingly become a sleeper agent for some East European spy agency and now they have come to collect. Josh finds himself quickly trapped into acting for them, unable to go to the authorities and fearful for his life and his family's. Donald Westlake is once again in top form in this tale of a man caught in circumstances beyond his control. While in other novels, Westlake treats this situation with humor, but here the comic elements are limited (although there is Westlake's hilarious take on modern fantasy writers and their fans); instead, Westlake shows how his talents have not faded over four decades of stories. Although superficially a ludicrous plot, Westlake makes his tale utterly plausible and hence, more effective. There are a lot of good suspense and mystery writers out there (and many not-so-good); Westlake is one of the best and this novel is a good indication as to why he is considered a master of the genre.

And Your Spies for Free

Josh receives a cheque for $1000 and has no idea why he received it. Month after month he receives another, and another. He tries to work out who is paying the money but no one answers the phone number on the cheque and the address is incomplete. After seven years Josh has become used to the money. He now has a family but he also has a man waiting for him at the bordering area to his daily ferry. It seems Josh has been paid to be a sleeper agent for the Russians without even knowing it and they have some evil plans for him. This is a pretty good novel although it does move a bit slow at times. It is an enjoyable read though. I read the Ax also by Westlake before this which was brilliant so it did put my expectations up to masterpiece standards for this book which it did not quite achieve. Still a good book though. Definitely read the Ax if you are looking for a great Westlake novel.

An Amazing Read

What would you do if you started receiving a monthly check from United States Agent for $1,000? What would you do if you tried to locate this company, but could not find out anything about it besides the name and a basic street address with no house number? In "Money For Nothing," Josh Redmont decides to cash those checks. Every month. For seven years. And stops thinking much about it until the day a stranger shows up to let Josh know he has now been activated. When Josh seems confused, the stranger tells him that the original contact, Nimrin, has retired and that he, Levrin, will now be his contact. Josh meets up with Nimrin later and he explains that he recruited Josh and others as sleeper agents nine years earlier. The monthly checks were to go to Nimrin and they did until he was forced into retirement. By accepting the checks, Josh implied to those in charge that he knew what was going on. When Levrin activated him and he did not refuse, Josh became involved in a plot to assassinate a visiting leader. The only way out now is kill or be killed. They killed one of the others who cashed the checks, leaving one other person not yet activated. Josh decides to find this individual, off-off-off Broadway actor Mitch Robbie, in order to warn him of what is about to happen. At first scared, and then later intrigued, Mitch sees beyond the kill or be killed argument. He hatches a plot to keep the original plan from taking place and forces Josh beyond his myopic view of the situation. He shows Josh that they have the chance to regain control of their lives and keep the assassination from happening. And once again Josh signs on despite himself. Even though this is a plot-driven novel, the characters stand out as original and real. The reader experiences Josh's fear and indecision and is more than willing to ride along with him as he tries to discover exactly who, and what, he is up against. Westlake's addition of the actor Mitch Robbie is inspired as well as hilarious. Mitch brings a note of humor to the book, often acting as the spur for the slow-to-work-it-out Josh. Even the side characters, though somewhat stereotypical in the long view, have personality quirks in the short view that make them human and almost likeable.

An amusing, engrossing spy romp

For seven years, each month Josh Redmont has been cashing thousand dollar checks from an unknown benefactor. Money for nothing. Until one day a mysterious stranger arrives to "activate" him, to become a spy for the Ukraine. The Ukraine? Well, Russia didn't get everything after the breakup of the Soviet Union, and in this case the Ukraine inherited a unwitting spy who is now expected to do something very deadly as payback for all that money.I will not claim that "Money for Nothing" packs the emotional punch of Westlake's "The Ax" or "The Hook" or that it is quite so funny as the wonderful, googy Dortmunder books. But "Money for Nothing" is still an interesting read about a rather average guy who finds himself in a very deadly situation. Make no mistake about it, there is a very palpable sense of menace lurking here, and it is entirely believable that the real cost of the "money for nothing" may be the lives of Josh, his wife, and his son. There was enough suspense generated to keep me eagerly turning the pages to find out what would happen next. As good as "the Ax"? No. But good nonetheless? Definitely yes.

delightful wild ride

Advertising executive Josh Redmont waits for the ferry to take him to Fire Island where he will join his wife and child on vacation. However, a stranger informs John that "You are now active." For seven years, John has been the recipient of a monthly one grand check from the United States Agency that he thought was an error, but eventually from his country. Now this USA wants to collect. He is expected to help foreign nationals assassinate the premier of a foreign nation visiting Yankee Stadium.Josh's New York apartment will serve as a safe house. Unbeknownst to the former sleeper agent who didn't realize he was sleeping is that once the deed is done he becomes expendable too. Josh meets another recently activated former ingenuous sleeper, off-Broadway actor Mitch Robbie. They partner in an attempt to survive this fiasco.Take the seemingly impossible, blend inside the inconceivable, and mix that with the immovable and what do you get: another delightful wild ride by Donald E. Westlake. He takes an illogical scenario that when read in a short review or a cover inset appears crazy, but turns it into a stark thriller that hooks the audience into believing the unbelievable. MONEY FOR NOTHING takes the premise and runs with it so that the audience receives a taut thriller starring a delightful lead character supported by a strong cast. Readers who buy this book will know they spent money for something worth reading.Harriet Klausner