What's the Worst That Could Happen?

by Donald E. Westlake

Book Overview

It started with a ring. A cheap ring. The yellow metal said brass, not gold, and the sparkly bits were certainly not diamonds. But the ring belonged to May's horseplaying uncle, who swore it brought good luck. Dortmunder, who wouldn't kick a little good luck out of bed, puts it to the test when he goes to burglarize Long Island billionaire Max Fairbanks. As luck would have it, Dortmunder is greeted by Fairbanks himself - and a loaded gun - as soon...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 089296586X
• ISBN13: 9780892965861
• Release Date: October 1996
• Publisher: Mysterious Press
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.2" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Dortmunder's famous luck

Hilariously clever, Westlake's 1996 John Dortmunder thriller turns on luck as the ingenious but luckless burglar's soulmate, May, receives a bequest, "a small box, such as earrings might come in, or a kidnap victim's finger." In it is her dead uncle's "lucky" ring which fits Dortmunder perfectly. Wearing it, he embarks on a burgling job. But the corporate beach house is not empty. The owner, Max Fairbanks, one of the world's richest men, greets Dortmunder with a gun. Whimsically topping off his coup, Fairbanks announces to the police that Dortmunder has stolen his ring and gleefully appropriates Dortmunder's lucky piece. A mistake. Dormunder, personally affronted, begins a single-minded quest to retrieve the ring by escaping the police and returning to the house, now disappointingly empty - of people, that is. Consoling himself with a rich haul, Dortmunder plots his next move, undeterred even by the prospect of pursuing Fairbanks beyond the bounds of his New York world. Meanwhile the burglary is the start of a spectacular downhill slide for Fairbanks. Westlake's prose hurtles along with the twists of the plot as loot fairly jumps into the hands of Dortmunder's gang (growing larger at every turn) while the ring continues to elude him. The final caper unleashes a veritable army of New York's thieves on an extremely suspicious and watchful Las Vegas. This is Westlake at his funniest.

Dortmunder's Revenge

This is a jewel of a book from Westlake. When Dortmunder is caught in a heist, the victim manages to take the thief's "lucky" ring when the police apprehend him. Dortmunder's quest for his missing ring brings in all of our favorite characters from the series as he robs millionaire Fairbanks time and again. The book culminates in a Vegas heist that would do Ocean's 11 proud. Funny and exciting, this book is a must have for any Westlake/Stark fan.

Joy

These Dortmunders not only make me laugh out loud (which can be embarrassing when you're sitting alone on a bus or train) they bring joy. Does that seem goofy? Well here's to goofiness 'cause I can't help but feel better after reading 'em. They're paperbound treasure chests to me.

Plot twists to bust a gut over.

Donald E. Westlake is one of the funniest authors on record. His Dortmunder series enthralls me every time I reread it. I think he gets better with each book. "Don't Ask" was a riot. "Smoke" wasn't in the series, but was a joy. I hope there are future editions of the series to come.

A comic crime caper novel about poetic justice

Mr. Westlake is a genius in gaining the sympathy of the reader for the inept badluck crook, John Dortmunder. The novel is well-written and kept my attention. Part of the humor in it is that a small-time hood can have a sense of righteous indignity at being "done unto" in the attempt to "do unto" somebody else. In this sense, the poetic justice is meted upon Dortmunder. Ultimately, however, the pilfering wealthy guy gets the poetic justice, in spades. I have heartily enjoyed the whole Dortmunder series, and it was this character who won Mr. Westlake a spot on my "if-he-wrote-it-I-must-have-it" author list (which is fairly exclusive)