Blaze Away

Starred review from May 1, 2015
The prolific James is back with an art-theft caper starring the hapless Ralph Panicking Ralphy Ember. The owner of a club called The Monty, Ember wants to elevate the tone of the joint, which is currently frequented by crooks, drug runners, and other felons, by purchasing classy paintings to hang on the walls. He already owns a copy of a plate from Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, which is hanging over a thick metal panel designed to protect Ralph from his trigger-happy enemies. Sadly, one of these, Basil Gordon Loam, had a few too many drinks one night, launched a fusillade of bullets at the Blake, and was subsequently banned from The Monty. Now he's back to make peace with Ralph and even offers to help acquire the art Ralph needs to make the club posh. His contact? Jack Lamb, who's also a police informer, sometime friend of DCS Colin Harpur, and the owner of many works of artsome even legit. The gifted James skillfully weaves together disparate plot strands into a crime caper that is as hilarious as it is violent. This is a must for Donald E. Westlake fans. Four stars!(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)