Thieves' Dozen

April 1, 2004
Mystery NOTES Donald E. Westlake's irresistible Thieves' Dozen collects all 10 tales of his hapless thief John Dortmunder, most of which appeared in Playboy. The author provides an amusing introduction as well as an 11th tale, original to this volume, that features his crook hero under a pseudonym or at least a character a lot like Dortmunder.

Starred review from March 1, 2004
All the usual Westlake suspects are back in another fine mess, or in this case in a delightful collection of 11 Dortmunder stories. The swift succession of heists, getaways, scrapes, and screwups gathered in " Thieves' Dozen " epitomizes the venal joys of the comic caper. Each gambit is filled with engaging twists, such as when the gang tunnels into a bank vault only to find it packed with hostages from an armed robbery already in progress, or when they start a stampede while attempting to boost a stud racehorse. Then there's the deceptively simple challenge of getting across town with a ham sandwich in which is secreted a stolen emerald brooch, or the synchronized scrapes of crooks converging on a bashed-in bank in "Fugue for Felons." The short-story form is well suited to Westlake's sly shenanigans, and he even finds room for snippets of the Runyonesque repartee that gives this inspired nonsense just the right touch of absurd panache. These stories are real jewels--an excellent introduction to Dortmunder for a wide range of comic crime and mystery readers. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)