Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: The Road to Ruin (Ay Adult - Westlake) by Donald E. Westlake ISBN: 0-89296-801-X Publisher: Mysterious Press Pub. Date: April, 2004 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (1 review)
Rating: 5
Summary: Don't miss the latest in a long line of Westlake classics!
Comment: I would like you to do something for me. It will only take a few hours, and you'll enjoy every minute of it. It is a relatively simple task. Just read Donald Westlake's new novel THE ROAD TO RUIN and then read any two or three of his previous works. THE ROAD TO RUIN is part of Westlake's John Dortmunder mythos, but you don't have to limit yourself to that fine series. If you want to dip into one of his crime novels or stand-alone comic crime novels for the purpose of this exercise, that's fine. After you've done this, please get back to me and tell me if there is anyone else who writes more prolifically and with such consistency.
Westlake does it all. His storytelling ability compels you to keep reading. His plotting is first rate. His writing style ... how does a guy simultaneously entertain and challenge the reader? The only time you'll set this book down is if you need to reach for the dictionary. Westlake doesn't just work with language --- he loves it. And it shows. He is also fond of adding little details, flourishes, touches to what is going on in his work. In THE ROAD TO RUIN, one of those little touches is a partner's desk. Within a few words, he describes perfectly why one rarely sees a partner's desk these days. The guy is a marvel.
I could prattle on all day about Westlake (indeed, it appears I have) but I'm sure you would like to know what THE ROAD TO RUIN is all about. You probably have a good idea if you are at all familiar with John Dortmunder, Westlake's perennially unsuccessful thief. Dortmunder is not so much unskilled as he is unlucky. He is the walking embodiment of Murphy's Law. What makes the Dortmunder novels such an absolute joy to read is not necessarily what happens, but why it happens and who it happens to.
Monroe Hall is one of the "who's" in THE ROAD TO RUIN. Hall is very, very rich, and very, very crooked. He is a robber baron in the sense that he robbed SomniTech, his own company, and its stockholders, earning the hatred of ... well, just about everyone. He is so hated, in fact, that the hired help is in the process of de-hiring itself. Dortmunder gets wind of this and hatches a wild plot to get himself and his gang of not-so-merry but still funny men hired onto the Hall estate.
Dortmunder has his eye on Hall's collection of classic cars. The only way to circumvent Hall's considerable security is to become part of the interior scenery as the hired help. What Dortmunder doesn't plan on, however, is that Hall's list of antagonists include some union types who lost their pension money to Hall's shenanigans and some venture capitalists who were heavily leveraged into SomniTech and who, when the smoke cleared, were forced to move back with their parents. The white and the blue collars form an uneasy alliance --- only Westlake could so effectively skewer both --- to get their money back, and maybe a little extra. When all three deals start to go down simultaneously, Hall has some good company: his faithful butler, Dortmunder. The results are more than hilarious.
Westlake, as is so often his wont, starts a number of plates spinning in THE ROAD TO RUIN and never loses one. If there is a problem --- let's make that a minor shortcoming --- with THE ROAD TO RUIN, it's that there are so many interesting characters running around on the pages that Dortmunder almost goes missing! However, there is enough of him to let you know that it's still his book, the latest in a long line of Westlake classics. Don't miss this one.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
 |
Title: Thieves' Dozen by Donald E. Westlake ISBN: 0446693022 Publisher: Mysterious Press Pub. Date: 01 April, 2004 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
 |
Title: The Burglar on the Prowl by Lawrence Block ISBN: 0060198303 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 16 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
 |
Title: God Save the Mark : A Novel of Crime and Confusion by Donald E. Westlake ISBN: 0765309181 Publisher: Forge Pub. Date: 01 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
 |
Title: Bad Business by Robert B. Parker ISBN: 0399151451 Publisher: Penguin USA Pub. Date: 08 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
 |
Title: The Frumious Bandersnatch : A Novel of the 87th Precinct by Ed McBain ISBN: 0743250346 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
