One of Us Wrong: Collection

Donald E Westlake originally wanted to know if he could be successful if he started in the industry today (today being 1986) so planned on writing a series of six books under the pen name Samuel Holt to see how they would sell. Westlake wrote the first three novels in this series at the same time. Only himself and the publishers knew the secret, unfortunately when this novel appeared in the bookstores, Westlake learnt his publishers had betrayed him and posters and displays everywhere told the public Samuel Holt is Donald E Westlake. In fact this was the only book published under the Samuel Holt name without Westlake's on the cover. Westlake saw no further point in continuing the series since the whole point was to see if an unknown pseudonym could make it, so he finished off the fourth book then never brought Sam Holt character to the pages of his typewriter again. And that's a shame, as the Sam Holt character is just as good as Dortmunder or Parker (found under his pen name which he revealed to the world after it was successful - Richard Stark). If you get the reprinted version published by Felony & Mayhem it includes an introduction chapter where Westlake outlines what I wrote above and more about this series including where he planned to take Sam Holt in books 5 and 6. It's great to see a publisher bringing back the old Westlake stuff, Hard Case Crime has also brought back a number of his classic hard crime books as well including his first ever novel The Mercenaries (under the title - The Cutie). Now all we need is someone to republish his comic capers. This series aren't comic capers in case you were wondering. They are hard crime novels, although they do contain a touch of humour as well. Main character Samuel Holt was an actual policeman in his younger days, but after being an extra in the background of a film being shot in Long Island he decided to move to LA and become an actor. He landed a role as a successful TV detective called Packard but decided to retire the series while it was still at its peak. Unfortunately everyone associates him as Packard so he is yet to get another acting job. Which is where this story commences along with a couple of cars of middle eastern looking men trying to run his car off the road. Holt must figure out who is trying to kill him and wonders if it has anything to do with a fellow actor who came to him as he was being blackmailed and wants to write a book about it. The other books in the series are I Know a Trick Worth Two of That, What I Tell You Three Times Is False and The Fourth Dimension Is Death. If you forget that order remember the number is in each title. Westlake passed away in December 2008 so unfortunately this all we are likely to see.

I've been reading Westlake since around 2001 and while there has been a few of his books that dont "feel" right I have to say that I would recomend roughly 90% of the book of Westlake that i have read. Including the work that he wrote under the pen name of Samuel Holt. Although I would most likely recomend the Sam Holt stories to people who like the Lawernce Block "Burglars" stories.

works written under a pen name. Although not Westlake at his funniest, it's still a nice little thriller in which a former TV star of a cop show, ends up a has been actually investigating a murder. And as the plot switches from Holt as hunter to being hunted himself, the tension mounts, and the thrills abound.