Somebody Owes Me Money

Or, "did" it again: "Somebody Owes Me Money" was originally published in 1969. The "money" that is owed is only $900, though, so every time he talks about that I found myself trying to do quick calculations for inflation in my head. (It's roughly $5,000, if you're interested.) This comic caper reminded me a lot of Westlake's "Payback" (which he wrote under his Richard Stark alias). There's a lot of action, and the allure of sex tossed in for good measure. For a pulp tale, the ending actually surprised me--it's almost as if Westlake is winking at his readers... A fun, smart book.

I was a long way off being born when most of Donald E Westlake's classic novels were published. For the last few years I have been tracking down his classic novels and paying a bit of money for some of them. So it is great to see Hard Case Crime reprinting some of his older stuff so that firstly you can get a book in pretty good condition (rare for Westlake stories this old) and get the book for a lot cheaper price as well. I also work in a public library so have come across a bit of criticism from those who have borrowed this that it is not really funny like his other work but those people just don't understand. Somebody Owes Me Money is not a comic caper, it's a crime caper yes but not intended to be humorous like Westlake set out to do with his hilarious comic caper masterpieces such as Smoke, The Spy in the Ointment and a New York Dance (also published as (Dancing Aztecs), Cops and Robbers and so on. The thing some readers who have discovered Westlake through a comic caper don't understand is that Westlake has successfully written over a number of genres throughout the years, such as harder (although still light reads) crime mysteries such as this book and 361 (also recently republished under Hard Case Crime's collection). He's also written a comic cpaer Western (Gangway), science fiction novels such as Anarchaos and Humans, psychopathic killer novels (Pity Him Afterwards) as well as written in other genres. And that's just under his own name he has many successful pen name titles out there as well, the most famous being Richard Stark. So what's Somebody Owes Me Money about? Chet Conway a New York cab driver is annoyed when a well to do man gives him the tip to bet on a horse instead of cash. He decides even though he should have got cash the guy looked like he might know something and what purpose would he have to give him bad information so places a wager with his bookie in the hope of clearing some debt. To his surprise the long shot horse wins and he's done more than clear his debts, he's rich winning over $9000 (remember this was written back in 1969 so that's worth a lot more back then). Unfortunately when he goes to get the money he finds his bookie dead, whose wife finds him alerts the neighbours and he's staring down a hammer until the police arrive. To the police obviously he is a suspect but as Chet keeps coming back to the bookie's apartment in the hope of finding the wife or someone who he can collect his winnings from he becomes the main suspect in two rival mob gangs' eyes as well. Not only that but the bookie's beautiful sister has flown in from Vegas also after vengeance and also holds the belief he is the murderer. The only way Chet is going to make it out of this alive is to work out who really did kill his bookie. This is a sensational novel which is actually more enjoyable with the references to an earlier time such as landline telephones, a reference to the 90's which is obviously the 1890's and so for

I have to admit that The Kid got a little misty-eyed when he saw that Hard Case Crime had published SOMEBODY OWES ME MONEY by Donald E. Westlake. I had owned a copy of it the first time around but lost it in an ill-fated cross-country move in 1973. For the longest time it had been inexplicably out of print --- until now. Westlake has been a master craftsman for so long that it's difficult to remember a time when he wasn't around and doing excellent work. In SOMEBODY OWES ME MONEY we meet Chet Conway, a cab driver who lives with his dad and likes to play the ponies with an off-track New York betting establishment consisting of a one-man operation named Tommy McKay. Acting on a tip, he improbably wins. However, when he goes to collect his prize, Conway finds McKay dead with no money to be had. The cops are suspicious, as are two groups of mobsters who are shooting first and asking questions later. Conway is not a tough guy and wants nothing to do with criminals or the police; he simply wants the money he won in the bet. Conway does have one friend in this mess who has suddenly become his life: McKay's sister Abbie, an attractive, street-smart card dealer from Vegas who has flown to New York to avenge her brother's murder. She, too, initially blames Conway but soon settles down enough to try to find the real killer even as she is slowly but surely becoming attracted to him. The result is that they both wind up being pursued by rival gangs, each of whom thinks that Conway is in the other's employ. Conway soon realizes that, in order to resume a peaceful life, he's going to have to solve McKay's murder. Interestingly enough --- and here is where Westlake's subtle brilliance shines through --- while it is Conway's gambling habits that get him into this jam, it's also his gambling that ultimately reveals the true killer's identity. And you can guess who it is if you pay very close attention and if, like Conway when he places his racing bet, you are very lucky. I would be tempted to say that they don't write 'em like SOMEBODY OWES ME MONEY anymore, but that would be incorrect. Westlake continues to annually add to his incredible body of work. This treasure, once lost but now found, is a sheer joy from beginning to end. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Baseball, football and basketball all have their Halls of Fame. The equivalent among mystery writers would be the Grand Masters, a title awarded once a year to honor the lifetime achievement of a particular writer. The Grand Masters are the best of the best, and one of their most shining examples would be Donald Westlake. Westlake has been writing crime stories for over four decades, both under his own name and his pseudonym, Richard Stark (he has had other pseudonyms such as Tucker Coe that have long since been retired). As Stark, he writes the classic Parker novels featuring the thief with a heart of steel. Under his own name, he has written Oscar-nominated screenplays (The Grifters) and a whole string of novels that are often, but not always, comic. Somebody Owes Me Money, the latest Hard Case Crime book to feature Westlake, is one of those comic novels. The narrator of Somebody Owes Me Money is cab driver Chet Conway, an ordinary guy who likes to play the ponies, never getting seriously in debt but also never getting ahead. One of Chet's fares gives him a real tip: not money, but some inside information on a longshot that is certain to win. Conway takes a chance and on a small bet wins $930 (which in 1960's New York can go a long way). Unfortunately, when he comes to collect from his bookie, the man is dead, leaving Chet in a bind. For one thing, the police are now regarding him with suspicion; for another, he doesn't know who to collect his winnings from. What's worse, it turns out that the bookie was entangled with two rival gangs, both of which suspect Chet of the killing, as does the bookie's beautiful blonde sister. For self-preservation - and to get his money - Chet will have to try and solve this crime himself. As always, Westlake is a master of both suspense and humor, making this book a delight to read. If you're expecting one of Hard Case Crime's typical gritty pulp novels, this will be a bit of a surprise but no disappointment; you will get a nice example of what makes Westlake one of the very best in the business.

I'm really glad that Hard Case Crime has chosen to reprint this early Donald Westlake novel, not only because Somebody Owes Me Money is a really good book, but also for a more personal reason. I've been reading his series books for so long -- whether under his own name, or the Richard Stark pseudonym -- that I had really forgotten how good Westlake could be at standalone comic crime novels. The most eloquent cab driver in New York City, Chet Conway works nights so he can spend his days at the track (and he works days where there are no races). When he gets a tip on a horse instead of the usual spendable gratuity, Chet decides that a man who can calculate in his head the return on a $3.54 bet at 22-to-1 odds must know what he's talking about. But when Chet goes to pick up his winnings ("Almost a thousand dollars! I was rich!"), he finds his bookie Tommy McKay "spread out on the floor, sunny side up. With the yolk broken." And suddenly people start thinking he did it. Tommy's wife Louise, the police, the syndicate, etc. But nobody seems to know where he can go now to collect his $930.00 payoff. When Tommy's sister Abbie climbs into his cab, things take a definite turn for the worse. Chet gets shot in the head and has to recuperate at Tommy's place, where eventually every member of organized crime in the city treads through, wanting to know why Chet killed Tommy. Chet has to clear his name by figuring out the real killer. Somebody Owes Me Money is one of the few actual mysteries put out by Hard Case Crime. Off the top of my head I can only think of three, but they all involve licensed private investigators, as opposed to this amateur. After all, Chet may be eloquent, but, like all good crime protagonists, he's also a little dim. (Truly smart people manage to avoid these situations.) God Save the Mark is more wildly clever (it's Westlake's masterpiece, in my opinion), and any given Dortmunder book has more belly laughs, but Somebody Owes Me Money is still vastly entertaining (with an ending that is 180° from the typical whodunit) and yet another reason why every Donald E. Westlake book, even the lesser-known ones, should stay continuously in print.