What's So Funny?

First, the good news: John Dortmunder and his crew are back! And here's the better news: WHAT'S SO FUNNY? is one of the crown jewels in the caper series started by Donald E. Westlake 37 years ago. Westlake is one of America's greatest mystery writers. Nobody is better at writing hard-boiled, noir fiction. Under his own name he has penned terrifyingly dark novels, such as THE AX and THE HOOK. And under the pseudonym Richard Stark, Westlake writes the very dark series about the ruthless, amoral criminal known only as Parker. But Westlake can also make crime funny, as he has done in the series featuring John Dortmunder. In WHAT'S SO FUNNY? a shady former New York City cop describes Dortmunder this way: "If he were any more crooked, you could open wine bottles with him." Dortmunder is also a hard-working, decent enough if somewhat gloomy fellow not known for his physical prowess or bravery. After being forced to meet with the ex-cop who's blackmailing him, Dortmunder is left sitting in the bar "a sopping dishrag where there once had been a man." Longtime fans of the series would be disappointed if Dortmunder's partners in crime --- "the gang of five" --- did not help him out. And they are all here in their usual amusing ways. There is Andy Kelp, Dortmunder's righthand man and fellow professional burglar. When he needs a ride, Andy only steals the cars of doctors, figuring they see so much pain in life that they will treat themselves well in their choice of car. And again we encounter Stan Murch, the wheelman extraordinaire who can tell you exactly why it's better to head east into Queens first if you want to leave New York City and go upstate. This book also includes the "new guy" and apprentice crook, Judson Bliet, who we first met in the last installment of the series, WATCH YOUR BACK! No Dortmunder adventure would be complete without having Tiny around for the heavy lifting and persuasion work. Westlake describes Tiny: "Yes, there he stood, midblock, looking from a distance like a grand piano about to be hoisted through an upper-floor window." In this book, Dortmunder and the boys are forced to do a job for a dying millionaire who wants back the chess set stolen from his grandfather. But this is no ordinary chess set. It was designed as a birthday gift for the Czar of Russia who, unfortunately for him, was all out of birthday celebrations. The chess pieces are solid gold, studded with pearls and rubies. The entire set weighs 680 pounds. It seems that the set got lost in the mail during the Russian Revolution and ended up in the possession of 10 greedy American soldiers, nine of whom were cheated out of their share of the fortune after they returned to America. Now the set resides securely in the basement vault of a New York City bank. For Dortmunder, the mission is simple and quite impossible: steal the chess set or be sent back to prison by the ex-cop. As with all books in this series, New York City is a main character. These nonviolent

Donald E. Westlake has been bringing joy to readers for decades. Dortmunder's gang of burglars takes on a new caper; as in past adventures, ridiculous obstacles pile up, making you laugh out loud, even as you groan. Westlake is a national treasure and all his books should be required reading.

I've been reading Westlake's Dortmunder books for years. This one is funnier than many. Also, much of Westlake's phrasing is refreshing. Right after reading this one, I read Joan Hess's new Claire Molloy book. Her phrasing is so trite compared to Westlake.

Former cop turned private investigator Johnny Eppick has evidence that could lead to the arrest of robber John Dortmunder. However, instead of turning it in to his former peers, the sleuth blackmails Dortmunder into doing a simple job for him. He is to steal a chess set once owned by a long dead Czar that Eppick's client believes belongs to him. The chess set is inside a secure Manhattan subterranean vault under a bank that has lawyers' offices above it. In the attorneys' offices the Northwood family argues vehemently over who rightfully not necessarily legally owns the chess set although the claims of ownership ties to the looter who took it from Russia and not to the Czar. Dortmunder realizes he has limited access to the bank or office spaces above and that the vault has more security guards than the Green Zone contains. Thus if he can't go to the mountain he must find a way to move the mountain to give him easier access. Proving that a baker's dozen retains a humorous freshness, the latest Dortmunder crime caper is a delightful amusing tale with a cast of a zillion seemingly playing chess with one another on the same board. Readers will wonder how Dortmunder will pull off the theft as he spends much of the first half of the droll story line feeling checked with every move he makes. Fans of the series will appreciate his escapades as he struggles to checkmate a horde of adversaries including the sleuth blackmailing him. Harriet Klausner

Donald Westlake is an acknowledged grand master of the comic crime novel (although his more "serious" fiction is also excellent; his black humor novel "The Ax" is one of the most incisive indictments of the callousness of American business I have ever read), and nowhere is this talent more evident than in the "Dortmunder" series, "What's So Funny?" being the lucky thirteenth. As always, the plot centers around the exploits of John Dortmunder, a clever but hapless master criminal, and his circle of associates. They are not incompetent, just unlucky. Very unlucky. And, as always, despite the best of plans and preparations, Dortmunder's crime goes astray. In the past, the Dortmunder gang has stolen about everything under the sun; this time, the quarry is a fabulous bejeweled solid gold chess set securely held in a high security bank vault, and a reluctant Dortmunder is blackmailed into trying to steal it. I think "What's So Funny?" is the best and funniest Dortmunder novel in years. Perhaps for a while in the last few novels, Westlake had let his focus wander overly much from Dortmunder and the crime, but in this novel his focus is sharp and clear. Welcome back, Dortmunder.