Comic novel about a compulsive practical joker in prison. I can’t believe I’ve never read Westlake before this year. Definitely more in my future.

PS: i came across this 1975 printing on my own shelves in December 2017 and put it aside to read, which I did in September 2018. In the interim, I read Don’t Lie to Me, one of Westlake’s Tucker Coes, mainly because it was a nice hardback gathering dust on some other shelves. I thought it was a really good book.

Only after I had read Help and written the above brief “review” (comments, really) did I discover Hard Case had republished Help in February 2018 after it had been out of print for 30 years. (Don’t Lie to me is even more neglected; after an initial publication and paperback reprint in 1972-1974, it fell out of print until Five Star picked it up in 2001. More recently, Mysterious Press published it as ebook only.)

So, my full exposure to Westlake has been two books that sank quickly into obscurity. I’ve never read any of his Richard Starks. I’ve never read any of the Dortmunders. Without having any preconceived expectations, I loved both Help and Don’t Lie to Me. ( )

Harry Künt (WITH an umlaut, and pronounced KOONT) finds himself in prison after pulling one practical joke too many, resulting in the accidental injury of two Congressmen (and the women – not their wives – who accompanied them). The warden warns him to keep out of trouble and Harry wholeheartedly agrees. But when he’s assigned work detail in the gym he winds up part of a gang who is planning the perfect crime. Being in prison, they’ll have the perfect alibi.

Westlake excelled at writing comic crime capers, where something always goes wrong, but no one is shot or seriously injured. There are plenty of escapades herein and some were laugh-out-loud funny. It’s a bit dated (needing a dime to make a collect call at a pay phone, for example), but it’s still good, clean fun.

A quick, enjoyable read. ( )