This book really takes the mystery / noir genre back to basics, or at least, the basics of the genre in the early 1960s. The story itself is solid, and sad, and classic Westlake, but just as good is the amazing sense of the world changing under the feet of the characters, from Ray Kelly, the protagonist, to the mobsters he eventually meets. ( )

361, published originally back in 1962 and in 2005 by Hard Case Crime, is a classic hardboiled detective story. Things go bad for the protagonist - his father is killed, while he ends up with a gimp foot and a blind eye - and then, it gets worse.

Like in any hardboiled novel worth the label, 361 has plenty of action, both gunfights and fistfights. The hero empties a bottle of booze about every two pages. This is definitely not high literature, but 361 is a gripping book I'm sure many people will read in one sitting. It has great entertainment value, simply put.

(Original review at my review blog.) ( )

Westlake in top form.