Bad News

“John Dortmunder was a man on whom the sun shone only when he needed darkness.”

A good first sentence to a good first chapter of this book! One in which John pretends that he fell asleep in a store when it closed for the night! Pretty smart!

“This job has too many graveyards in it, he said. ‘He’ being Dortmunder. And definitely, he's right! This caper has to do with attempting to match a DNA sample with a corpse in order to try to inherit part of the rights to an "Indian" casino! Of course, this being Dortmunder, it doesn't go easy, or the way it was planned! Not even close!

It's not quite as funny as other books in this series, and there isn't as much action. But it's still John and friends, and still worth the read! show more Unfortunately, it is my last read in this series, which is a total bummer. Maybe in a few years I'll revisit the collection, and this time read them in order! show less

Donald E. Westlake's Dortmunder series is always good value and Bad News doesn't disappoint. This caper involves Dortmunder and his gang swapping corpses at a grave yard and all the resulting shenanigans that comes with trying to run a scam about getting a Native American woman officially accepted as a different tribe. A lot of funny lines and situations and, for a change, Dortmunder's misfortunes aren't all encompassing.

A classic example of Donald E. Westlake's humorous crime fiction - more caper story than classic style mystery - with plenty of unexpected turns as the story progresses.

This is the second book I've read in the Dortmunder series. Wasn't crazy about the first (Drowned Hopes -- Dortmunder #7) but I've always been a fan of Westlake's other work so I decided to give the series another try. So glad I did.

At first things go unusually well for Dortmunder and crew (at one point Dortmunder actually says, "Everything's going too easy"). He and his pal Andy Kelp stumble into the middle of a scheme that involves switching 70-year-old corpses from one grave site to another. They quickly outclass the original schemers and deal themselves in on the show more deal... and everything goes great... until it doesn't. The whole thing turns into another hilarious chapter in the ongoing trials, tribulations and misfortunes that is the life of professional criminal John Dortmunder.

The story takes off pretty quickly, and though it slows down in a few spots it keeps up the pace well enough that the reader doesn't lose interest or get sidetracked from what's going on. It doesn't exactly leave you on the edge of your seat but it does make you want to keep turning the pages to find out what will happen next.

There were several points where I started to get a little bit ahead of the plot, guessing where the story was going and why, but almost every time I thought I had it all nailed down there was an unexpected twist to things that I didn't see coming. A delight from start to finish.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a quirky crime story that features eccentric characters and fun twists. show less

The tenth in the series and my favorite so far. Maybe not quite as amusing as some of the others, but interesting capers, complications and characters.
Unlike most of the others in the series, I hadn't read this one before listening to the Audible version so it was all fresh. The narrator does a fine job, not as colorful with his characterizations as Jeff Woodman or Brian Holsopple but enough to differentiate the different speakers easily.
Thoroughly enjoyable.

Mildly amusing story of John Dortmunder and his criminal friends who try to scam a casino on an Indian reservation out of a lot of money. This was completely from the criminals' perspective but it was humourous and not violent. Was written well enough but was only somewhat interesting to me.

Interesting read. I had to keep from laughing in order to finish the book.

Fun to read, but then I'm a sucker for 'caper' stories, especially ones with a comic bent.