Rating: 
Summary: THE GOOD NEWS IS "BAD NEWS"
Review: Finally, after five long years, Dortmunder is back along with his ever-loving May and his sidekicks-in-crime Andy Kelp, Tiny Boucher, Stan Murch and Murch's Mom. "So, who's Dortmunder," you ask? Well, where have you been for the past quarter of a century? He's just main character in the most hilarious crime caper series ever created. He's...well, actually, the author tells you everything you need to know about the character in the opening line of this book. "John Dortmunder was a man on whom the sun shown only when he needed darkness." Things always seem to go wrong whenever Dortmunder plans the perfect crime. And rest assured, as you might expect author, Donald E. Westlake, has invented new and side-splitting ways for things to go wrong during this visitation. John Dortmunder is your basic professional (or unprofessional) breaking and entering artist, a.k.a. burglar. So how does your basic burglar end up in the middle of con caper digging up the remains of a long dead Native American, a.k.a. Indian? Well, it's probably because he didn't get the thousand bucks for the cameras he was stealing from the Speedshop before he got locked in the optical department. And that all takes place in the first few pages of this new page-turner. Dortmunder fans will really enjoy this new adventure. And yes, there is the mandatory visit to O. J. Bar and Grill on Amsterdam Avenue where the discussion of "the regulars" centers on the names of Santa's reindeer and the seven dwarfs. If you're not a fan, get this book and you soon will be! As for author, Donald E. Westlake (a.k.a. John B. Allan, Tucker Coe, Curt Clark, Timothy J. Culver, Morgan J. Cunningham, Samuel Holt and Richard Stark), I've been a fan for almost as long as he's been writing - which is almost, but not quite as long I I've been reading. The bad news about Bad News is I read it too fast and now I'll have to wait five years for the next Dortmunder!
Rating: 
Summary: Dortmunder's Weakest Adventure
Review: Given that the two immediately preceding Dortmunder novels, Drowned Hopes & What's the Worst That Could Happen, were perhaps the best in the long-running series, I was anxiously awaiting Bad News. How could Westlake possibly top the delightful, witty, cleverly plotted "What's the Worst"? Well the answer is that he hasn't. Sad to say, Bad News is the weakest Dortmunder novel to date. The book's biggest problem is that it almost isn't a Dortmunder novel at all. While the morose Dortmunder & his friends are present, the focus of things is an elaborate con job & not the tightly planned robberies of most of the books. As a result, our heroes spend much of the book literally sitting around in a hotel room waiting for things to happen that never quite do. Later on, towards the end of the book, they do get to strut their stuff a bit, but it's too little, too contrived, & too late for this book to be saved. Since the usual characters have so little to do, attention focuses on the Runyonesque bit players who often provide much of the humor in a Dortmunder book. But here they are over-used, forced to carry too much of the plot, & they just aren't interesting enough to make us care. Westlake's writing is often perfunctory here--he does get off some of his usual excellent similes but the descriptions of planning & carrying out the crime get tedious. Bad News is a disappointment. But that won't stop me from haunting the bookstore waiting for the next installment of John Dortmunder & his cronies.
Rating: 
Summary: Hooray! He's Back!
Review: How wonderful to have John Dortmunder back in action, and in a book that is absolutely up to par with his best adventures. And after five years without a new Dortmunder, it's fun to read one that feels current, with the Internet and cell phones as part of the story. The whole gang is back - May, Andy Kelp, Tiny Bulcher, Stan Murch and even Stan's cab-driving mom, once again pulling off her helpless little old lady routine with aplumb. This time they're forced to work with outsiders, and initially in the humiliating role of grave robbers after Dortmunder's latest caper, a mall camera-heist, goes sour. But John rightly doesn't trust his new employers, and he soon goes from "bozo" to partner, finding a way to weasel himself and Andy in on the action. The pace is fast, the plot twists inventive, and the writing smooth as ever. Even if you've never read Westlake, you'll jump right in, and the good news is you'll get a kick out of Bad News.
Rating:
Summary: Great News!!
Review: I am new to the Dortmunder series and I have been listening to several as books on tape (Don't Ask, The Hot Rock, Good Behavior, Bank Shot, Nobody's Perfect Jimmy the Kid) all in the last few months (as well as Put a Lid on it and The Axe) I had never heard of Dortmunder or Westlake and never read fiction. So as a novice to the genre I have to say that I find Mr. Westlake to be a remarkable communicator. His writing brings me into the action and I laugh out loud and feel the tension as if I was sitting there with the gang. I am hesitant to disagree with those more experienced reviewers when it come to this series but I found this book to be the best of the lot (understanding I think all of the are 5 Stars).....I think maybe because of the order I have been reading I was getting a little too comfortable with the Dortmunder formula and this one seems to take me just enough out of that formula to keep me going. I love Mr. Westlakes development of characters (although some of the Indian characters were his weakes) and the twists and turns that are his trademarks ( I also read The Axe and it was GREAT). I strongly encourage you to read this book or listen to it on tape...you will not be disappointed!! The only weak part for me was the regular guys at the bar scene that I so look forward to....but even that was good. Read this book and any of the others in the series...I am pressing on to try and finish all of the Dortmunders series in the next few months!!
Rating:
Summary: A slightly weaker link in a very strong chain
Review: If you're like me, when you pick up a new book in a beloved series, you feel a combination of hope and fear. Well, Dortmunder fans, hope a bit less and fear a bit more. But buy the book anyway. Sure, Bad News is not as good as the best Dortmunder novels, certainly not as funny as the recent series entries. Remember, though - it's possible for a book to be not as good as almost all the other ones in *this* series and still be better than most things published in the genre this year. That's what's happening here. This is the tale of a Simple Plan, like all the other Dortmunder books; it's just that in this case, the plan belongs to some other folks. At first. After a while, though, Tiny, Andy, and John are in, and most of the original group is naked in the back of various long-haul semis. The plot turns and dips just as you'd expect from a Westlake book, and it's great fun to be along for the roller coaster ride. There's a few things missing from Bad News, though. The first one is the humor. Oh, sure, it's in there, but not to the extent of the other books, many of which it's impossible to read without risking laughter-related abdominal injuries. Bad News has a few laugh-out-loud moments and a lot of quick smiles, and then it's over. So, not bad, but - not quite what a longtime fan of the series fantasizes about in Dortmunder hiatuses. The other notable absence from Bad News: the support crew. Stan and Murch's Mom make quick appearances, and Anne Marie shows up again, but beyond that, well, no unbalanced lockmen, no behatted extra drivers, no former vice presidents of various nations, none of those folks. I, at least, missed these people, and wish there'd been a bit more room in the book for them. They're replaced by Fitzroy (who reminds me of a certain character in The Princess Bride), Irwin (standard issue), and Little Feather. Frankly, I'd rather have the regular guys. Finally, for a hardcover book, my copy is rather poorly bound. I buy hardcovers because I expect to read and read and read them - which I probably will with this book, flaws and all - and I doubt this one will stand the test of time. After one read through, treating it very kindly, the spine is already starting to show symptoms of wear and creakiness, and some of the page groups don't look very firmly set, with gaps and so forth. There's also a certain ineffable feeling of cheapness about the book's production; the paper is lower quality than I'd want, there's no spine overlay, it's all just a bit - shoddy feeling. First editions, especially of this series, deserve better treatment than this. All in all, though, Bad News is still a book worth reading, a book worth having, and certainly a book far better than those available in this genre in the non-Dortmunder years. But those who are wondering whether to buy it in hardback or softcover, know this: I wish I'd waited to buy it in paperback. I could've saved the fourteen bucks for the next Dortmunder novel. (Let it come soon!)
Rating:
Summary: A welcomed return
Review: It is always good when a new Westlake novel hits the stands, but we are discovering that it is getting harder and harder for Donald to surpass his past work. I know that he still has a lot of good stories in his head, but when you write something like "Drowned Hopes" and "The Hook" how is it even possible to do better? There were some good moments in the latest Dorkmunder novel, but it felt a little flat at times. I kept waiting for the moment when he would grab me by the funny bone and run away. It didn't happen this time. It was still an enjoyable novel, backed by a very imaginative concept, but it never really took off. Could it be that John is starting to feel his age? Something that I haven't seen in past novels in the series is Dorkmunder's ability to outthink the opponent. Maybe Donald is trying to show us a different side of John and his partners. I did like seeing Tiny take a bigger part in the story. I slowly came to realize that the whole gang has slowly become domesticated. Could this be a reflection of Donald's real life? If so, he has done a good job of showing us how it affects the easy-going crooks we have grown to love. If you are a fan of Donald Westlake, you can't afford to pass up any novel he publishes, but keep the faith that some day he will find a way to outdo himself and offer us something even more outrageous than "Drowned Hopes".
Rating:
Summary: Bad News is Good News
Review: Looking to wash the taste of the non-adaptation of "What's the Worst That Could Happen?" from your mouth? Read this charming addition to the Dortmunder series. While it's not quite perfect - there's not quite enough Dortmunder and friends, and the new characters introduced are not felshed out too well - but the caper is clever and Westlake skewers the usual derserving suspects. The writing is sharp and the story is perfectly paced. Great for both new and old fans of Dortmunder, if not in the same league as the real "What's the Worst." But most definitely worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Dortmunder rules!
Review: Mr. Westlake seems to be a neverending source of new and great storylines featuring his famous hero - the robber and perfect planner John Dortmunder. "Bad News" is not an exception. Moreover, I must say that "Bad News" is the best Dortmunder novel so far. You will meet well-known Dortmunder's pals Andy Kelp, Stan Murch [with his mom] and Tiny Bulcher as well as several new [but created with the same detailed perfection] characters - captious organizer Fitzroy Guilderpost, ex-teacher Irwin Gabel and Indian casino showgirl Little Feather Redcorn. So, what to steal this time? Nothing more crazy than a corpse of a dead Indian of Pottaknobbee tribe. Why? To replace the body with Little Feather's dead great grandfather to take over a prosperous Indian casino by proving that Little Feather is a descendant of the last one of the Pottaknobbee which have a right to own one third of the whole casino. As a reader of Westlake's comic crime novels can suppose, the plan will fail on some particular reason but nothing like it can knock off a man like Dortmunder and there is always a way how to be a step before the opponents. Even in case you never read any Dortmunder book you can start with Bad News because the art of author's storytelling and sense of humor is so marvelous that you will go through the whole book at once without looking at the last page to see how many pages remain.
Rating:
Summary: Bad News Whodunit
Review: So where'd Redcorn's casket ever end up? Did Fitzroy ever take back possesion of the van Kelp had been moving from train parking lot to train parking lot?
Still a heckuva fun read. Reading (and rereading) the Dortmunders are like running into long lost friends.
Here's hoping Little Feather joins the gang in the next adventure!
Rating:
Summary: Who Moved My DNA?
Review: The premise for this crime caper is an excellent one. If DNA tests don't lie, how can you beat one? Donald E. Westlake takes that idea and turns it in every possible way, and the results bring some very serious fun. At its best, this book is vintage Donald Westlake and John Dortmunder. At its worst, Bad News hints at the best but definitely falls short. Dortmunder's development of a plan and the final resolution are both well below Mr. Westlake's best. As usual in the series, the book opens with John Dortmunder having unexpected trouble with an effort to burgle a discount store to raise a little extra cash. As always, he uses his quick wits and preparation to escape. But the original plan and effort seem well beneath his best thinking. Through the Internet, Andy Kelp gets John involved with two men (Fitzroy Guilderpost and Irwin Gabel) and a woman (Shirley Ann Farroff, a.k.a. Little Feather Redcorn) who are putting a scam together. Andy and John are hired to do the heavy lifting, but soon cut themselves into the deal. In a few weeks, they are deep into the geneology of the Pottaknobbee tribe as a way to make a run at the Silver Chasm Casino on Native American land in upstate New York. The only trouble is, there's not much for John to do. He finds it very boring. What's even worse, that makes him nervous, " . . . [T]he problem is, everything's going too easy." Although they are all partners (including Tiny Bulcher), it really seems like they are really two partnerships in competition to cut each other out of the deal (and possibly even cut down each other as well). Suddenly, all bets are off and John has five days to pull a rabbit out of the hat. In a remarkably inventive subplot, he does. You'll enjoy this part as much as any Dortmunder book you've read before. As usual, the ultimate payoff isn't quite as big or as soon as Dortmunder had hoped. But he feels better about himself. Now, that's worth something, isn't it? On the other hand, if you've read all the Dortmunder novels and loved them, you should be sure to read this one. It's good enough to provide for a pleasant reading experience. After you read this book, think about other places where technology seems to hold all of the answers. Where will it not work? Look for the reality behind the appearance in everything you do!
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