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Money for Nothing
One of America's best-loved authors returns with a delightfully chilling new stand-alone in the vein of his bestsellers The Ax and The Hook. Josh Redmont was 27 when the first check arrived, and he had absolutely no idea what it was for. Issued by "United States Agent" through an unnamed bank with an indeterminate address in D.C., someone seemed to think Josh was owed $1,000. One month later, another check arrived, and then another, and another...and Josh cashed them all. Month after month, year after year, never a peep from the IRS, never an explanation for all this seemingly found money; the checks even followed Josh from one address to another as he moved through life. Now, after a full seven years, we find him on his way to meet the wife and kids for a summer vacation. Puzzled by the approach of a smiling stranger, Josh's stomach seizes with dread when the unwanted greeting begins with, "I am from United States Agent." Dumbstruck, Josh attempts to feign ignorance until he hears the words, "You are now active."
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
70 people are currently reading
326 people want to read
About the author
Donald E. Westlake
434 books952 followersDonald E. Westlake (1933-2008) was one of the most prolific and talented authors of American crime fiction. He began his career in the late 1950's, churning out novels for pulp houses—often writing as many as four novels a year under various pseudonyms such as Richard Stark—but soon began publishing under his own name. His most well-known characters were John Dortmunder, an unlucky thief, and Parker, a ruthless criminal. His writing earned him three Edgar Awards: the 1968 Best Novel award for God Save the Mark; the 1990 Best Short Story award for "Too Many Crooks"; and the 1991 Best Motion Picture Screenplay award for The Grifters. In addition, Westlake also earned a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1993.
Westlake's cinematic prose and brisk dialogue made his novels attractive to Hollywood, and several motion pictures were made from his books, with stars such as Lee Marvin and Mel Gibson. Westlake wrote several screenplays himself, receiving an Academy Award nomination for his adaptation of The Grifters, Jim Thompson's noir classic.
Some of the pseudonyms he used include
• Richard Stark
• Timothy J. Culver
• Tucker Coe
• Curt Clark
• J. Morgan Cunningham
• Judson Jack Carmichael
• D.E. Westlake
• Donald I. Vestlejk
• Don Westlake
Westlake's cinematic prose and brisk dialogue made his novels attractive to Hollywood, and several motion pictures were made from his books, with stars such as Lee Marvin and Mel Gibson. Westlake wrote several screenplays himself, receiving an Academy Award nomination for his adaptation of The Grifters, Jim Thompson's noir classic.
Some of the pseudonyms he used include
• Richard Stark
• Timothy J. Culver
• Tucker Coe
• Curt Clark
• J. Morgan Cunningham
• Judson Jack Carmichael
• D.E. Westlake
• Donald I. Vestlejk
• Don Westlake
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
November 13, 2012
Ethics pop quiz: Let’s say you started receiving a check for a $1000 every month from a company you never heard of. The check is valid. You had no idea why you were getting the money. You make a few efforts to contact the company but the address is incomplete and no one ever answers a phone number listed on the check. Would you go ahead and start depositing them? Really? You wouldn’t? Come on. It’s free money! Go ahead. What’s the worst that could happen? You’re going to do it? Good for you.
Sucker!
Josh Redmont is a typical 20-something guy struggling to start a career in New York when he receives a check for $1000 from a company called U.S. Agent. He has no idea why but the check clears. Josh is cautious, but he could use the money. The checks keep coming monthly. Time passes. Josh changes addresses, gets a good job, marries, has a son, and the checks still deliver every month. Seven years later, they’re just a part of his life that he barely thinks about even though he’s never told his wife about them.
Then one day a mysterious man approaches him and says, “I’m with U.S. Agent. You are now active.” Josh is about to learn that there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
This is another unique scenario from Westlake, but despite the clever idea, it doesn’t have the emotional kick or psychological suspense of books like The Ax or The Hook. This is the only time I’m aware of when it seems like Westlake couldn’t decide whether the story is supposed to be serious or funny. Some elements are deadly serious, but some of the characters and situations are very humorous. It makes for a bit of an odd tone and keeps the book from delivering fully. There’s also a lot of loose threads in the plot.
Still a good Westlake novel, but not one of his best in any genre.
Sucker!
Josh Redmont is a typical 20-something guy struggling to start a career in New York when he receives a check for $1000 from a company called U.S. Agent. He has no idea why but the check clears. Josh is cautious, but he could use the money. The checks keep coming monthly. Time passes. Josh changes addresses, gets a good job, marries, has a son, and the checks still deliver every month. Seven years later, they’re just a part of his life that he barely thinks about even though he’s never told his wife about them.
Then one day a mysterious man approaches him and says, “I’m with U.S. Agent. You are now active.” Josh is about to learn that there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
This is another unique scenario from Westlake, but despite the clever idea, it doesn’t have the emotional kick or psychological suspense of books like The Ax or The Hook. This is the only time I’m aware of when it seems like Westlake couldn’t decide whether the story is supposed to be serious or funny. Some elements are deadly serious, but some of the characters and situations are very humorous. It makes for a bit of an odd tone and keeps the book from delivering fully. There’s also a lot of loose threads in the plot.
Still a good Westlake novel, but not one of his best in any genre.
November 7, 2017
Funniest novel by Donald E. Westlake I've read so far but then I've never read any of the Dortmunder books.
Set up goes like this: Josh Redmont began receiving $1,000 a month from something (a business? a beloved but forgotten uncle?) calling itself "United States Agent" located in Washington, D.C. on K Street, full address and bank info withheld.
However, the checks are cashed with no problems on his end.
This goes on for seven years. Josh marries, has a child, and one day a gentleman approaches him and tells him, "you are now activated."
The comedy of terrors begins.
Action-packed novel with laugh-out-loud segment after laugh-out-loud segment.
Thoroughly enjoyable variation on the reluctant-spy novel served up by the master of the suspense thriller.
As with every Westlake I've read, recommended.
NOTE: my copy is a trade paperback Advance Reading Copy. Typos a'plenty.
Set up goes like this: Josh Redmont began receiving $1,000 a month from something (a business? a beloved but forgotten uncle?) calling itself "United States Agent" located in Washington, D.C. on K Street, full address and bank info withheld.
However, the checks are cashed with no problems on his end.
This goes on for seven years. Josh marries, has a child, and one day a gentleman approaches him and tells him, "you are now activated."
The comedy of terrors begins.
Action-packed novel with laugh-out-loud segment after laugh-out-loud segment.
Thoroughly enjoyable variation on the reluctant-spy novel served up by the master of the suspense thriller.
As with every Westlake I've read, recommended.
NOTE: my copy is a trade paperback Advance Reading Copy. Typos a'plenty.
February 2, 2025
What would you do if you received an untraceable ,unsolicited check each month for $1000.00. No explanation. No viable return address. Payable to you.
Even after you move, correctly addressed to your new residence : $1,000.00.
For seven years……..
Donald Westlake wrote well over 50 novels in his career, mostly crime novels in the “caper” or “heist” style popular for over 35 years in movies like THE HOT ROCK, THE STING, THE GETAWAY, THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, OCEANS ELEVEN ; predictable-all with slick but likeable bad guys , gorgeous female accomplices, fast cars and a Hollywood-y happy ending.
MONEY FOR NOTHING is a departure for Westlake : a spy thriller. This time we have an ordinary good guy, one wife, a two year old and a family car; I don’t see a movie here. BUT there is a femme fatale, some seriously bad guys and a definite Hollywood ending.
A little dated maybe but still a good read. Tense. A definite page-turner.
Prefer your old fashioned caper/heist novels ?
Crime writing with a sense of humor ?
Try a Westlake featuring John Dortmunder.
Even after you move, correctly addressed to your new residence : $1,000.00.
For seven years……..
Donald Westlake wrote well over 50 novels in his career, mostly crime novels in the “caper” or “heist” style popular for over 35 years in movies like THE HOT ROCK, THE STING, THE GETAWAY, THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, OCEANS ELEVEN ; predictable-all with slick but likeable bad guys , gorgeous female accomplices, fast cars and a Hollywood-y happy ending.
MONEY FOR NOTHING is a departure for Westlake : a spy thriller. This time we have an ordinary good guy, one wife, a two year old and a family car; I don’t see a movie here. BUT there is a femme fatale, some seriously bad guys and a definite Hollywood ending.
A little dated maybe but still a good read. Tense. A definite page-turner.
Prefer your old fashioned caper/heist novels ?
Crime writing with a sense of humor ?
Try a Westlake featuring John Dortmunder.
October 16, 2020
____________________________________
I Want My. . .I Want My. . .I Want My KGB
___________________________________
In Money for Nothing, a young slacker finds himself in dire straits. (Hey, I couldn't help it, all right). He's getting his checks for free. (Sorry. Sorry. I think I've got it out of my system now.) Let me start again.
In Money for Nothing, Josh Redmont, a college student is surprised when he starts receiving a $1000 check in the mail every month. He doesn't know who sent them or why, so, of course, he cashes them and spends the money. (Let's just say, he's not going to school on a Genius Grant,) And he keeps cashing them each month for seven years. Then, one day, a nice Russian gentleman from the KGB informs him that his cell of sleeper agents has been activated and that Josh has a little job to do--no big deal, just a minor assassination.
I had read several Donald Westlake books, most of them lighthearted novels about the unlucky burglar John Dortmunder. I was delighted with the Dortmunder stories; they manage to combine the excitement of the caper genre with the laughs of a good comic novel. I don't have those same good feelings about Money for Nothing.
The plot of Money for Nothing is thin enough to be a cover model for Vogue magazine. The characters aren't much better. Westlake doesn't waste more than a few paragraphs on Josh's wife and child; they are there only to illicit your sympathy for Josh. Its hard to have any sympathy for Josh, himself; he is shallow and clueless, not the sort the reader wants to identify with. The humor, . . .well, perhaps two grins and guffhaw in the entire book. If you want to read funny crime novels, try the Dortmunder series or perhaps Fugitive Pigeon, another first rate novel by Westlake.
This novel is not up to Westlake's normal standards. If only someone had been looking over Westlake's shoulder when he was writing Money for Nothing, someone who could have said, "That ain't working. Here's the way you do it."
____________________________________
You play the guitar on the MTV
That ain't workin' that's the way you do it
Money for nothin' and your checks for free
I want my...I want my...I want my MTV
...............................--Dire Straits 1985
___________________________________
I Want My. . .I Want My. . .I Want My KGB
___________________________________
In Money for Nothing, a young slacker finds himself in dire straits. (Hey, I couldn't help it, all right). He's getting his checks for free. (Sorry. Sorry. I think I've got it out of my system now.) Let me start again.
In Money for Nothing, Josh Redmont, a college student is surprised when he starts receiving a $1000 check in the mail every month. He doesn't know who sent them or why, so, of course, he cashes them and spends the money. (Let's just say, he's not going to school on a Genius Grant,) And he keeps cashing them each month for seven years. Then, one day, a nice Russian gentleman from the KGB informs him that his cell of sleeper agents has been activated and that Josh has a little job to do--no big deal, just a minor assassination.
I had read several Donald Westlake books, most of them lighthearted novels about the unlucky burglar John Dortmunder. I was delighted with the Dortmunder stories; they manage to combine the excitement of the caper genre with the laughs of a good comic novel. I don't have those same good feelings about Money for Nothing.
The plot of Money for Nothing is thin enough to be a cover model for Vogue magazine. The characters aren't much better. Westlake doesn't waste more than a few paragraphs on Josh's wife and child; they are there only to illicit your sympathy for Josh. Its hard to have any sympathy for Josh, himself; he is shallow and clueless, not the sort the reader wants to identify with. The humor, . . .well, perhaps two grins and guffhaw in the entire book. If you want to read funny crime novels, try the Dortmunder series or perhaps Fugitive Pigeon, another first rate novel by Westlake.
This novel is not up to Westlake's normal standards. If only someone had been looking over Westlake's shoulder when he was writing Money for Nothing, someone who could have said, "That ain't working. Here's the way you do it."
____________________________________
You play the guitar on the MTV
That ain't workin' that's the way you do it
Money for nothin' and your checks for free
I want my...I want my...I want my MTV
...............................--Dire Straits 1985
___________________________________
February 6, 2009
The new year sadly rolled in with the loss of one of our best writers. Money for Nothing rambles a bit too much and takes too many unlikely turns to rank as topflight Westlake, but it proves again how effortless he could make the tough stuff seem. Even the opening premise (years of untraceable checks whose origins our hero has grown out of concerning himself with) has that marvelous stamp of familiarity pivoted slightly out of skew. And I'll sorely miss any chronicler of human nature observant and witty enough to toss off the following in 2003:
"Fortunately," the man went on, "the Americans don't go in much for torture, at least not when there's a public light on things, so Mr. Nimrin never had to worry about that."
His last book is due this summer. I plan to pick it up the day it's published, then set it aside till I've finished the rest. (I've literally dozens to go.) So that, for a few more years at least, there'll always be one more Westlake to read.
"Fortunately," the man went on, "the Americans don't go in much for torture, at least not when there's a public light on things, so Mr. Nimrin never had to worry about that."
His last book is due this summer. I plan to pick it up the day it's published, then set it aside till I've finished the rest. (I've literally dozens to go.) So that, for a few more years at least, there'll always be one more Westlake to read.
August 17, 2020
A novel that includes many of the things that I dislike in my crime novels, including slow pacing, not much action, and a few weak attempts at humor.
Not a painful read and one that other crime fans would probably enjoy, but really not for me.
Not a painful read and one that other crime fans would probably enjoy, but really not for me.
March 19, 2016
Another reminder why Westlake was such a master. He manages this plot of a regular guy getting entangled with international intrigue with his usual sly humor, snappy dialog, and clever plot turns.
May 30, 2023
A schlub's been getting checks from a mysterious source for years, never knowing what they were for. Now, years later, he is "activated," but has no idea for what.
It's all a big espionage mess. Funny in a Westlakian way.
It's all a big espionage mess. Funny in a Westlakian way.
November 12, 2009
Once again, fooled by packaging: since the cover of this book reminded me of the design of Westlake's Dortmunder books, I jumped to the conclusion (albeit, helped by the fact that this was the only Westlake on the shelves at St. Marks Bookstore which I hadn't read) that this was a Dortmunder novel. Consequently, I spent the first few chapters trying to figure out how Andy Kelp was going to insinuate himself into the procedings.
In the event, and once I got over my disappointment, I found this to be a quite fairly clever piece, if not up to the humorous standards I had expected. The character of Mitchell Robbie, the insouciant very off Broadway theater proprieter, was especially entertaining, and made a great foil to the protagonist's straight man. The book reminded me of Edmund Crispin's Gervase Fen novels, which is quite fairly high praise.
In the event, and once I got over my disappointment, I found this to be a quite fairly clever piece, if not up to the humorous standards I had expected. The character of Mitchell Robbie, the insouciant very off Broadway theater proprieter, was especially entertaining, and made a great foil to the protagonist's straight man. The book reminded me of Edmund Crispin's Gervase Fen novels, which is quite fairly high praise.
March 1, 2018
Maybe only 3.5 stars. Good, but not great. Still recommended.
December 9, 2025
I just loved this Novel !
And if you are a man - you would love it just as much:
The story may start slow and intellectual...then adds a little humor...then comes the intruigue along the way...ooooh - sexy femme fatale also on the sidelines...and then KABOOOM !
Here comes the action - especially since it comes from a "regular shlop", like any man that doesn't stir up trouble.
I would LOVE to see this book turn into a movie - because there's lots going on !
Reading this book was already like watching a very entertaining thriller action movie...
Think if James Bond and Deadpool had a mentally challenged brother, that actually thought he would get money for free from somewhere....
And if you are a man - you would love it just as much:
The story may start slow and intellectual...then adds a little humor...then comes the intruigue along the way...ooooh - sexy femme fatale also on the sidelines...and then KABOOOM !
Here comes the action - especially since it comes from a "regular shlop", like any man that doesn't stir up trouble.
I would LOVE to see this book turn into a movie - because there's lots going on !
Reading this book was already like watching a very entertaining thriller action movie...
Think if James Bond and Deadpool had a mentally challenged brother, that actually thought he would get money for free from somewhere....
Want to read
March 2, 2020Here's Jo Walton's take:
"Re-read. This guy gets a check for $1000 from “United States Agent.” Then the next month he gets another. He puts them in the bank. Seventeen years later he gets activated, and shenanigans ensue. Breathless pace, I read it all in one afternoon, Westlake at his most unputdownable."
https://www.tor.com/2020/02/05/jo-wal...
"Re-read. This guy gets a check for $1000 from “United States Agent.” Then the next month he gets another. He puts them in the bank. Seventeen years later he gets activated, and shenanigans ensue. Breathless pace, I read it all in one afternoon, Westlake at his most unputdownable."
https://www.tor.com/2020/02/05/jo-wal...
February 19, 2018
What would you do if you started receiving a check from an seemingly reputable source for $1000 each month. Cash the checks? Call the authorities? Hmm.
January 6, 2023
Люблю для удовольствия читать американские криминальные романы прошлого века. Этот конкретно уже 2004 года, про человека, который начал получать тысячу долларов в месяц неизвестно от кого. Так продолжалось семь лет, а потом...
Вестлэйк не такой смешной, каким мне казался в детстве, но сюжет построен мастерски, сцены отлично заканчиваются и много интересных наблюдений. Язык неожиданно довольно сложный (регулярно приходилось в словарь лезть), герои не бесят.
В конце немного тяжеловато от обилия экшна (да, я понимаю, что все это можно экранизировать, но читать сценарии не так интересно, как книги).
Вестлэйк не такой смешной, каким мне казался в детстве, но сюжет построен мастерски, сцены отлично заканчиваются и много интересных наблюдений. Язык неожиданно довольно сложный (регулярно приходилось в словарь лезть), герои не бесят.
В конце немного тяжеловато от обилия экшна (да, я понимаю, что все это можно экранизировать, но читать сценарии не так интересно, как книги).
November 12, 2011
Westlake is one of my favorite authors, especially the Dortmunder series. This book got off to a great start, but sagged a bit toward the end as it got more improbable. Still I enjoyed it.
February 5, 2020
When I was a bookish teenager in the 1970s, I gobbled up everything Westlake wrote. The amount of joy he brought into my life at that time is difficult to express. It’s the sort of intense reading pleasure that happens far less frequently as an adult, when the distractions and tedious responsibilities of adulthood demand your constant attention.
Still, he has a place of great affection in my heart. I’m pleased to say this much later work did not disappoint and went down very smoothly, even though I may no longer be capable of the level of intense attention of a 14-year-old whose mother still is doing his laundry.
This book was published in the early 2000s but in a lot of ways I think it could be set even more plausibly in the present day (2020), as almost anyone living in Manhattan apartment with a wife and child, saddled with school debt and attempting to save to buy a home and/or finance a university education, would be unlikely to reject the easy money of mysterious and untraceable checks that arrive without explanation in your mailbox.
The book starts off with a boffo hook -- a representative of the organization sending the checks walks up to the slubbish hero and announces, to his horror, “You are activated”. It then moves along at a good clip for a while. I was afraid that, when Westlake introduced a slinky Slavic lady operative in the narrative, that he had lost his touch in his old age. But stick with the book, as soon after (following a short detour to micturate over partisans of the fantasy fiction genre) a great new character, an impoverished but egotistical actor, is introduced and the book takes off at a gallop again.
I’ve read that aspiring scriptwriters who wish to break into the entertainment business are being advised to submit scripts with strong “mature” (I think this means 40 or over) female characters, as there are accomplished women actors who find screenplays that are not intelligence-insulting thin on the ground. I mention it because the actor character, though a man in the book, could easily be converted to a great vehicle for a Meryl Streep-caliber actress, as the character not only must display a wide range of volatile emotions but also don an entertaining assortment of outlandish disguises.
I found out as an adult that some of the qualities that I enjoyed most in Westlake’s comic novels -- the slightly dopey and amoral heros, the dark view of the world, the inevitable violence -- were turn-offs for some people. More’s the pity for them. They are missing a fun and readable novel by a man with a unique and unpretentious talent for storytelling.
Still, he has a place of great affection in my heart. I’m pleased to say this much later work did not disappoint and went down very smoothly, even though I may no longer be capable of the level of intense attention of a 14-year-old whose mother still is doing his laundry.
This book was published in the early 2000s but in a lot of ways I think it could be set even more plausibly in the present day (2020), as almost anyone living in Manhattan apartment with a wife and child, saddled with school debt and attempting to save to buy a home and/or finance a university education, would be unlikely to reject the easy money of mysterious and untraceable checks that arrive without explanation in your mailbox.
The book starts off with a boffo hook -- a representative of the organization sending the checks walks up to the slubbish hero and announces, to his horror, “You are activated”. It then moves along at a good clip for a while. I was afraid that, when Westlake introduced a slinky Slavic lady operative in the narrative, that he had lost his touch in his old age. But stick with the book, as soon after (following a short detour to micturate over partisans of the fantasy fiction genre) a great new character, an impoverished but egotistical actor, is introduced and the book takes off at a gallop again.
I’ve read that aspiring scriptwriters who wish to break into the entertainment business are being advised to submit scripts with strong “mature” (I think this means 40 or over) female characters, as there are accomplished women actors who find screenplays that are not intelligence-insulting thin on the ground. I mention it because the actor character, though a man in the book, could easily be converted to a great vehicle for a Meryl Streep-caliber actress, as the character not only must display a wide range of volatile emotions but also don an entertaining assortment of outlandish disguises.
I found out as an adult that some of the qualities that I enjoyed most in Westlake’s comic novels -- the slightly dopey and amoral heros, the dark view of the world, the inevitable violence -- were turn-offs for some people. More’s the pity for them. They are missing a fun and readable novel by a man with a unique and unpretentious talent for storytelling.
November 16, 2022
I've always enjoyed Westlake's work, and this novel doesn't disappoint. Throughout, I thought, "This would be such a great movie." Of course, Westlake has a cinematic style in most of his fiction. Highly recommended!
March 8, 2015
Josh Redmont is just an average guy who loves his wife and son but finds himself in a terrible predicament because he didn't have the moral fiber to do the right thing seven years earlier. At that time, he began receiving monthly checks for $1,000 from "United States Agent". He did try to phone and write to notify them of their error, but the information provided in the mailing was incorrect. So he did the easy thing and just kept cashing the checks, $1,000 a month for seven years. Little does he know that he was unknowingly recruited to be a "sleeper" spy by Ellois Nimrin, who signed up several young men without their knowledge so that he could collect the checks, a scheme that quickly went awry. Now it's payback time, and the spy team is expecting Josh to deliver. Of course, he's terrified, but he doesn't see any way around cooperating.
The first thing that is asked of him is to allow his New York apartment to be used as a "safe house" while he's away, which doesn't present much of a problem. Another time, he finds that they've decided to store a cache of weapons and military uniforms in his home. Putting two plus two together, he believes that they are planning an assassination attempt of a visiting dignitary from Kamastan.
Nimrin originally "recruited" six young men, three of whom never cashed the checks. The other recruits were not so ethical. The fourth has been murdered. Josh is able to find the only other surviving sleeper, a thespian by the name of Mitchell Robbie, and they work very effectively together to try to thwart the assassination attempt. Learning from Mitch, Josh puts aside his normal passivity to fight for his family's lives.
MONEY FOR NOTHING is an entertaining read, a little implausible, but generally enjoyable. I liked the character of Josh, who was basically a decent guy who made a stupid mistake, with no evil intent. He had a good relationship with his wife, Eve, and told her what was going on so that she was in the loop. Mitchell Robbie was also a likeable character, an inventive man who was much more solid than he first appeared and added quite a bit of comic relief. Westlake elicited sympathy for their situation—how many people would have the ethical principles required to not cash the checks when they kept appearing month after month?
Westlake is known for his caper type books, and MONEY FOR NOTHING fits the bill. It is unpredictable, absurd and casts a new light on an old homily: you should look a gift horse in the mouth.
The first thing that is asked of him is to allow his New York apartment to be used as a "safe house" while he's away, which doesn't present much of a problem. Another time, he finds that they've decided to store a cache of weapons and military uniforms in his home. Putting two plus two together, he believes that they are planning an assassination attempt of a visiting dignitary from Kamastan.
Nimrin originally "recruited" six young men, three of whom never cashed the checks. The other recruits were not so ethical. The fourth has been murdered. Josh is able to find the only other surviving sleeper, a thespian by the name of Mitchell Robbie, and they work very effectively together to try to thwart the assassination attempt. Learning from Mitch, Josh puts aside his normal passivity to fight for his family's lives.
MONEY FOR NOTHING is an entertaining read, a little implausible, but generally enjoyable. I liked the character of Josh, who was basically a decent guy who made a stupid mistake, with no evil intent. He had a good relationship with his wife, Eve, and told her what was going on so that she was in the loop. Mitchell Robbie was also a likeable character, an inventive man who was much more solid than he first appeared and added quite a bit of comic relief. Westlake elicited sympathy for their situation—how many people would have the ethical principles required to not cash the checks when they kept appearing month after month?
Westlake is known for his caper type books, and MONEY FOR NOTHING fits the bill. It is unpredictable, absurd and casts a new light on an old homily: you should look a gift horse in the mouth.
June 24, 2021
If you like a book that doesn't seem to be everything that you see and yet gives you a wild, thrilling ride. This is it. A young man mysteriously receives a $1,000 check at a time in his life when he can really use it and then receives a check every month for the next seven years. He tries to find out why he is getting them but has no luck, so its "Money for Nothing," that is until a stranger comes to him and says "you're activated."
Suddenly his life is no longer his own and he has more than a nagging feeling things are going terribly, wrong. He is mixed up in something terrible with no idea why and what he should do. And that's when things tilt sideways because this is like no spy thriller you have ever read before. This is wild, wacky, insane fun.
Suddenly his life is no longer his own and he has more than a nagging feeling things are going terribly, wrong. He is mixed up in something terrible with no idea why and what he should do. And that's when things tilt sideways because this is like no spy thriller you have ever read before. This is wild, wacky, insane fun.
May 15, 2008
If a suspenseful page-turner is what you are looking for, then Money For Nothing definitely fits the description!! You will be hooked from page one. It's about a man who recieves a check in the mail every month without knowing why or where the money is coming from. Then one day he finds out just what he has to do since he accepted the money... and he wishes he never deposited the checks in his account. It's so good and you wish it never ends. This book should be made into a movie! Definite read.
November 29, 2013
A guy starts receiving $1000 checks every month from "US Agent" -- a source he cannot get a hold of, to either find out why, or return the checks. So he starts depositing them. This lasts a whopping seven years until the reason unfolds and he becomes 'activated' by foreign agents in a plot to kill a emissary. Good dialogue throughout, plot twists and turns, but as a big fan of Mr. Westlake this one was just okay.
April 23, 2014
Westlake wrote both straight and comedy. This book was a comedy.....Once a month for the last seven years Josh Redmont would receive a check for $1000. Issued by something called "United States Agent" The checks followed him wherever he moved and he could not return them because there was no clear return address.. Josh had stopped thinking about the checks till one day he was approached by a stranger. The stranger says:"I am from United States Agent. You are now active."
July 22, 2016
Well, it must be good because it keeps coming back to my mind. Wonderful premise, bright writing. I enjoyed it immensely and want to read again
August 12, 2023
Money For Nothing (2003) by Donald E. Westlake. If you haven’t read anything from Mr. Westlake, or Richard Stark an alias of his, then you have been missing out on a lot. This novel from 20 years ago stands well the test of time. The title refers to the $1,000 checks Josh Redmont is, and has been getting every month for seven years. At the start he had no idea where it was coming from. Yes, they did say United States Agent on the front and K Street, Washington, but there was no street number to send them back to. The phone number so nicely added to the check, when dialed, was never answered. Being a young man struggling in New York City, Josh debated with himself then finally put the check into his meager account.
Forward seven years and Josh is married with a two year old son and a job at an advertising firm. Things are going great and the checks no longer matter to him until the day he is waiting for the ferry out to where his wife and child are staying for the summer. A man sits next to him and says “You are activated” and Josh’s world goes topsy-turvy.
It seems he has been paid by a foreign government all those years and now they want some assistance from him. Josh is quickly backed into a corner and not knowing just what to do, feeling the threat to him and his family this controller from a foreign land emits, just barely agrees.
Then things begin to spiral rapidly out of his control. His weekend empty apartment is used for transient foreigners, then a femme fatale spy is housed with him during the week he is in town. He discovers the sinister plot that has entrapped him, and realizes there is almost no hope for his own survival. Or that of his family.
As things get darker, more and more amusing events occur to our hero and an unlikely accomplice. Mr. Westlake is a past master at writing about people in the worst situations, but with a witty take to it all. Just read one of his Dortmund novels like The Hot Rock or Why Me? and you will understand
This is a treat where you know things will manage to turn out well, but you’re not certain of that until the last chapter or two. And even the last two pages deliver surprises. I can’t believe I missed this great comic-thriller tale on its first go round. If you get a chance, grab it up and enjoy.
Forward seven years and Josh is married with a two year old son and a job at an advertising firm. Things are going great and the checks no longer matter to him until the day he is waiting for the ferry out to where his wife and child are staying for the summer. A man sits next to him and says “You are activated” and Josh’s world goes topsy-turvy.
It seems he has been paid by a foreign government all those years and now they want some assistance from him. Josh is quickly backed into a corner and not knowing just what to do, feeling the threat to him and his family this controller from a foreign land emits, just barely agrees.
Then things begin to spiral rapidly out of his control. His weekend empty apartment is used for transient foreigners, then a femme fatale spy is housed with him during the week he is in town. He discovers the sinister plot that has entrapped him, and realizes there is almost no hope for his own survival. Or that of his family.
As things get darker, more and more amusing events occur to our hero and an unlikely accomplice. Mr. Westlake is a past master at writing about people in the worst situations, but with a witty take to it all. Just read one of his Dortmund novels like The Hot Rock or Why Me? and you will understand
This is a treat where you know things will manage to turn out well, but you’re not certain of that until the last chapter or two. And even the last two pages deliver surprises. I can’t believe I missed this great comic-thriller tale on its first go round. If you get a chance, grab it up and enjoy.
November 11, 2017
This one struck me as an odd turn for Westlake. It's wackier than usual. It does manage to have moments of the trademark suspense, but it is decidedly lighter on the grit I'm used to from his others. I think that's true because for the bulk of the book our hero, Josh Redmont, is presented as mostly ineffectual. He's an army vet who's barely shot a gun and now works in advertising. Sidekick Mitchell Robbie, on the other hand, is more colorful and resourceful than seems at first likely. They make a funny, sort of bumbling team, and of the two, I'd say the sidekick's all around more interesting and fun, however unlikely things get. He's definitely more theatrical. Redmont's wife and son, meanwhile, are barely sketched in, used mainly as props. I do like the book's premise, though, and its moral: If something seems too good to be true (like money for nothing), it probably is.
First line:
"When the first check came in, Josh Redmont, who was then twenty-seven, had no idea what it was for."
First line:
"When the first check came in, Josh Redmont, who was then twenty-seven, had no idea what it was for."
October 8, 2019
What? No 1099s…?
Mr. Nimrin, master of disguise, converted ten sleepers for a terrorist organization…without their knowledge. That is, until, a glitch in his system redirects the money into the accounts of the “sleepers,” five of whom did not accept the mysterious bonanza. However, Josh Redmont, the main character, and Robbie Van Bark, an impoverished actor, cannot turn down the sweet cash. Now, they find themselves involved in a horrific, absurd, and bloody future event after which they are to be left behind, dead, to take the blame.
Having not even filed the funding on their taxes, because they had not received 1099s, the duo now seek to extract themselves from the disastrous plot. And, the fun begins…
Planned assassinations, shootings, honked off feds….
Great fun. Don’t miss this one.
Mr. Nimrin, master of disguise, converted ten sleepers for a terrorist organization…without their knowledge. That is, until, a glitch in his system redirects the money into the accounts of the “sleepers,” five of whom did not accept the mysterious bonanza. However, Josh Redmont, the main character, and Robbie Van Bark, an impoverished actor, cannot turn down the sweet cash. Now, they find themselves involved in a horrific, absurd, and bloody future event after which they are to be left behind, dead, to take the blame.
Having not even filed the funding on their taxes, because they had not received 1099s, the duo now seek to extract themselves from the disastrous plot. And, the fun begins…
Planned assassinations, shootings, honked off feds….
Great fun. Don’t miss this one.
July 29, 2018
Typical of Westlake, this gripping thriller begins with a pitch-perfect premise: For years our protagonist has received substantial checks from an unknown sender; he has somewhat thoughtlessly deposited them, and now finds out-- much to his dismay-- that he's been unwittingly drafted as a political assassin. Westlake is so good at making scenarios like this one seem believable, and the events that unfold are at once completely convincing and entirely absorbing. It's maybe a little overstuffed, with some action sequences that cause the momentum to flag. But overall-- and again, this is typical of Westlake-- it's an addictive, wildly entertaining read.
May 25, 2017
Eminently readable, but a no-new-territory work for Donald Westlake, by way of Hitchcock. How so? The core of the plot is "innocent man caught up in big, bad doings," though in this case, the protagonist is not so innocent.
If you've already read a fair amount of Westlake, you'll find this book comforting and easy. His crisp prose is present and his quietly sardonic sense of humor is, too. But it's pretty standard work and without the lively innovations for which we love his work.
Still, it's Westlake, average, unexceptional work by a master...perfectly fine but nothing special.
If you've already read a fair amount of Westlake, you'll find this book comforting and easy. His crisp prose is present and his quietly sardonic sense of humor is, too. But it's pretty standard work and without the lively innovations for which we love his work.
Still, it's Westlake, average, unexceptional work by a master...perfectly fine but nothing special.
August 30, 2020
Ugh. This was a great premise and a very solid opening third or so. I like Westlake so I felt I like I was in the hands of a master but those hands got less steady as this lumbered on. Another character becomes a sidekick to the lead but he’s so irritating, he overwhelms the story. Then the last third or so it gets incomprehensibly dull. Maybe it’s me but this is two clunkers in a row in different genres. Am I not supposed to read because this is already a dispiriting run of cold cards. Again, ugh.
August 5, 2020
Screwball Comedy Caper
This one can be confusing at times. There are subplots on top of subplots on top subplots....... Not to be forgotten the premise the United States Agent is sending him $1000.00 every month since he was 27 years old. He did deposit all the checks, $70,000.00 . Later on in life they call to say he has been activated, uh oh no what? Just go with the story try not to think too much .
This one can be confusing at times. There are subplots on top of subplots on top subplots....... Not to be forgotten the premise the United States Agent is sending him $1000.00 every month since he was 27 years old. He did deposit all the checks, $70,000.00 . Later on in life they call to say he has been activated, uh oh no what? Just go with the story try not to think too much .
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