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Sara & Jack #1
Trust Me On This
What would it take to lure a serious young newswoman from a respectable New England newspaper to one of the most notorious supermarket tabloids in America? The call of journalistic adventure? The siren song of celebrity? The allure of intrigue? How about the promise of a salary that's triple what she's making?
En route to her new job at the offices of the Weekly Galaxy (opulently located at the terminus of a four-lane highway in the wastelands of Florida), Sara Joslyn finds a bloody corpse hanging half out of a dark blue Buick Riviera.
A big story? Not at this paper. “On what TV series he a regular?” Asks Jack Ingersoll, her offbeat young editor. The problem is compounded when the dead man vanishes, Buick and all.
Thrown into the vortex of the Galaxy's business as usual, Sara finds herself matching wits with the bizarre publisher, Bruno DeMassi, scheming with three drunken Australians over the problem of the hundred-year-old twins, hunting down television megastar John Michael Mercer in his honeymoon haven, being shot at in a dark motel on Martha's Vineyard, and pursuing the enigmatic “Body in the Box.” Tribulations don't stop at the office door, though: odious editor Boy Cartwright and despicable reporter Ida Gavin continually seek to undermine Sara and Jack.
And through it all, there remains the problem of that corpse in the Buick.
En route to her new job at the offices of the Weekly Galaxy (opulently located at the terminus of a four-lane highway in the wastelands of Florida), Sara Joslyn finds a bloody corpse hanging half out of a dark blue Buick Riviera.
A big story? Not at this paper. “On what TV series he a regular?” Asks Jack Ingersoll, her offbeat young editor. The problem is compounded when the dead man vanishes, Buick and all.
Thrown into the vortex of the Galaxy's business as usual, Sara finds herself matching wits with the bizarre publisher, Bruno DeMassi, scheming with three drunken Australians over the problem of the hundred-year-old twins, hunting down television megastar John Michael Mercer in his honeymoon haven, being shot at in a dark motel on Martha's Vineyard, and pursuing the enigmatic “Body in the Box.” Tribulations don't stop at the office door, though: odious editor Boy Cartwright and despicable reporter Ida Gavin continually seek to undermine Sara and Jack.
And through it all, there remains the problem of that corpse in the Buick.
293 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1988
153 people are currently reading
602 people want to read
About the author
Donald E. Westlake
434 books981 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
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
January 1, 2022
Donald Westlake's 'Trust Me On This' shows the good, bad and ugly of tabloid journalism - in overdrive. This is one crazy rollercoaster of a storyline spotlighting the lengths some journalists will go to get a headline off the presses first. The extent of plotting, scheming, and risk taking Jack, Sara and Co. go to get the story/pictures their chasing here is nothing less than ludicrous. Should anyone really expect to come out unscathed??
A great listen thanks to narrator Arte Johnson who flawlessly keeps pace with all of the characters fluctuating emotions and never ending hijinks - this was no easy feat, either. Kudos.
I have say that a Donald Westlake book is a the perfect finale to my 2021 year in books.
A great listen thanks to narrator Arte Johnson who flawlessly keeps pace with all of the characters fluctuating emotions and never ending hijinks - this was no easy feat, either. Kudos.
I have say that a Donald Westlake book is a the perfect finale to my 2021 year in books.
July 3, 2021
A supermarket tabloid on steroids
At the beginning of this highly entertaining comic novel, Mr Westlake assures the reader that there is no newspaper like THE WEEKLY GALAXY anywhere in the United States. If there were, "its activities would be stranger, harsher and more outrageous than those described herein." Note that he limited this disclaimer to the United States. ?????.
At the beginning of this highly entertaining comic novel, Mr Westlake assures the reader that there is no newspaper like THE WEEKLY GALAXY anywhere in the United States. If there were, "its activities would be stranger, harsher and more outrageous than those described herein." Note that he limited this disclaimer to the United States. ?????.
October 24, 2008
I minored in journalism because of this book. It should go without saying that my friends who majored in journalism didn't think it was funny at all.
Of course, they were all wrong.
This book is hilarious. You'll never look at supermarket tabloids the same way again.
I live in hope that my company will bring in several Australians, and that we'll get to have adventures chasing down stories and committing misdemeanors.
It seems unlikely, b/c I work for a utility. But I still live in hope.
Of course, they were all wrong.
This book is hilarious. You'll never look at supermarket tabloids the same way again.
I live in hope that my company will bring in several Australians, and that we'll get to have adventures chasing down stories and committing misdemeanors.
It seems unlikely, b/c I work for a utility. But I still live in hope.
July 9, 2013
In another 20 years or so, young people will not be able to understand this book at all, and that's so sad. Set in 1988, it's a look at a "newspaper", and I use the word loosely (think National Enquirer)and what the journalists go thru to get a story in said paper. What dates this book, is, well, it's 1988. There are no cell phones, fax machines, digital cameras (still using film! GASP!) or computers to google information. Getting information requires phone calls, often from a pay phone and doing actually legwork to research a subject. In these days of instant information, it is truly sad to think that there will come a time when no one remembers going thru this.
That being said, the book is endlessly amusing in Donald Westlake's usual madcap manner. If you are a fan of his, you will enjoy this book.
That being said, the book is endlessly amusing in Donald Westlake's usual madcap manner. If you are a fan of his, you will enjoy this book.
June 25, 2018
Scary chase and shooting scenes mingle with sweet sappy parts. This book works out of order, even though I read next book first, and I knew how lovers Sara and Jack end up after starting work at Galaxy gutter tabloid.
October 28, 2021
This was ok, good enough to finish, but not as good as other Westlake series.
February 5, 2022
The amazing thing about this satire of American tabloid media, in which fresh-faced young reporter Sara finds herself doing increasingly outlandish and illegal things in order to feed the voracious appetite of her employer, "The Weekly Galaxy", for celebrity journalism and feel-good pablum, is that, as Westlake admits in the introduction, it actually pulls its punches. God knows that the American media landscape has only gotten more hellish in the thirty-odd years since this book was published. Regardless, it's great fun to watch Sara (with an assist from her stereotypically cynical and world-weary editor, Jack) discover that, regardless of her disdain for "The Weekly Galaxy"'s brand of journalism, she has a talent for conceiving and executing the ever-more-harebrained schemes needed to obtain, say, pictures of a famous actor's private wedding. The structure is simple: Sara is presented with a ridiculous problem which she must solve in order to get whatever it is that "The Weekly Galaxy" currently regards as an important story, to which she responds with an equally ridiculous and yet effective solution, after which it's on to the next story and another problem, even more ridiculous. A murder mystery, introduced at the start and wrapped up at the conclusion, serves to sort of tie everything together, but for most of the book it's left in abeyance: it's really mainly a way to get Sara and Jack out of tabloid journalism at the end. The romance between Sara and Jack is probably the weakest part of the book -- it's a cliche that reminds us that Sara and Jack themselves are also cliches, something that Westlake otherwise does a good job of hiding -- but it is, I fear, an inevitable product of the time in which the book was written. But this weakness is more than counterbalanced by the fact that Westlake is that all-too-rare bird, a genuinely funny writer. I'm not sure if this was the best place to start with him -- the Dortmunder books might have made more sense -- but it's certainly not the worst.
March 24, 2022
I thought this was great. This was definitely not my usual read, but it was good to step away from vampires and other monsters to read something at least a little more down to Earth.
The setting is a supermarket tabloid office where outrageous doesn't even begin to cover things. There's also a murder mystery lurking right at the fringes of the story until everything comes to a head at the end. There's plenty of humor here too.
I just thought this was a very different, and I liked it.
The setting is a supermarket tabloid office where outrageous doesn't even begin to cover things. There's also a murder mystery lurking right at the fringes of the story until everything comes to a head at the end. There's plenty of humor here too.
I just thought this was a very different, and I liked it.
August 1, 2025
I was entertained, which was the purpose. I got a little bored towards the end when one of the main plots was over, but the twist was pretty fun and I can honestly say I didn’t see it coming.
March 21, 2023
Very funny
I first read this book quite a few years ago, and I always recalled it fondly, though the details escaped me. All I recalled was that the main character in the story, Sara, was a naive journalism school graduate who could only find a job working at a notorious tabloid newspaper, the Weekly Galaxy, a disreputable rag that reminds me of the late great World Weekly News. She notices a dead body hanging out the door of a car on the otherwise empty road to the Galaxy offices, but she’s the only one there who thinks this is notable (“On what TV series is he a regular?” is the response she gets when reporting the corpse to her editor.). As she continues to absorb the Galaxy’s ethos, she understands this reaction. The book describes the insane lengths the Galaxy staff goes to to get any kind of inside scoop on any celebrity-related happening, and Sara also earns how to lead legitimate medical practitioners to endorse cock-eyed medical theories (“Does sex cure gallstones?” for example.). Lots of shenanigans, a little romance, and many hilarious scenes make this a very rewarding second read. Sadly, Mr. Westlake only wrote one other book featuring these characters.
I first read this book quite a few years ago, and I always recalled it fondly, though the details escaped me. All I recalled was that the main character in the story, Sara, was a naive journalism school graduate who could only find a job working at a notorious tabloid newspaper, the Weekly Galaxy, a disreputable rag that reminds me of the late great World Weekly News. She notices a dead body hanging out the door of a car on the otherwise empty road to the Galaxy offices, but she’s the only one there who thinks this is notable (“On what TV series is he a regular?” is the response she gets when reporting the corpse to her editor.). As she continues to absorb the Galaxy’s ethos, she understands this reaction. The book describes the insane lengths the Galaxy staff goes to to get any kind of inside scoop on any celebrity-related happening, and Sara also earns how to lead legitimate medical practitioners to endorse cock-eyed medical theories (“Does sex cure gallstones?” for example.). Lots of shenanigans, a little romance, and many hilarious scenes make this a very rewarding second read. Sadly, Mr. Westlake only wrote one other book featuring these characters.
November 16, 2021
Definitely not his best. A fun read but the story seems kind of patchwork as it goes from one tabloid story to another with a murder plot vaguely woven in. With the Florida newspaper setting it would probably have been a better project for Carl Hiaasen or Dave Barry.
February 5, 2018
Maybe it just didn't work well in audio format but the story was so disjointed it was hard to follow. It is not a long book so I thought I would get through it, even though I could not care less for the characters or the murder mystery, until one of the characters ends up in bed with another. There was no set up, no blossoming romance. The whole story was just weird.
August 30, 2012
As Westlake novels go, this just wasn't one of my favorites. I didn't find any of the characters likable. I think that was the point, but that didn't make it any better of a read. Don't get me wrong, it's still very funny in parts, but not at the level I expect from Westlake.
November 22, 2022
More like a 3.5. Light, amusing entertainment that spoofs tabloid journalism. .
January 18, 2014
Nothing special. It's probably more of a three star book, but he also has to be judged against his other work, and this one doesn't measure up.
May 22, 2018
Another humorous crime novel by Donald Westlake about a girl who finds a dead body on her way to her first day on the job as a reporter for a supermarket tabloid.
May 3, 2023
A slow start, an excellent end, lots of funny moments.
If it had been streamlined a tiny bit more it could have shone. But I'll gladly read more of them.
If it had been streamlined a tiny bit more it could have shone. But I'll gladly read more of them.
December 29, 2023
I've been a Donald Westlake fan for years, and especially love "Help I Am Being Held Prisoner," "The Busy Body" and "God Save the Mark." This isn't as good as those classics, but it's pretty good.
Westlake's target for mockery this time is not the world of crime and criminals but celebrity journalism as practiced by the "National Enquirer" and its imitators. The book begins with a recent j-school grad named Sara Joselyn heading down a looooong Florida road to her first day of work at a publication called "The Weekly Galaxy." Before she can arrive, however, she finds a dead body -- a man shot in the head in a rental car.
When she tells her editor, Jack Ingersoll, he could not care less, pointing out that unless the dead man was a TV or movie star, they won't report on it. This is Sara's first lesson in the world she's now entered -- but the case of the dead man by the road keeps bothering her as she chases around after wild stories that DO matter to her editor and the crazy owner of the paper.
Some of the funniest bits in the book involve the office culture of the paper -- the owner/publisher whose office travels between floors in an elevator, the lines on the floor for walls that don't exist but are followed even by the publisher's hatchet man, the phones that don't ring but instead flash lights, the snide comments by Jack's secretary. The wildly unscrupulous ways Sara and the other reporters get their stories can be pretty funny too.
The book's biggest set-piece involves the staff's efforts to ferret out info -- and ultimately get pictures of -- the secretive wedding of the owner's favorite TV star, and it's a hoot. That Sara saves the day in the end thanks to her quick thinking about human behavior is the cherry on top.
And I have to admit that I laughed the hardest at a terrible, terrible joke. It's near the end of the book, where Sara and another reporter, a ruthless woman named Ida, are assigned to get a "body in a box" picture from the funeral for a beloved country music star. I felt guilty afterward, but it came out of the blue and landed perfectly for its time, which was 1988.
I was disappointed in Westlake's depiction of the Florida setting for much of the story, because it lacked his usual attenion to detail and keen insight into how important place can be for aciions. Also, there's a development involving the murder that infringes on the celebriy wedding pursuit and doesn't ring quite true either.
That said, I did love the way Westlake ended the story, and left the door open for a sequel. I will definiely have to track that one down.
Westlake's target for mockery this time is not the world of crime and criminals but celebrity journalism as practiced by the "National Enquirer" and its imitators. The book begins with a recent j-school grad named Sara Joselyn heading down a looooong Florida road to her first day of work at a publication called "The Weekly Galaxy." Before she can arrive, however, she finds a dead body -- a man shot in the head in a rental car.
When she tells her editor, Jack Ingersoll, he could not care less, pointing out that unless the dead man was a TV or movie star, they won't report on it. This is Sara's first lesson in the world she's now entered -- but the case of the dead man by the road keeps bothering her as she chases around after wild stories that DO matter to her editor and the crazy owner of the paper.
Some of the funniest bits in the book involve the office culture of the paper -- the owner/publisher whose office travels between floors in an elevator, the lines on the floor for walls that don't exist but are followed even by the publisher's hatchet man, the phones that don't ring but instead flash lights, the snide comments by Jack's secretary. The wildly unscrupulous ways Sara and the other reporters get their stories can be pretty funny too.
The book's biggest set-piece involves the staff's efforts to ferret out info -- and ultimately get pictures of -- the secretive wedding of the owner's favorite TV star, and it's a hoot. That Sara saves the day in the end thanks to her quick thinking about human behavior is the cherry on top.
And I have to admit that I laughed the hardest at a terrible, terrible joke. It's near the end of the book, where Sara and another reporter, a ruthless woman named Ida, are assigned to get a "body in a box" picture from the funeral for a beloved country music star. I felt guilty afterward, but it came out of the blue and landed perfectly for its time, which was 1988.
I was disappointed in Westlake's depiction of the Florida setting for much of the story, because it lacked his usual attenion to detail and keen insight into how important place can be for aciions. Also, there's a development involving the murder that infringes on the celebriy wedding pursuit and doesn't ring quite true either.
That said, I did love the way Westlake ended the story, and left the door open for a sequel. I will definiely have to track that one down.
September 20, 2020
Not what I hoped for
When I don't like a book, the first person I suspect the problem is with me. Perhaps I was distracted, yada, yada. I think here I was hoping for more of a Dortmunder type read. I was thoroughly thrown by the plot and never recovered. This is probably better than my review.
When I don't like a book, the first person I suspect the problem is with me. Perhaps I was distracted, yada, yada. I think here I was hoping for more of a Dortmunder type read. I was thoroughly thrown by the plot and never recovered. This is probably better than my review.
January 15, 2025
Westlake is the master of comedic crime novels. This one puts the emphasis squarely on the comedy, to the point of being downright silly in places— and, with its lampooning of sleazy tabloid journalism, some fairly on-the-nose parody. Not my favorite Westlake, though it has some uproarious moments— not least the ending, a typically cynical Westlakean barb.
September 25, 2017
I remember enjoying Donald Westlake when I was in high school, so either I have become jaded or this was just not one of his best. Listened to the audiobook with Arte Johnson (Laugh In veteran) as narrator; I preferred his narration of Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart to this one.
December 27, 2020
I started reading this a long time ago, when I was trying to get through a book touted as a masterpiece and couldn't get any traction. The author was so skilled at telling great stories and developing interesting characters. It is much fun to read.
February 20, 2023
A stand alone novel, a whodunnit with a whack of sardonic social commentary leaved in. Well worth your time, if you like whodunnits and cozies. It even - and this is mildly unusual for Westlake - has a believable romance built into it.
September 1, 2023
Years ago I read a couple of Westlake novels, MONEY FOR NOTHING and THE AXE, and found them funny and totally enjoyable. This one was very disappointing. The intended humor didn’t work for me, and I lost interest in the plot. Forgettable.
October 8, 2023
Honestly I couldn’t finish this. I love Westlake but this story took forever to get going and had none of the punch I expect from his usual character development. Two stars just because the women are actual people in this one (as much as the men are, at least).
February 20, 2017
An interesting and humorous view into 1980's journalism by a master writer. I swear Westlake could make any story fun to read.
September 8, 2017
This book was a pleasure to read. It's not for all tastes. Don't break up over this book.
March 5, 2020
David Westlake delivers a pretty reliable cheesy old-style mystery with deliciously awful characters doing wonderfully despicable things. Perfect for a quick listen while in bed fighting a cold.
May 20, 2020
Newswoman Sara Joslyn goes to work for a notorious supermarket tabloid in Florida and finds herself dealing with assorted big stories and a corpse in a Buick, just in time for Christmas.
April 8, 2021
Not one of my favorite Westlake novels, but still an enjoyable, light read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews