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Put a Lid on It
A career criminal is offered a deal to keep out of prison—if he can steal a compromising video of the president—in this hysterical heist novel.
"Sublime comedy . . . a crime caper that also gets some nice digs in as a political satire." — New York Times
Francis Xavier Meehan, a career thief staring at life without parole, is awaiting sentencing at the Manhattan Correctional Center when he is called to a meeting by someone masquerading as his lawyer.
The man, it turns out, represents the presidential re-election campaign committee—now finding itself in need of a little professional help. So they "outsource" Meehan in return for a walk from all pending criminal charges. All he has to do is steal a compromising video tape before the other side springs an "October Surprise" on the president.
A shrewd burglar, Meehan bites, and shows just how easy Watergate would have been had they left it to the professionals.
"This is Westlake at the top of his game, by turns antic, unexpected, quirky, clever, and always, very funny." — Booklist (starred review)
"Westlake . . . does another brilliant job. . . . A tongue-in-cheek take on political scandal." — Library Journal
"Westlake hooks the reader from the first sentence, maintaining the suspense with unpredictable turnabouts and dead-on descriptions." — Publishers Weekly
"Sublime comedy . . . a crime caper that also gets some nice digs in as a political satire." — New York Times
Francis Xavier Meehan, a career thief staring at life without parole, is awaiting sentencing at the Manhattan Correctional Center when he is called to a meeting by someone masquerading as his lawyer.
The man, it turns out, represents the presidential re-election campaign committee—now finding itself in need of a little professional help. So they "outsource" Meehan in return for a walk from all pending criminal charges. All he has to do is steal a compromising video tape before the other side springs an "October Surprise" on the president.
A shrewd burglar, Meehan bites, and shows just how easy Watergate would have been had they left it to the professionals.
"This is Westlake at the top of his game, by turns antic, unexpected, quirky, clever, and always, very funny." — Booklist (starred review)
"Westlake . . . does another brilliant job. . . . A tongue-in-cheek take on political scandal." — Library Journal
"Westlake hooks the reader from the first sentence, maintaining the suspense with unpredictable turnabouts and dead-on descriptions." — Publishers Weekly
266 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2002
About the author
Donald E. Westlake
435 books982 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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