Caper

by Lawrence Sanders

A mystery writer turns thief and plans a multi-million dollar heist that would bring him a fortune in jewels and a lifetime of leisure, but his make-believe caper turns horribly and murderously real. Reissue.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Detective

368 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Lawrence Sanders was the New York Times bestselling author of more than forty mystery and suspense novels. The Anderson Tapes, completed when he was fifty years old, received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for best first novel. His prodigious oeuvre encompasses the Edward X. Delaney, Archy McNally, and Timothy Cone series, along with his acclaimed Commandment books. Stand-alone novels include Sullivan's Sting and Caper. Sanders remains one of America’s most popular novelists, with more than fifty million copies of his books in print. Also published as Mark Upton.

Reviews

[David Putnam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved...loved this book. I don't understand the low rating on Goodreads. This is a killer book. The low rating might be the decade from which it was written. By my reckoning the book originally came out before 1980 under a pen name. The writing craft is sixties era. Even so I fell right into the prose and the fictive dream. This is a heist story, one of the best I have read. The story is told in the first person point of view of a strong female protagonist. She doesn't start out strong but evolves right before our very eyes.
One the most difficult parts of writing is voice and Sanders holds true to the protagonist's voice and motivations. The other characters are also well-drawn and come alive on the page. Some walk the line on whether you like them or not which again is a testament Sanders craft. The antagonist is also great. He starts off as a victim but immediately turns into the pursuer. There are some great twists in this story you won't see coming.
I happened into Lawrence Sanders in an odd way back in 1974. I was an avid reader and a sophomore in high school. One day the coach for PE stood on the sidelines reading The First Deadly Sin when he was supposed to be babysitting all the raging hormones in tennis shoes. They ran amok. I sidled up close to the coach to take a gander at what had drawn him away from his normally conscientious teaching ethic. I saw the cover with an ice pickax and the title and was smitten.
I walked the two miles home everyday and always stopped at the Thriftys for a triple scoop ice cream (for .30, .10 a scoop) and ate it while reading the best seller list posted in the window of the paperback bookstore. I'd seen The First Deadly Sin before on the list but now I really wanted it. I didn't have that kind of money and had to go out and earn it. It wasn't too long before I bought the book and started a long love affair with Sanders' writing. I honestly don't know how "Caper." slipped under my radar but boy am I glad I stumbled onto it.
I was in Tuscon with my wife (a business trip for her job) and found two used bookstores within four hundred yards of each other. There aren't any used bookstores anywhere around us in Calif. I spent part of everyday of the week we were there going through the stacks and came home with a box full. Caper was one of the gems I pulled out of the piles. I ate that book up. Voracious readers know what I'm talking about.
Oh, and as a side note I also found two of my novels, used hardcovers in one of the stores. Which always gives me a little jolt and reminds me again of those days eating a triple Rocky Road ice cream and reading the bestseller list on the way home from school.
David Putnam author of the Bruno Johnson series.

[John Culuris · Rating 4 out of 5]

In theory, brilliance in a particular field carries with it a belief that any variation within that field can also be mastered with a genuine and sustained effort. Apparently this quality was on full display in Lawrence Sanders as he began his career. I have to write “apparently” because there’s not a lot of biographical information on him. What is without question is that at age fifty Sanders found critical and popular success with his first novel, The Anderson Tapes. He followed it not with similar subject matter, as one might expect and his publisher almost certainly wanted, but with attempts at sexual exploration from a female perspective, with The Pleasures of Helen and Love Songs. They were considered disasters, Kirkus Reviews going so far as to refer to one of them as "cheap porno" and to deemed the other so bad that they found the cheap porno preferable. So Sanders went back to crime--and success--with The First Deadly Sin. He then tried to disguise similar but less incendiary themes in a near-future crime story called The Tomorrow File. By this time (apparently) his publishers had had enough. The next times he went “off script” he had to use a pseudonym. Dark Summer was written by Mark Upton and Caper was written by Lesley Andress. Having now read Caper twice, the only possible need for a penname that I can see is that he was writing in the first person and the lead was a female character. Perhaps the state of the world in 1980 had combined with his previous controversies to make his publishers feel it was necessary. I still don’t see the need.

Undoubtedly the androgynous alias was (at the time) a private joke. His protagonist is a woman named Jannie Shean, a writer of Mens Adventure novels. Because men were the target audience, her publisher decided the writers of these books had to not just be men, but men with masculine-sounding names. In churning out four books a year, Jannie became Chuck Thorndike, Mike Cantrell, Buck Williams, Pat Slaughter and, to her dismay, Brick Wall. She soon discovered her forte was the caper novel and her formula was to divide them into three sections: Planning (self-explanatory), execution (also self-explanatory) and the aftermath (where everything went wrong and things ended badly). We enter Jannie’s story where things are starting to go bad for her. Her last two books sold poorly and her latest manuscript was followed by three weeks of silence from her publisher. When a meeting was finally convened, she was forced to admit the work was terrible and that she had lost touch with reality, with everyday life. In response Jannie decides it’s time to live one of her novels--or at least part one, the planning stage. Along with her best friend Dick Flemming, a man who edits children’s books, they go about putting together a real robbery, learning as they go the things she had always faked. And, inevitably, her “real life” caper ends up following her fictional formula rather too closely: things fall apart badly.

It seems to me Sanders started his novels with a strong, clear-cut concept in mind and built everything else around that idea, at least at the beginning of his career, which is all I’ve read so far. The Anderson Tapes told the story strictly through the transcripts of wiretaps, bugs and interviews. (Charles McCarry did something similar in the espionage field with The Miernik Dossier.) The Deadly Sin books focus deeply on how each sin slowly overtakes the villain’s life. And this effort represents a caper within a caper. Sanders' challenge here was to follow all the clichés of the form without producing a clichéd novel. Success depended on the characters. They had to feel real to the reader. And Jannie and Flemming had to recognize how unrealistic a situation they had gotten themselves into; they had to be aware of the irony. At least until things become deadly.

Jannie learns some serious lessons though this is not a super-serious book. Nor is it fluff. Or an adventure. It’s not a thriller either, though there are thrills in it. It’s merely a work of quality entertainment. It answers the question: How can a perfectly executed novel rate only 4 Stars, especially when it accomplishes everything it set out to achieve? The answer?

When it was only intended to be 4-Star entertainment.

[George K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Περίεργο σενάριο", εκδόσεις Bell.

Πριν κάτι μέρες είδα και πραγματικά απόλαυσα την ταινία "Η μεγάλη ληστεία της Νέας Υόρκης" (aka "The Anderson Tapes") του Σίντνεϊ Λιούμετ -με πρωταγωνιστές τους Σον Κόνερι, Κρίστοφερ Γουόκεν και Μάρτιν Μπάλσαμ-, που βασίζεται σε μυθιστόρημα του Λόρενς Σάντερς, και είπα στο καπάκι να διαβάσω ένα από τα τέσσερα βιβλία του συγγραφέα που έχω στη συλλογή μου (είναι τα μοναδικά δικά του που έχουν μεταφραστεί). Και διάλεξα αυτό, μιας και με τράβηξε πολύ η κεντρική ιδέα του. Λοιπόν, το βιβλίο το βρήκα ιδιαίτερα απολαυστικό. Από τις πρώτες κιόλας σελίδες κατάλαβα ότι θα διάβαζα ένα απόλυτα ψυχαγωγικό και εθιστικό μυθιστόρημα, και η συνέχεια δεν με διέψευσε.

Πρωταγωνίστρια είναι μια συγγραφέας, η Τζένι Σιν, που με διάφορα ανδρικά ψευδώνυμα έγραψε κάμποσα θρίλερ με αρκετά μεγάλη επιτυχία, μέχρι όμως να χάσει την έμπνευσή της και τα τελευταία της βιβλία να αποτύχουν εμπορικά. Γιατί; Ίσως επειδή έχασε την επαφή με την πραγματικότητα. Γι'αυτό, λοιπόν, αποφασίζει μαζί με έναν φίλο της, να οργανώσει μια πραγματική ληστεία, να έρθει σε επαφή με ανθρώπους του υποκόσμου και να γίνει και αυτή μια από αυτούς, έτσι ώστε να γράψει ένα πραγματικά ρεαλιστικό αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα. Φυσικά, δεν θέλει να κάνει τη ληστεία, λίγο πριν την εκτέλεσή της αυτή απλώς θα αποχωρήσει. Όμως ο τζογαδόρος και μικροαπατεώνας Τζακ Ντόναχιου, τον οποίο γνώρισε και έπεισε να κάνουν μαζί τη ληστεία, θα έχει άλλη άποψη, μόλις μάθει ποια πραγματικά είναι. Και, θέλοντας και μη, η Τζένι Σιν και ο φίλος της θα μπλέξουν σε μια ιδιαίτερα μπερδεμένη και επικίνδυνη ιστορία...

Αν μη τι άλλο πρόκειται για μια διασκεδαστική περιπέτεια γεμάτη δράση και ένταση, με όλα αυτά τα καλούδια που βρίσκει κανείς στα μυθιστορήματα που έχουν σχέση με ληστείες και εγκληματικά κόλπα. Η ατμόσφαιρα γενικά είναι κάπως ανάλαφρη (με αρκετή ένταση σε πολλά σημεία όμως) και υπάρχουν αρκετά κωμικά στοιχεία εδώ κι εκεί, όμως δεν θα έλεγα ότι είναι ένα κωμικό μυθιστόρημα, μιας και υπάρχει βία, άνθρωποι σκοτώνονται, επικίνδυνοι τύποι κυνηγούν τους κακομοίρηδες πρωταγωνιστές με σκοπό να τους καθαρίσουν, και πάει λέγοντας. Η γραφή είναι πολύ καλή, με γλαφυρές περιγραφές και ζωντανούς διαλόγους, κυλάει σαν γάργαρο νερό και βοηθάει στο να διαβαστεί το βιβλίο με μια ανάσα. Αναμφίβολα, πρόκειται για ένα μυθιστόρημα ακριβώς μέσα στα αναγνωστικά μου γούστα, τόσο από άποψη σεναρίου όσο και από άποψη γραφής, οπότε ήταν αναμενόμενο να περάσω τέλεια την ώρα μου με δαύτο.

[Mamma23 · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite authors, and one of my fave books. So short, but so good.

Non-stop action and romance too, though not a central part.

Bonnie/Clyde type of robbing. Good!

Also, its OLD, like from the 60's. Stands the test of time.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in '81, which is my favorite period in Sanders' writing, seemed like two different books to me. In the first half, a successful crime author is confronted by those in business close to her that her recent novels were cookie-cutter formulaic, and lazy. Soul searching turns to research on real life crime, as if she would plan out an actual "caper". I was fascinated by her planning, even to assemble the right crew, and concocting an alternate personality to insulate her from the criminal elements. Oh, what webs we weave!

The second half involves the actual crime that was supposed to be fiction, with the associated problems and unforeseen violence. This part included lots of action and romance, but stretched my imagination a little too much, including some Stockholm syndrome issues.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caper by Lawrence Sanders is exactly what the name implies. Sanders is a prolific writer. Although this book was written a long time ago, and there are obvious dated areas in terms of clothing and slang, and a LOT of hard drinking and cigarette smoking. However, it's not hard to push all that aside and focus on the story.
A woman writes mystery novels using men's pseudonyms. But, after awhile the books stop selling. Her agent and publisher suggest she has lost touch with reality.
So, in an effort to make her books more realistic, she goes undercover with a good friend and commissions actual criminals to pull off a jewelry heist, all the time planning to pull out before the robbery actually takes place. Naturally, things don't turn out as planned.

The first part of the book involved the planning of the heist. Then things go awry. From that point the book started to take on a different dimension. For me, this part of the book lagged and grew a bit dull at one point, and there were some situations I felt uncomfortable with and since it didn't really enhance the book, it could have easily been left out.
Finally, it all comes down to the nitty gritty and a final showdown. The ending was perfect.

My husband and I like to "buddy" read a book together. This is sometimes hard because our taste in books are so different. So, when I found a handful of Lawrence Blocks books at a library sale a few months ago, I thought these would be books we both might enjoy. Sure enough, my husband really liked this one.
The pressures on an author to appeal to a mass audience , to be entertaining, yet realistic at the same time and having agents, managers, publishers and the fickle public all adding their expectations into the mix was handled with a great insight and humor. I doubt all that has changed much since this book was published except maybe that it's only gotten harder.
The planning of the heist was also very clever and well thought out. The high people feel while going through the process of committing a crime, especially by those that have felt like they have only been going through the motions was also interesting.
The second half of the book deals with the aftermath of committing a crime. As I said before, there were lots of areas in this section that could have been left out without damaging the story. However, there was a bit of a Bonnie and Clyde feel to this part of the book and it also had it's high points.
I enjoyed this book enough that I would like to read some other Lawerence Sanders backlist.
Don't be put off by an older copyrighted book. Sometimes you do come across a real stinker, but mostly I am just as happy with these older books as I am with newer books.
Overall this one gets a B+

[Aaron · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trash.

[Chandni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the concept, and it was interesting how they got rid of the car. Instead of dunking it in the river, they left it unlocked in a sketchy neighbourhood where it naturally got dismantled. I didn't expect the main twist just halfway through the book, but I enjoyed the adventure afterwards.

[Niel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a Sanders fan, but this one was outstanding. A can't put it down type of book.

[Royce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. This one deserved a movie with Burt and Sigourney Weaver.

[linda kellogg · Rating 5 out of 5]

The unusual

This book was hard for me to get into. But I kept reading and suddenly I was caught and could not put it down, full of color and suspense.

[greatgrayprairie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dynamite storyline. Sanders takes the “no honor among thieves” and does not embellish it the characters just utter different oaths.

[James Oates · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read countless Lawrence Sanders books (12+) but Caper stands alone as the best of the best.
It starts out with just a general plot but expands and expands until the story line is roaring and you can't turn the pages fast enough. You wonder where the plot can go when your half way into the book and the main theme of the book is over. But it's not.

Whether your on the streets of NY or the Highways to Florida or the backwoods of Georgia (this part of the book was so good that I felt I was there/wish I was with them) it never lets down with the story only gets better and better. It's one of the very few books I have read where I didn't want it to end.

So if you like Lawrence Sanders then CAPERS is a MUST READ.

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jannie Sheen is a mystery writer who wants (or needs) to add realism to her novels. She decides to set up a real robbery by arranging a gang, intending to abandon it just before the actual event. When she can't escape, she is caught in a situation where the team is being pursued by police, the FBI, and others.

I enjoy novels by Lawrence Sanders. The beginning of the book moved slowly but accelerated as the chase began to capture the gang. I normally like some humor in crime novels, but there is none in this one. Nevertheless it's a very good read.

[Cher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hilariously bad.

[Darlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was not a boring moment in this book. VERY fast paced. A very unGodly premise that brought a lot of unGodly behavior, but other than that, it was good.

[Sharon Jacksack · Rating 4 out of 5]

certainly dated, but still (mostly) fun, and suspenseful!

[ukkindlecustomer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reality Bites

Deceptively ligthearted, Donald Westlake type, heist caper develops smoothly into full blooded, hard hitting, Richard Stark style, on-the-run, noir thriller.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stars: 3

There were definitely some things to like about this book, but I never really got into it and found it tedious. The build-up felt really slow, and the reason for this wasn't something I was particularly interested in. I didn't remotely care about the love triangle Sanders created, and that is one of the main reasons the early portion of the book was slow. The bizarre friendship with Dick Fleming that Sanders weirdly had include them having semi-sexual encounters (?) It was a bit confusing to me because it sounded like they weren't having sex and were having tickle fun or some weird description like that. Anyway, so the protagonist also immediately begins having sex with the leader of the bad guys. Then she is going between the two having sex. Then they are just all having sex together and it's supposed to be this Bonnie and Clyde threesome. I just wasn't interested in any of this. So the actual capering was pretty interesting, but this wasn't the focus of enough of the plot. A surprising amount of the book was taken up with them being on the run and making ever more improbable escapes from their pursuers. These super powerful and dangerous villains never seem to think about having a car ready to chase them if they should escape. So the end just drug on for far too long. Plus, their big plan is absurdly stupid. The corporation is apparently feared by everyone, and they plan to go to Miami because one guy "knows people" there. But he is known to be from there. Why go to the obvious place? Even when they have people catching them, they continue along the same path. At most, they travel off the freeway for a day or so and then get back on the freeway. But they just disregard any idea that has them try to disappear anywhere else. It's Miami or bust for no reason at all. Why not drive to Mexico? Whatever. I liked that they got picked off one at a time, but I didn't care at all for the very end when the protagonist is going to confront and kill the bad guy. This seems a bridge to far for her character.

Anyway, it's decent but not great. I'd be willing to read another book by this author.

[Lester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh my gosh..I got as far as reading about braciole and had to drool a bit!!
Not that that was what the story was about..just that the description was mouth watering!
Quote:
"The main dish was braciole--slices of rare steak spread with a paste of parsley, cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, oil. Thin slices of salami and bacon atop that. Crowned with a tomato sauce."
Hungry yet????
Anyways..
This was an entertaining good story..fairly fast read..thank you Lawrence Sanders.

[David Walsh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Searching for a break from Robert Parker, I was directed to Sanders by a friend who enjoys mysteries. Sanders has a different writing style than Parker and a more structured pathway to his mystery. But the story had enough turns to keep it interesting.

Might not have been enough to push me to more of his stories, though.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

A will written mystery

A will written mystery with interesting well developed characters. Once again the usual characters enter into an entertaining fast moving mystery. I would recommend this novel and the series too anyone who enjoys an old fashion mystery. Enjoy reading 2007

I read this as an e-book from the local library

[Thomas F. Marsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lawrence Sanders is always a good read. This had an interesting premise. Jannie Shean writes thrillers under several pseudonyms but has gotten stale. She needs to learn about reality so decided to plan a caper. She definitely learns a lot about criminal life. Interesting book.

[ed feeley]

Another excellent Sanders book

Lawrence Sanders provides everything you could want with this book; a great plot, great characters, drama, getaways, the mob, the Fed's, sex and more.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had potential

This book had potential but for me fell flat. I did not care for the ending. It rambled at times and was slow in places. I usually like Lawrence Sanders - but not this one so much.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 1988. A mystery writer gets caught up in the perfect crime.

[Betsie Bush · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1981, this book now reads like historical fiction.

[Tara Varadarajan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my ❤❤
Jannie & Jack 😍🤌

[Paul Horstmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great premise