The Operator

by Donald E. Westlake

This is the story of Winston - a nice, quiet town, an Average American town...except that everyone and everything in Winston was owned by one man - a man whose money and power turned Winston into a hot-bed of sin, violence and crime that made Murder, Inc. look like Disneyland on a sunny afternoon.

Genres: Crime, Thriller, Mystery

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Donald 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

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This town-tamer-cum-whodunit never quite clicked for me, perhaps because I didn't find the opening action sequence and its subsequent explanation sufficiently convincing. This was Westlake's second novel under his own name.

[Alonzo Church · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our protagonist and narrator is the sole private eye in a pleasantly corrupt mid-size city in upstate New York. He’s also the target of a determined killer. If the man has a chance of staying alive, he must figure out why somebody needs him to die. Also in the mix — a mysterious group of do-gooders who are in the town cleanup business. Also in the mix, a group of files our PI holds that could blow the lid off this town. No wonder it’s killing time for our hero.

Solid pulpy story with a very high body count and a decent whodunnit at its core. More typical of this author’s Richard Stark persona, rather than the comic stuff. The audiobook from the folks at Librivox is quite well read.

[Dan Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts off fun, in that old-school 1950s pulp-noir style, and the writing is as no-nonsense as Westlake always is, but...the plot goes just a wee but haywire in the last act of the book, sorta like Hammett's Red Harvest on pep pills, or, come to think of it, like Westlake's much later Richard Stark epic Buther's Moon. A lot of the pleasure I got from reading this very early Westlake though came from the fact that I read it (very carefully and gingerly) in the 1964 Dell paperback pictured above. That pulp smell...

[njpolizzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good standalone detective novel by D. Westlake, written in his dynamic style of short phrases and chapters, which makes it very easy and entertaining to read.

Again, a story where almost all the characters are questionable in their actions and morality.

In this case, with the added value of exposing what corruption and venality can do in the community.

Nestor

[Eric C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent quick read with, I thought, an unexpected ending. I liked the main character. Most of the side characters were interesting as well. Enjoyed the plot. Felt it fell apart near the end although I enjoyed the finale. I had also just finished The Hook a few days earlier. Same feelings toward that book.

[Felipemarlou · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard dialogues, Hardboiled modes and echoes of Hammett (Glass Key and Red Harvest) in a story of political corruption and gangsterism in the cities where, despite the solvent quality of Westlake, it fails in its attempt to create a strong story that gradually slides into boredom. It's not a matter of it's cold, but it lacks of soul. One of Westlake's worst novels.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Westlakes second book.
writtne in 1960
wonderfully dated.
men with hats on and inside, too.
cigarettes everywhere.
payphones everywhere.
10 cent coffee.
imported italisan sit for $35

This one seemed more of a novella than a novel.
I liked the hero.
i'm going to tell you the ending because i DOUBT that anyone will read this one.

So if you like nostalgia and1950's stuff and if are going to read the book, don't keep reading. Enjoy either way!!!!!
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I asked Catherine why, if the book is written in the first person past tense, why did westlake kill him off in the last sentence.
the whole town hierarchy is dead. Catherine thought there is other meaning for WEstlake that we don't know about. Funny that he did do series as he matured as a writer. I'm glad he got it out of his system.
fun memoriy lane stuff.
but it isn't westlake at his humorous stage.

[Sloweducation · Rating 2 out of 5]

Red Harvest is the right comparison. Lead character is a dick in a rotten town in upstate New York. Everything runs okay, but the politicians all have an angle. The book begins with a hired killer trying to knock off the lead dick. He is somehow very certain that it is one of seven leading figures is behind it. An outside clean-up commission is trying to muscle in, and our friend believes that one of the town bigwigs thinks he's going to sell them out to the commission. The murder attempts continue, and he threatens to give them up. Overall an alright book--though certainly not by Westlake's standards--ruined by a ridiculous ending. It reads as if Westlake ran up to his word count before he ran out of his plot and decided to just incite a bloodbath to tie up every loose end. It's too silly for words, but Westlake puts words to it anyway and it leaves a sour taste.

[Jason]

This is a sweet little thriller by Westlake that falls outside of his series books. The story takes place in a small town somewhere in upstate NY. The hero is the town's only private eye and he's been around for years. In all that time he has accumulated files on nearly every one and everything crooked that has ever happened in the town. When a reform group suddenly targets the town for cleaning up the PI's files become highly sought after and the bullets start flying.

This book, also released as The Operator, is a great example of early Westlake. I've heard it mentioned as his take on Red Harvest and I can see the similarities. The ending, in particular, is quite violent and nihilistic.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early Westlake. A decent read.

[John W.]

I think I read this one.

[Graeme Sutherland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fine noir - a real wild rides!

[Tiina · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story was completely outdated. It did not read credible for this day and age.