Bank Shot

Written by Donald E. Westlake

Narrated by Justin Price

A crew of thieves hopes to hijack a mobile home full of money in this crime caper from "the funniest man in the world" (The Washington Post).



John Dortmunder has been working an encyclopedia-selling scam while waiting for his next big heist. Unfortunately, his latest mark seems to be wise to the con, and he has to cut his sales pitch short and make a quick escape.



But opportunity awaits: Main Street bank has temporarily relocated to a mobile home. All Dortmunder has to do is get past seven security guards, put the bank-on-wheels in gear, and drive away. It's a simple plan, until it all goes wrong . . .



Perfect for fans of Carl Hiaasen or Lawrence Block's Bernie Rhodenbarr series, the Dortmunder novels by New York Times bestselling and multiple Edgar Award–winning author Donald E. Westlake are a rollicking treat that combine fast-moving suspense with laugh-out-loud wit. Bank Shot is a "hilarious" standout in the series (The New York Times).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Highbridge Company
• Release date: May 21, 2024
• ISBN: 9781696614849

Donald E. Westlake

<B>Donald E. Westlake</B> has written numerous novels over the past thirty-five years under his own name and pseudonyms, including Richard Stark. Many of his books have been made into movies, including <I>The Hunter</I>, which became the brilliant film noir <I>Point Blank</I>, and the 1999 smash hit <I>Payback</I>. He penned the Hollywood scripts for <I>The Stepfather</I> and <I>The Grifters</I>, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay. The winner of three Edgar awards and a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master, Donald E. Westlake was presented with The Eye, the Private Eye Writers of America's Lifetime Achievement Award, at the Shamus Awards. He lives with his wife, Abby Adams, in rural New York State. For more information, visit his website: www.donaldwestlake.com.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Bank Shot is the second book in the Dortmunder series of crime stories where professional crook John Dortmunder attempts to successfully complete various crimes but something usually goes wrong. In this case the crime is a bank robbery, and since the bank is housed in a temporary home, the plan is to take the whole bank. The usual inept gang is gathered together and plans are made to hook up the huge mobile trailer and haul it away.

Of course nothing goes as planned. Much to my enjoyment, the author throws one humorous situation after another into the mix that Dortmunder and his gang need to work through. Their dreams of a mobile home full of money slowly slips away. Leaving Dortmunder vowing never to work with these clowns again (until next time).

From the idea, to the planning to the execution Bank Shot was a fun read. If you are in the mood for a well written comedy caper, this book entertains.

[nigellicus · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When I was only small the very first thing I wrote was a story about two chickens who rob a bank. Since our village was also only small, we had a mobile bank that came every fortnight, so the two chickens basically drove off with the bank. So this story speaks to me in a very deep, personal and intimate way, except none of the characters are chickens, so Donald E Westlake really missed a trick there.

[leslie398 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5*
This is a crime book (rather than a mystery). The idea was fun but Dortmunder didn't appeal to me as much as Bernie Rhodenbarr does.

[aliceanna-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It took me a little bit to get into it, but once it got rolling, I was in. I just love Dortmunder. What a fabulous character. "His luck was never all good, but it was never all bad either. It was a nice combination of the two, balanced so exactly that they canceled each other out."

[stahl2ricco · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“Tell me,” Dortmunder said.
“We steal the bank,” Victor said.

That simple. Well, only if you make sure no one’s in it when you do! Especially guards!

I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again - I’d love to hang out at the O. J. Bar and Grill with this cast of characters! And I love their dialogue! For example, “… when you knock over a bank, you don’t live in it after you knocked it over, you go someplace else.”

Of course, I also love that nothing goes as planned in these books, and their overall luck isn't very good. I'll give them credit where credit is due, they did, in fact, steal the bank! But then...

[bookconcierge · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Master criminal planner Dortmander is reduced to selling encyclopedias to the housewives living on Long Island when his friend Kelp tells him about a “sure thing.” Seems Kelp’s nephew Victor is a former FBI agent who has noticed a perfect opportunity – a local bank is undergoing major renovation and so operations have been temporarily moved to a mobile home in a nearby vacant lot. All they have to do is hitch the trailer to a truck and they can steal the entire bank!

Westlake created a wonderful character with Dortmander – a master planner of elaborate crimes who is cursed with a gang of not-quite-competent accomplices. If anything can go wrong with Dortmander’s perfect plan, it will. The only thing that seems to save Dortmander and his friends is that the police are equally (or more) inept than the crooks. I just find myself cheering for Dortmander’s crew, sharing their frustrations, shaking my head at their obvious mistakes, chuckling at their mishaps. This comic caper is the perfect antidote to a gray dreary day. I’ll be smiling for hours just thinking about it.

[ecw0647 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

We all miss Donald Westlake, the creator of so many delightful books of which this is a fine example in the Dortmunder series. Dortmunder is a thief and con-man (he's been collecting deposits on encyclopedias when he runs into a little trouble). This time he's approached by his friend Kelp, who, with his his ex-FBI agent nephew, Victor, have the perfect bank robbery all lined up. It seems while a new branch bank building is being built, the bank has moved across the street to a mobile home. The bank usually doesn't worry about theft since cash is in the safe (damn those credit cards and checks) only Thursday nights and with seven guards and a sophisticated alarm system, what's to worry. Well you no doubt can guess their plan. It's to install wheels and drive off with the entire building.

As is typical with Westlake caper books, just as things seem to be going right, they go off the rails. The ending is worthy of slapstick comedy; in fact, this could make a great movie. ("Could" being operative word. Apparently they tried with George C Scott and Joanna Cassidy, but it was a bomb.) . The charm of these books has less to do with plot than the conversations and interplay between the characters, not to mention sarcastic portrayals of certain professions, mundane examples of how we move through life.

[mausergem_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Capitalists' and Immigrants' Trust Corp bank is undergoing renovations and they have shifted their base to a trailer mobile home. Dortmunder and his friends steal the trailer to rob the bank and we hitch on for a fun ride.

Hilarious and very readable.

[crazybatcow · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's clear from the writing style that this was written in the early 70s - there is no character development and the story is dry. Characters (i.e. cops) are added to the story just so they can say 'funny' things, or play along with a running joke.

It tries to hard to be funny or cutie-funny (i.e. one character 'works' for a Black Liberation group and has a dinner party where every item on the menu has 'black' in it... just trying too hard to be over the top.)

I guess I'm not familiar with the comedic-crime-caper type fiction and I think I'll keep it that way.

[eetzel_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the Book that hooked me on Dortmunder. If you have never read a comic crime caper then you must read this book. The string is not all here, as Tiny does not reappear until Drowned Hopes, but Herman makes a decent sub and he supposedly can do locks as well. Stan and Andy are here and both May and Murch's Mom actually help in stealing the bank. A crook's dream. Pity they used water-based paint.

[ksmac · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Laughed out loud at misadventures of Dortmunder et al

[jouni_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Criminally funny, about all the things that could go wrong. Like Dortmunder himself thinks, he has all the good luck and all the bad luck and at the end it's all even. The result, and story, is quite amazing.

[goodwillbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fun, quick, crime caper. A bunch of crooks out to steal a bank, temporarily housed in a mobile home/trailer. Executed well, but luck is not on their side. The cover blurbs suggest the crooks are bumbling and incompetent, but the police fare far worse.