- Mass Market Paperback: 207 pages
- Publisher: Hard Crime Case; Reprint edition (3 May 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0843953578
- ISBN-13: 978-0843953572
- Product Dimensions: 17.3 x 10.9 x 1.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 716,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
The men in the tan-and-cream Chrysler came with guns blazing. When Ray woke up in the hospital a month later, he was missing an eye, and his father was dead.Then things started to get bad...
From the incomparable Donald E. Westlake comes a devastating story of betrayal and revenge, exploring the limits of family loyalty and how far a man will go when everything he loves is taken from him.
From the incomparable Donald E. Westlake comes a devastating story of betrayal and revenge, exploring the limits of family loyalty and how far a man will go when everything he loves is taken from him.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Maybe this novel is forty-seven years old, but it still grips as we live through Ray Kelly's traumatic return home after serving in Germany in the 1960s. The nightmare started when his car was shot at and his father died in his arms. Ray also lost an eye. Not surprisingly, Ray wants to find out why it happened. His brother Bill isn't so sure but goes along with him, especially after his wife dies in a car smash. So the two brothers embark on a journey of discovery that harks back to their father's secret days in the Mob in New York. The painful past is unearthed, a clod at a time. There are more deaths and more revelations to further test Ray's resolve. Finally, when he puts everything together, his conscience leaves him with only one way out.
Complete with a private eye who finds he's getting in too deep, a reporter who dug up dirt and thinks he's retired, to a bunch of ex convicts who yearn to bring back the old days, this is quite a roller coaster of an action-packed ride. Spare prose, no spare flab. Sure, I guessed one of the twists, but that didn't make the whole thing less poignant.
A fast read by a master of the genre.
Complete with a private eye who finds he's getting in too deep, a reporter who dug up dirt and thinks he's retired, to a bunch of ex convicts who yearn to bring back the old days, this is quite a roller coaster of an action-packed ride. Spare prose, no spare flab. Sure, I guessed one of the twists, but that didn't make the whole thing less poignant.
A fast read by a master of the genre.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
361, published originally back in 1962 and in 2005 by Hard Case Crime, is a classic hardboiled detective story. Things go bad for the protagonist - his father is killed, while he ends up with a gimp foot and a blind eye - and then, it gets worse.
Like in any hardboiled novel worth the label, 361 has plenty of action, both gunfights and fistfights. The hero empties a bottle of booze about every two pages. This is definitely not high literature, but 361 is a gripping book I'm sure many people will read in one sitting. It has great entertainment value, simply put.
Like in any hardboiled novel worth the label, 361 has plenty of action, both gunfights and fistfights. The hero empties a bottle of booze about every two pages. This is definitely not high literature, but 361 is a gripping book I'm sure many people will read in one sitting. It has great entertainment value, simply put.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
21 reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Early Westlake available again
27 April 2005
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Just when Raymond Kelly was returning from military service, just when he was ready to settle down and spend some time with his family -- his brother, his father, his brother's wife whom he's heard all about and is excited to see in person for the first time -- just then, that's when it all went wrong.
One occasion of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and a month later he wakes up in a hospital room minus a father, a sister-in-law and an eye. With no family left but his brother, Bill, they set to find out who is responsible and wind up discovering a little more about their family than they ever guessed, including the surprising significance of their father's last word. But blood must avenge blood, so Ray and Bill spend a lot of the novel playing a Holmes and Watson with attitude.
The prose in 361 is so fast that I had to slow down my reading just to keep up. It is a fascinating example of the development of Westlake's craft. Most of the Westlake I've read came from a much later period of his career (1980s or later), and I've not read any of the Richard Stark novels, but this book seems like it would suit Parker fans more than those of his comic mysteries. The many fans of other Hard Case Crime novels, however, will eat it right up.
Only his third novel, 361 is not as solid and confident (or as funny) as the only other earlier work I had read -- the Edgar Award-winning God Save the Mark, published just five years later in 1967. What carries it along wonderfully, however, besides the pure power of the storytelling, is the sense that, behind the typewriter is a writer intensely trying to make an impression on the reader. And, as usual, he succeeds.
One thing was decidedly familiar, reminding me of the Donald E. Westlake style his fans know and love: the number of surprises present in this story allow for plenty of leeway in telling the story. You start to think he's going one way, and he goes another. Or he'll spring something unexpected, hiding it within a paragraph of description or "stage business" (as opposed to giving it its own paragraph like most writers do), thus guaranteeing that the reader does a mental "double-take." That's the kind of writing that makes me celebrate. And that's the kind of writing you can expect from 361.
One occasion of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and a month later he wakes up in a hospital room minus a father, a sister-in-law and an eye. With no family left but his brother, Bill, they set to find out who is responsible and wind up discovering a little more about their family than they ever guessed, including the surprising significance of their father's last word. But blood must avenge blood, so Ray and Bill spend a lot of the novel playing a Holmes and Watson with attitude.
The prose in 361 is so fast that I had to slow down my reading just to keep up. It is a fascinating example of the development of Westlake's craft. Most of the Westlake I've read came from a much later period of his career (1980s or later), and I've not read any of the Richard Stark novels, but this book seems like it would suit Parker fans more than those of his comic mysteries. The many fans of other Hard Case Crime novels, however, will eat it right up.
Only his third novel, 361 is not as solid and confident (or as funny) as the only other earlier work I had read -- the Edgar Award-winning God Save the Mark, published just five years later in 1967. What carries it along wonderfully, however, besides the pure power of the storytelling, is the sense that, behind the typewriter is a writer intensely trying to make an impression on the reader. And, as usual, he succeeds.
One thing was decidedly familiar, reminding me of the Donald E. Westlake style his fans know and love: the number of surprises present in this story allow for plenty of leeway in telling the story. You start to think he's going one way, and he goes another. Or he'll spring something unexpected, hiding it within a paragraph of description or "stage business" (as opposed to giving it its own paragraph like most writers do), thus guaranteeing that the reader does a mental "double-take." That's the kind of writing that makes me celebrate. And that's the kind of writing you can expect from 361.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Hard-Drinking, Chain-Smoking Drama
27 Dec 2005
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Ray Kelly is 23, just discharged from the Air Force. Met by his dad in New York City, they leave for pop's home in upstate Binghamton. Thirty-eight miles outside of New York City, a Plymouth pulls along side and starts shooting. When the smoke clears, Ray's father is dead, and Ray is in the hospital missing an eye.
Originally written in 1962, "361" is vintage pulp fiction, a minor classic from Don Westlake, one of the masters of the hardboiled crime novel. Written in the vein of Jim Thompson, Dashiell Hammett, and Earle Stanley Gardner, Westlake takes the reader on a no-nonsense odyssey of revenge as Kelly pieces together the jigsaw of the father's life he never knew. Ray, now teamed up with brother Bill, chain-smoke their way from hotel room to hotel room, washing down the smoke with "Old Mr. Boston" straight from the bottle as they track down dad's assasins. As the mystery not surprisingly leads to the mob, one wonders if perhaps Mario Puzo didn't take inspiration from "361" in writing his classic "The Godfather".
Writing styles and culture have changed considerably in the past forty years; one of the hidden jewels in reading early works of Westlake and his ilk is the refreshing peek back into life before political correctness mania. But whether you read it for the plot twists and turns, the hard, unadorned prose served cold, or simply as a nostalgic walk down fiction's memory lane, "361" is prime pulp fiction, a quick thrill to savor and enjoy.
Originally written in 1962, "361" is vintage pulp fiction, a minor classic from Don Westlake, one of the masters of the hardboiled crime novel. Written in the vein of Jim Thompson, Dashiell Hammett, and Earle Stanley Gardner, Westlake takes the reader on a no-nonsense odyssey of revenge as Kelly pieces together the jigsaw of the father's life he never knew. Ray, now teamed up with brother Bill, chain-smoke their way from hotel room to hotel room, washing down the smoke with "Old Mr. Boston" straight from the bottle as they track down dad's assasins. As the mystery not surprisingly leads to the mob, one wonders if perhaps Mario Puzo didn't take inspiration from "361" in writing his classic "The Godfather".
Writing styles and culture have changed considerably in the past forty years; one of the hidden jewels in reading early works of Westlake and his ilk is the refreshing peek back into life before political correctness mania. But whether you read it for the plot twists and turns, the hard, unadorned prose served cold, or simply as a nostalgic walk down fiction's memory lane, "361" is prime pulp fiction, a quick thrill to savor and enjoy.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
An unacknowledged minor classic
24 Jun 2005
Format:Mass Market Paperback
It seems as if Donald Westlake has always been with us. When one has a career that has straddled six decades, one tends to leave that sort of impression. Westlake also seemed to have burst on the scene as a grandmaster; looking at his early work, one is struck by the richness of its voice, even as he was still finding and developing it. While he has built his career on smartly written, lighter crime fiction, one must not forget that he has a dark side that is not limited to his regular offerings under his Richard Stark pseudonym. This is by no means a recent development; it is easy to forget that some of Westlake's early work was extremely dark and foreboding.
Westlake's 361, an early example of his grim and gritty side, has been reissued by the rapidly-becoming-indispensable Hard Case Crime imprint. That any of Westlake's work should be out of print is an unpardonable omission, and to see this grim book --- originally published in 1962 --- back on the rack after an absence of too many years is a welcome occurrence, indeed.
It begins with young Ray Kelly, fresh out of a stint with the Air Force, being picked up by his father for a reunion of sorts. The reunion is cut short when Kelly's father is murdered in front of him. Kelly, himself grievously injured, begins an obsessive hunt for the men who killed his father and changed his life forever. Aided by his brother Bill, Kelly begins a tortuous journey through their father's past, a past that is littered with deceit and disappointment. The subtle focus here, however, is the transformation of Kelly from a peacetime Air Force veteran who is eager and excited with life's prospects to a violent and ruthless killer who knows no limits in his pursuit of revenge.
Westlake's developing mastery of dialogue is on display here. While his reach exceeds his grasp at times, it is instructive to watch Westlake's talent unfolding, in many ways for the first time, on the pages of 361. One also finds here that Westlake, then as now, is a keen observer of the culture and mores of the surroundings --- to wit, New York and its upstate suburbs --- that have served as a rich and ready backdrop for his novels.
While an early work of Westlake's, 361 is not a deficient one, but rather an unacknowledged minor classic that hopefully will be accorded its proper recognition. Recommended.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Westlake's 361, an early example of his grim and gritty side, has been reissued by the rapidly-becoming-indispensable Hard Case Crime imprint. That any of Westlake's work should be out of print is an unpardonable omission, and to see this grim book --- originally published in 1962 --- back on the rack after an absence of too many years is a welcome occurrence, indeed.
It begins with young Ray Kelly, fresh out of a stint with the Air Force, being picked up by his father for a reunion of sorts. The reunion is cut short when Kelly's father is murdered in front of him. Kelly, himself grievously injured, begins an obsessive hunt for the men who killed his father and changed his life forever. Aided by his brother Bill, Kelly begins a tortuous journey through their father's past, a past that is littered with deceit and disappointment. The subtle focus here, however, is the transformation of Kelly from a peacetime Air Force veteran who is eager and excited with life's prospects to a violent and ruthless killer who knows no limits in his pursuit of revenge.
Westlake's developing mastery of dialogue is on display here. While his reach exceeds his grasp at times, it is instructive to watch Westlake's talent unfolding, in many ways for the first time, on the pages of 361. One also finds here that Westlake, then as now, is a keen observer of the culture and mores of the surroundings --- to wit, New York and its upstate suburbs --- that have served as a rich and ready backdrop for his novels.
While an early work of Westlake's, 361 is not a deficient one, but rather an unacknowledged minor classic that hopefully will be accorded its proper recognition. Recommended.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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