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Product Description
SOMETIMES WINNING FEELS AN AWFUL LOT LIKE LOSING.
Cab driver Chet Conway was hoping for a good tip from his latest fare, the sort he could spend. But what he got was a tip on a horse race. Which might have turned out okay, except that when he went to collect his winnings Chet found his bookie lying dead on the living room floor.
Chet knows he had nothing to do with it – but just try explaining that to the cops, to the two rival criminal gangs who each think Chet’s working for the other, and to the dead man’s beautiful sister, who has flown in from Las Vegas to avenge her brother’s murder…
Cab driver Chet Conway was hoping for a good tip from his latest fare, the sort he could spend. But what he got was a tip on a horse race. Which might have turned out okay, except that when he went to collect his winnings Chet found his bookie lying dead on the living room floor.
Chet knows he had nothing to do with it – but just try explaining that to the cops, to the two rival criminal gangs who each think Chet’s working for the other, and to the dead man’s beautiful sister, who has flown in from Las Vegas to avenge her brother’s murder…
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Pulp Comedy? Is there such a thing? Well, if there is, Westlake pioneered it. I first read this book over 30 years ago, being one of the first of Westlake's and turning me into something of a fan in my teens. After his death, I started looking around for the books I remembered enjoying so much as a kid, and found most of them...well, hard-to-find, or expensive, or out of print entirely. But not this one.
Luckily, it remains as fresh and as funny today as it did to me over 30 years ago, and lines that I still remembered and treasured after all this time still rushed up from the page to greet me like old friends. A perfect blend of laughs and thrills, peopled with a great cast of characdters, this is great, great fun.
Luckily, it remains as fresh and as funny today as it did to me over 30 years ago, and lines that I still remembered and treasured after all this time still rushed up from the page to greet me like old friends. A perfect blend of laughs and thrills, peopled with a great cast of characdters, this is great, great fun.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The 44th entry in the Hard Case Crime series is Donald E Westlake's second contribution following on from "361"(a third, "The Cutie" is scheduled for 2009) and was originally published in 1969. A New York cabby is a witness in a murder case and finds himself caught in a series of events involving rival gangsters. This is actually one of the more light-hearted of the HCC series some of which really are quite a bit more "hard case" than "Somebody Owes me Money". The book includes a number of comic moments, although it is not quite as funny as the reviewers on the back cover suggest. It is after all a mystery novel and not a comedy caper. This is a fine book by a skilled mystery writer who knows how to keep a story moving along to a satisfying resolution. The book also has a nice original cover painting by Michael Koelsch.
Format:Mass Market Paperback
In Somebody Owes Me Money (1969, reprinted 2008), Mr. Westlake shifts gears and writes a snappy comedy. Cab driver Chet Conway loves to play the horses, and when a mysterious fare gives him a tip for a tip, Chet puts his last remaining credit down with his bookie. Purple Pecunia (sic) gallops to a win and Chet dashes to pick up his cash... only to find the bloody corpse of Tommy the Bookie.
Poor unlucky/lucky Chet. As he remarks, if he weren't so eloquent, he never would've charmed the passenger. And if he had never charmed the passenger, he never would've received the tip and wound up in such a mess. Chet's immediately accused of the murder, then let off. Then, he's promptly kidnapped by gangs - two of them - each of them convinced that Chet is working for the opposition. Finally, Tommy's sister flies to town from Vegas to avenge her brother's death.
Chet just wants his money. Even when things get heated, his motivation is perfectly clear. He has no idea what this is all about - he doesn't actually care. The gangsters and the cops and the adulterers and the Vegas vixens can all do their own thing. Leave him out of it. And, of course, give him his money.
In all fairness to Chet, the Vegas vixen (she's actually a blackjack dealer), Abigail, gives him a new motivation. Abi (like Chet/Chester, she insists on the diminutive) is determined to play private investigator and drags the mostly-unwilling Chet along for the ride. While she stirs and schemes, Chet patiently drives her from place to place, noshing on danishes, bemoaning his empty wallet and sneaking peeks at his pretty passenger. Their repartee is terrific. Abi's no sidekick or second-wheel, she's the driving (no pun intended) force of their partnership and the two develop a genuine fondness for one another that's a joy to read.
In fact, from start to finish, Somebody Owes Me Money is a pleasure. Chet's so-called "eloquence" is really a sort of blinkered chutzpah that makes him as unnaturally fearless as any hard-boiled PI. Even when the bullets start flying, Chet never really feels like he's in danger. This is all a silly mistake and if someone would just give him his money, it will all go away. My favorite scene is when Chet (recovering from a shot that grazed him) is visited, consecutively, by every major player in the book, resulting in a series of Nero Wolfe jokes. Eventually, all the mobster rivals show up at the same time to much hullaballoo. Chet can't be bothered to deal with them all, so while the rivals face off in the living room, he strolls into the kitchen and calmly makes a sandwich.
Mr. Westlake doesn't cheat on the mystery aspect either. The solution was a sneaky one, but the clues are there to make it solvable. The problem is, Chet and Abi are so engaging that they maks it hard to play detective. Still, the cheerful duo bounce from one suspect to another, eliminating possibilities and eventually concluding in a high-stakes card game with the Whoddunit (something I think Nero Wolfe would appreciate).
Poor unlucky/lucky Chet. As he remarks, if he weren't so eloquent, he never would've charmed the passenger. And if he had never charmed the passenger, he never would've received the tip and wound up in such a mess. Chet's immediately accused of the murder, then let off. Then, he's promptly kidnapped by gangs - two of them - each of them convinced that Chet is working for the opposition. Finally, Tommy's sister flies to town from Vegas to avenge her brother's death.
Chet just wants his money. Even when things get heated, his motivation is perfectly clear. He has no idea what this is all about - he doesn't actually care. The gangsters and the cops and the adulterers and the Vegas vixens can all do their own thing. Leave him out of it. And, of course, give him his money.
In all fairness to Chet, the Vegas vixen (she's actually a blackjack dealer), Abigail, gives him a new motivation. Abi (like Chet/Chester, she insists on the diminutive) is determined to play private investigator and drags the mostly-unwilling Chet along for the ride. While she stirs and schemes, Chet patiently drives her from place to place, noshing on danishes, bemoaning his empty wallet and sneaking peeks at his pretty passenger. Their repartee is terrific. Abi's no sidekick or second-wheel, she's the driving (no pun intended) force of their partnership and the two develop a genuine fondness for one another that's a joy to read.
In fact, from start to finish, Somebody Owes Me Money is a pleasure. Chet's so-called "eloquence" is really a sort of blinkered chutzpah that makes him as unnaturally fearless as any hard-boiled PI. Even when the bullets start flying, Chet never really feels like he's in danger. This is all a silly mistake and if someone would just give him his money, it will all go away. My favorite scene is when Chet (recovering from a shot that grazed him) is visited, consecutively, by every major player in the book, resulting in a series of Nero Wolfe jokes. Eventually, all the mobster rivals show up at the same time to much hullaballoo. Chet can't be bothered to deal with them all, so while the rivals face off in the living room, he strolls into the kitchen and calmly makes a sandwich.
Mr. Westlake doesn't cheat on the mystery aspect either. The solution was a sneaky one, but the clues are there to make it solvable. The problem is, Chet and Abi are so engaging that they maks it hard to play detective. Still, the cheerful duo bounce from one suspect to another, eliminating possibilities and eventually concluding in a high-stakes card game with the Whoddunit (something I think Nero Wolfe would appreciate).
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Excellent: a really delightful read
I really enjoyed this short book; it was well plotted with an easy to follow story. The humour was excellent and made it a delight to read. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Colin Mayo
Genius.
Brilliant. Superb. Fantastic. THIS is how a book should be written- funny, clever, intricate and stylish. Pulp fiction at its finest.
Published 20 months ago by HunterDThompson
Powerful Noir
One of the best noir stories to be published by Hard Case. So what's Somebody Owes Me Money about? Chet Conway a New York cab driver is annoyed when a well to do man gives him the... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Cormac Mac
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