How wonderful to have John Dortmunder back in action, and in a book that is absolutely up to par with his best adventures. And after five years without a new Dortmunder, it's fun to read one that feels current, with the Internet and cell phones as part of the story. The whole gang is back - May, Andy Kelp, Tiny Bulcher, Stan Murch and even Stan's cab-driving mom, once again pulling off her helpless little old lady routine with aplumb.

This time they're forced to work with outsiders, and initially in the humiliating role of grave robbers after Dortmunder's latest caper, a mall camera-heist, goes sour. But John rightly doesn't trust his new employers, and he soon goes from "bozo" to partner, finding a way to weasel himself and Andy in on the action.

The pace is fast, the plot twists inventive, and the writing smooth as ever. Even if you've never read Westlake, you'll jump right in, and the good news is you'll get a kick out of Bad News.

Donald E. Westlake does a brilliant job here of using comedy to display the ironies of life in proving that Murphy's Law (anything that can go wrong . . . will) is still in effect.

John Dortmunder is well known to Westlake fans as the break-in specialist who constantly faces unexpected misfortune to foil his "can't-miss" plans. Never has Dortmunder had so many plans upset as in Bad News. This book is my second favorite in the series, after Bank Shot.

The book's opening would make a great short story. Dortmunder is about to walk off with $1,000 worth of camera equipment from a discount store when every alarm and light in the place go off. Using his wits, he quickly improvises an alibi that will leave you chuckling for days.

Having lost that $1,000, Dortmunder agrees to Andy Kelp's offer of a job digging up and moving a body from a nearby cemetery. Andy got the job over the Internet, and it turns out that John and Andy are viewed as expendable by their "employers" -- Fitzroy Guilderpost and Irwin Gabel. In the process of protecting themselves, John and Andy decide that they should try to cut themselves in on whatever the caper is really all about.

Eventually, they become "partners" with the two, plus their accomplice, Ms. Shirley Ann Farraff, who operates under the nom de guerre of Little Feather Redcorn, the supposed last of the supposedly extinct Pottaknobbee tribe who have a potential one-third ownership of a Native-American casino on the reservation in upstate New York. They plan to pull an "Anastasia" and prove that Shirley Ann is a Pottaknobbee by burying one of her relatives in the grave of one Joseph Redcorn on Long Island. Dortmunder quickly spots lots of holes in the plan and tries to fix them.

From the beginning almost everything goes wrong, with hilarious consequences.

Like the fine comic writer that he is, Mr. Westlake invests all parts of the book with humor . . . not just the development of the crime story. There are lots of humorous examples of the ways that people outsmart themselves.

Before you are done, you will have gone through so many switches of key elements of this story that you'll have run out of fingers and toes to count them on. And you'll love it!

After you finish the book, think about a time when you tried to get something for nothing . . . and outsmarted yourself. How can you avoid repeating that error in the future?

In my case, I remember spending 6 weeks working on a national contest while I was in high school. As I just about completed the contest entry, I realized that I had made a strategic error in my work process . . . and had no chance of winning. I would have made more money if I had worked for 25 cents an hour than I did with my nonexistent gains from working on that contest. I can avoid that problem by accurately assessing whether the likely gain is worth the effort before I start.

Donald Westlake just keeps on crankin' out the hits! John Dortmunder, the ne'er do well thief of many previous books, returns after a long haitus...and immediately becomes entangled in one botched robbery after another. The always put-upon thief always seems to come out of such foul-ups, if not a winner, then atleast a little more learned than before.

In this comical caper, Dortmunder and other assorted criminals attempt to steal a body...against Dortmunder's better judgment. He's proven right that a thief should stick to what he knows, because the grave-robbery leads into such a comedy of errors, one can only shake ones head in wonder at the hilarity of it all. "Bad News" presents Westlake at the top of his hilarious form.

Every time I open the cover of a Westlake book, I know that I will be entertained, and this one is no different. "Bad News" ranks right up there with all of Westlake's books, which I have been reading since the 7th grade, and if that's not a great testimonial to good writing, I don't know what is!