Drowned Hopes

The Dortmunder Novels, Book 7

This rollicking tale of an aging robber who wants to blow up a reservoir "will keep readers laughing" (Publishers Weekly).

In his day, Tom was a hard man. He came up with Dillinger in the 1930s, and pulled a lot of high-profile jobs before the state put him away. They meant it to be for good, but after twenty-three years the prisons are too crowded for seventy-year-old bank robbers, and so they let the old man go. Finally free, he heads straight for John Dortmunder's house. Long ago, Tom buried $700,000, and now he needs help digging it up. While he was inside, the government dammed a nearby river, creating a reservoir and putting fifty feet of water on top of his money. He wants to blow the dam, drown the villagers, and move to Acapulco. If Dortmunder wants a clean conscience to go along with his share, he needs to find a nice way to get the money before Tom's nasty instincts get the best of both of them.

©1990 Donald E. Westlake (P)2024 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Sub-Par

I love the Dortmunder series but this one is my least favorite. Westlake tells a great story as always but this one feels twice as long as it needs to be. The narration didn’t bring the characters to life as well as the other audible productions. The “Tiny” character in particular is portrayed as way more docile than in the other books. Still a worthwhile listen though.

Great story

Of course lots of fun and smart plotting by the master of his own genre. Excellent that we get 16 hours of DW's humour and wry dialogue. Definitely recommended.

The number of times I laughed out loud. I thought I'd never stop laughing when Kelp said "My cat's asleep."

The Dortmunder stories and characters are consistent book after book. I'm grateful Mr Westlake has not changed a good thing

Slog

What a slog this book was. The only dortmunder book that was terrible. An endless plot that just kept feeding on itself in circles. A long long driveway to a tiny house. And a narrator who seems to think every character-- even the women-- should sound like Clint Eastwood. Ugh. just don't do it.