Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #221603 in Books
• Published on: 2009-02-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 250 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780843961140
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Customer Reviews

Westlake's debut shows little inexperience
Mavis St. Paul has been murdered, and Billy-Billy Cantell, a stuttering dope user/seller is the prime suspect, mostly because he was found at the scene of the crime with the gun in his hand. Only there's no way he could've done it. His friend and colleague Clay believes this and, following order from their boss, gangster Ed Ganolese, is trying to clear his name because the police aren't interested in another suspect.

But Billy-Billy has disappeared, and the police are getting too involved in Ganolese's operation, so Clay (who creates "accidents" for people who cross Ganolese) has to play amateur detective and discover who the "cutie" (as Ganolese refers to him) is that killed Mavis and framed Billy-Billy, apparently just to sabotage Ganolese's outfit.

Will Clay find out who did it? Will he get any sleep? Will his girlfriend Ella leave when she finds out what Clay does for a living?

The Cutie is a reprinting of Donald E. Westlake's debut novel under his own name. (He had previously published so-called "sex novels" under a pseudonym.) As The Mercenaries (its original title), it was nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for that year (it did not win, but the author would eventually win multiple times for other books).

The Cutie was always Westlake's preferred title, and it's actually more appropriate once you read the book. The funny thing is that the girl on the cover is not the "cutie" of the book, but she is the only one referred to as "mercenary."

For a debut novel, Westlake's familiar style is already apparent: a semihumorous approach, clever plotting, and an engaging mix of smart and dumb characters. (And I have to imagine that, before Westlake, nobody else was combining those things in just that way.) It's reassuring to know that the author emerged fully formed from the literary womb. In fact, it's only in later portions that The Cutie shows signs of inexperience -- even as one character practically confesses before our eyes, Westlake tries to force us down the wrong path by having Clay continually remind us who the "only" suspects are. When the solution is finally revealed, it's actually a relief.

On top of this, however, the author offers an ending that reinforces the notion (spoken throughout) that emotion has no place in business. I never saw it coming. Westlake fans will undoubtedly enjoy this reprinting of yet another early novel by Hard Case Crime. And fans of the author's Dortmunder series will appreciate that Westlake already has a character stealing a car with M.D. plates.

Can't-miss introduction to Westlake
In the first chapter of "The Cutie", Hard Case Crime's reprint of a very early Donald Westlake novel, we're introduced to a heroin addict accused of murder, a morally gray mob fixer with a dancer girlfriend, and an overly earnest copy. In less interesting hands, the cop would have been the hero of this piece. In Westlake's hands, the cop drops out about halfway through the novel -- not due to death or disgrace, but simply because I think Westlake just felt the other players were far more interesting.

The protagonist is Clay, mob fixer and right-hand man to a Manhattan circa 1960 version of Tony Soprano. He narrates the novel with alternating purposes: first, he's trying to prove to his boss that the heroin-addled murder suspect was actually framed, and second, he's trying to justify his career choice to his dancer girlfriend. Both mysteries have interesting resolutions, and like any great mystery, the final chapter raises new questions just as interesting as the ones it answered.

Westlake's writing is crisp and tense, with only the occasional slip into bad pulp (such as when he describes Manhattan's air as having halitosis). Clay drives all over New York City, from Riverdale to the Lower East Side to an abandoned subway station under 95th Street. The characters with whom he interacts are mostly minor mob figures or hangers-on, many with hidden agendas and dark secrets, and even the heroin addicts come across as faintly sympathetic. However, threaded throughout is Clay's questioning the morality of his own lifestyle, and the choice he makes in the final pages is nicely contrasted against the book's kicker ending.

One nice little easter egg is that one of "The Cutie"'s key characters shares a name with an early Westlake pseudonym. Coming out as a grace note to his career just a few weeks after his death, "Cutie" is a nice monument to Westlake's legacy.

You never go wrong with Westlake
2008 ended with the loss of one of the greatest mystery writers, Donald Westlake. Although best known for his comic novels and his pseudonymously written hard-boiled Parker novels, Westlake got his start with more straightforward crime novels. The Cutie is a re-release of one of those early novels.

The Cutie was originally titled The Mercenaries, which probably wasn't the best title, as it implies a tale of cutthroat soldiers fighting in some foreign land. This is a murder mystery taking place (as most of Westlake's stories) in New York City. The narrator is Clay, the chief assistant to mobster Ed Ganolese. As the story opens, mild-mannered junkie Billy-Billy Cantrell comes to Clay for help: he's just been framed for murder. Billy-Billy is incapable of such a crime, but the police won't see it that way; he also has powerful friends, so he can't just be killed to clean up the mess.

Billy-Billy goes into hiding and Clay is tasked with finding the real killer, who he calls "the cutie". Soon enough, there will be more dead bodies and Clay will be a suspect himself. What's worse, the cutie is out to kill him.

It is possible to see Clay as a prototype for Parker. Both are crooks who are willing to kill to maintain their lifestyles. Unlike Parker, however, Clay is not completely amoral and needs to rationalize to himself and others his behavior (Parker is incapable of guilt or remorse). In fact, a new love will make him question his way of life.

Even if this is one of Westlake's first novels, it is as adeptly written as his later works, albeit with a slightly more formulaic feel that was probably imposed by his publisher. Even if you're new to Westlake, however, The Cutie will be a nice treat.