If John Dortmunder, Donald E. Westlake’s main character, had had a son, it would have been Charlie Howard, Chris Ewan’s lead man. Each of them have a mind sharp enough to plan a great crime caper but neither of them have the luck to pull it off exactly as planned. They are not unlucky; they’re just not overly successful. Both of them have the tenacity of a terrier but the heart of a teddy bear. Neither of them can stand the sight of blood. Both of them steal from people who can afford the loss and both feel guilty about short changing the innocent. Dortmunder is a man of his word and never lies to May, his lady friend. Charlie has to work on that one. He’s not altogether honest with Victoria, his agent — literary, not burglary — but she has a skeleton or two in her own closet.
John Dortmunder and Charlie Howard are humble perpetrators of crime
Dortmunder, a determined but downtrodden thief, lives in New York City and loves it. He has a regular circle of blue-collar friends who often meet in the back room of Rollo’s bar and occasionally help him with a heist. He once had to do a job in upstate New York and hated it. The green trees, deep lake, and quiet countryside nearly killed him. Donald E. Westlake, his creator, lived in New York City too, but in a different neighborhood.
Charlie Howard doesn’t have a place to call home. His biography says it all: “Charlie Howard writes caper novels about a career thief. He also happens to be one.” He travels to wherever his next book takes him and coincidentally pulls off a few lucrative jobs while he’s there. Charlie doesn’t have many friends. Actually, he doesn’t have any, except Victoria his book agent, and that’s questionable most of the time. Chris Ewan, maker of Charlie Howard, is, according to his biography on the back flap of a dust jacket, “a lawyer specializing in the film industry on the Isle of Man.”
First question that comes to mind is: Where is the Isle of Man? Second: What does the film industry have to do with it? (I’m not going to touch the idea of a lawyer writing about crime.)
Answers: The Isle of Man is an island in the Irish Sea, situated more or less between Belfast, Ireland, and Liverpool, England. More than 90 television and film productions have been produced on the Isle since 1995, ranging in subject from Alice Through the Looking Glass to Mutant Chronicles. All of them are listed on the official website.
Comic crime does involve criminal behavior
Dortmunder and Charlie are not angels. There’s some cursing and swearing. Sometimes people get hurt, but that goes with the territory of crime. Most of the time it’s Dortmunder and Charlie with a bag of ice on their heads, but at least there’s a beer in their hands. Simple guys with simple tastes but a distaste for regular employment. If Charlie were ever to go to New York and meet Dortmunder, the old hand would be proud of young Charlie. I can hear Dortmunder say to Charlie, “Keep trying, son.”
The Good Thief series by Chris Ewan:
- The Good Thief’s Guide to Amsterdam (2007)
- The Good Thief’s Guide to Paris (2008)
- The Good Thief’s Guide to Vegas (2010)
- The Good Thief's Guide to Venice (2011)
The classic comedy crime Dortmunder series by Donald E. Westlake:
- The Hot Rock (1970)
- Bank Shot (1972)
- Jimmy the Kid (1974)
- Nobody’s Perfect (1977)
- Why Me (1983)
- Good Behavior (1986)
- Drowned Hopes (1990)
- Don’t Ask (1993)
- What’s the Worst That Could Happen (1996)
- Bad News (2001)
- Money for Nothing (2003)
- Watch Your Back! (2005)
Denise Larson - Denise Larson is an author, editor, and freelance writer, mostly of history and genealogy, and a hobbyist in gardening and healthy ...
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