Donald E. Westlake

Donald Edwin Westlake (born July 12th, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York), is a prolific American writer, with over a hundred books, specializing in crime fiction, especially comic capers, with an occasional bit of science fiction. He is a three-time Edgar award winner, and was made a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America in 1993, the highest honor they bestow.

Related Topics:
July 12th - 1933 - Brooklyn, New York - Crime fiction - Comic capers - Science fiction - Edgar award - Grand Master - Mystery Writers of America - 1993

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Westlake attended Harpur College in Binghamton, New York, and left early. He spent two years in the USAF. He is married to Abigail Westlake aka Abby Adams Westlake and Abby Adams, a writer of non-fiction, frequently gardening, sometimes family history. Her two published books are An Uncommon Scold and The Gardener's Gribe Book.

Related Topics:
Harpur College - Binghamton, New York - USAF

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In addition to publishing prolifically under his own name, Westlake has published under numerous pseudonyms, including John B. Allen, Curt Clark, Tucker Coe, Timothy J. Culver, Morgan J. Cunningham, Samuel Holt, Sheldon Lord (with Lawrence Block), Allan Marshall, Richard Stark, and Edwin West.

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Westlake is known for the great ingenuity of his plots and the audacity of his gimmicks. His writing and dialogue are lively. His main characters are fully rounded, believable, and extremely clever. Westlake's most famous characters are the hard-boiled criminal Parker (written under the Richard Stark name) and Parker's comic flip-side John Dortmunder, the hard-luck criminal genius -- who originally began as Parker getting caught (to Westlake's surprise) in a comic situation in what became the novel The Hot Rock.

Related Topics:
Parker - John Dortmunder - The Hot Rock

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Most of Westlake's novels are set in New York City. In the Dortmunder novels, there is usually a detailed shortcut somewhere through the city. Several of Westlake (Stark) novels have been made into motion pictures, most notably The Hot Rock in 1972 with Robert Redford, Payback in 1999 with Mel Gibson, and What's the Worst That Could Happen? in 2001 with Martin Lawrence as well as many others.

Related Topics:
New York City - The Hot Rock - Robert Redford - Payback - Mel Gibson - What's the Worst That Could Happen? - Martin Lawrence

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