Put a Lid on It - Donald E. Westlake

Written by Donald E. Westlake
Read by William Dufris
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Release date: May 11, 2006
Duration: 06:55:15

Meet Meehan, a character who keeps the lid from blowing off Washington politics.

Meehan, a career thief staring at life without parole, is awaiting sentencing at the Manhattan Correctional Center when someone masquerading as his lawyer calls him to a meeting. The man, it turns out, represents the presidential reelection campaign committee now finding itself in need of a little professional help. So they outsource Meehan in return for a walk from all pending criminal charges. All he has to do is steal a compromising videotape before the other side springs an October Surprise on the president. A shrewd burglar, Meehan bites—and shows just how easy Watergate would have been had they left it to the professionals.

This is the kind of hysterical plot that readers have come to expect from Westlake: It’s implausible, with lots of twists and turns, yet rigorously attentive to detail; every character is “bent”; and the wrap-up is neat. In this case, the president’s re-election committee needs to arrange a burglary. Having learned from Watergate that amateurs can make a mess of things, they decide to contract with a professional burglar. Imagine the results.

William Dufris is also a professional, and he delivers an excellent performance. The main characters are always identifiable–each with a unique voice and style of speech. Dufris’s well-paced, well-modulated reading holds the listener’s attention as the action spirals. Fans of Dufris will get the pleasure they expect; newcomers will discover a narrator worth seeking out. R.E.K. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine