"Wild satirical look at modern society"
As he sits in the holding area of the Manhattan
Correctional Center, Francis Xavier Meehan wonders why the
gods loathe him. He knows not to mess with the Feds, but
how was he to realize the truck contained US mail when it
failed to have any logo. Feeling a bit of the blues due to
his bad luck, Francis expects the worst when even bail is
denied. Instead a presidential reelection committee member arrives
to offer Francis a deal. The charges will be dropped if
Meehan steals a video that makes the president look so bad
his sure shot reelection would flush down the toilet.
Francis puts together a team of pros (no Watergate amateurs
on his squad) and travels to the upstate New York estate of
the owner of the sacred video. However, Beltway insiders
who could not locate Albany, New York from Albany, Georgia
and a bunch of Middle East espionage agents obstruct
Francis and his team. Then there is the other party's
personal felon team to compete with for the grand prize. Donald E. Westlake provides his usual wild satirical look
at modern society foibles in his latest crime caper, PUT A
LID ON IT. The story line is amusing and exciting as
Francis slowly unravels the truth behind the deal with the
devil that he struck. Fans of amusing mysteries will
relish Mr. Westlake's axing of the American presidential
election system starting with the truism that the only
lesson learned by the DC crowd from Watergate is to use
professional thieves when breaking and entering to steal
something. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted April 6, 2002
|
