Book Note: Donald E. Westlake, The Hook

This note contains spoilers for the book.

I haven't yet found a Westlake book that really grabs me, and I'm probably going to stop trying. But I have friends who think very highly of him, and his books have many good qualities -- just, often, not the right ones forme.

This is another very disturbing one, like The Axe in some ways. It's set in the world of writing and publishing, though exactly where (other than New York, I mean) is not clear. The SF publishing world is the only part I know at all well, and I have to say that some parts of the setup in this book seem spot on, and others seem very unlikely and peculiar. It's either "mainstream" publishing, or perhaps mystery. The book plots discussed could be mysteries, but mainstream contains a lot of that too. Whatever, it's a part I don't know well, so maybe it's all spot on.

There's a reasonably good portrayal of a character coming apart under stress (not gravitational). I don't like it very well, but it's pretty good.