Seeking Novels written from the point of view of Criminal Masterminds?
Unused Classified
I'm just finishing up a great series about Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes
nemesis, written by John Gardner. Can anyone recommend other books
about and from the point of view of criminal masterminds or genius
Bond-type villains, either real or fictional? Thanks.
kat >^.^< in Rhinelander
Little Rich Boy, a bit evil genius, a bit Harry Potter.
Kinda.
But since there aren't any other suggestions, there ya go.
kat >^.^<
in Rhinelander
"Unused Classified" <stran...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:a52e5fd9-45cb-4ca1...@f42g2000yqn.googlegroups.com...
Fire Tiger
Hmmm. Criminal masterminds? Well, I do have a suggestion but it
might not at first be viewed as what you're seeking ... but I assure
you it is.
Donald Westlake's humorous Dortmunder series.
Dortmunder is ... in a way ... and a really significant way ... a
criminal mastermind. He's the planner of heists. His "associates"
come to him with what they think would be a good heist and he figures
out how to actually do it. No, he isn't like a Bond-type super-
villain but he is very good. Even though Murphy (what can go wrong
will go wrong at the worst possible moment) is always part of his
team, he still at least good enough not to end up in jail ... most of
the time. Some might think he's a low-level criminal, but, while he
himself views himself that way, he and his gang take on major capers.
In one story, he steals a bank. No, he doesn't rob it. He steals
it. The whole thing. In the last one I read ("What's the worst that
could happen?"), he robs a major Las Vegas casino!
Dortmunder and his adventures are, in my opinion, some of the most
brilliant "real life" criminal escapades ever written. Nothing's easy
for him. He is hit with practically every obstacle you can think of
and he still figures out a way around them. Now, yes, they're written
as humorous stories but that doesn't take away from Dortmunder's
criminal genius.
And I'm not the only one that says this. "The thing about Dortmunder
is that he's a genius, a certifiable criminal mastermind." (http://
www.thrillingdetective.com/dortmunder.html)
Give them a try and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Oh, and
do read them in order as later ones refer back to previous stories and
if you read them out of order, you won't get the full understanding of
why some of the characters react the way they react to each other.
Scott Jensen
Dave in Toronto
wrote:
> It's a young adult book series, but Eoin Colfer's Artemus Fowl is a bit
> Little Rich Boy, a bit evil genius, a bit Harry Potter.
> Kinda.
> But since there aren't any other suggestions, there ya go.
> kat >^.^<
> in Rhinelander
>
>
> news:a52e5fd9-45cb-4ca1...@f42g2000yqn.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
>
>
> > I'm just finishing up a great series about Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes
> > nemesis, written by John Gardner. Can anyone recommend other books
> > about and from the point of view of criminal masterminds or genius
>
> - Show quoted text -
Would the Ripley books of Patricia Highsmith fit the criteria ?
Dave in Toronto
art...@yahoo.com
> On Sep 1, 7:39 am, Unused Classified <strangw...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I'm just finishing up a great series about Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes
> > nemesis, written by John Gardner. Can anyone recommend other books
> > about and from the point of view of criminal masterminds or genius
> > Bond-type villains, either real or fictional? Thanks.
>
> Hmmm. Criminal masterminds? Well, I do have a suggestion but it
> might not at first be viewed as what you're seeking ... but I assure
> you it is.
>
> Donald Westlake's humorous Dortmunder series.
>
> Dortmunder is ... in a way ... and a really significant way ... a
> criminal mastermind. He's the planner of heists. His "associates"
> come to him with what they think would be a good heist and he figures
> out how to actually do it. No, he isn't like a Bond-type super-
The main guy in Joe Gores 32 Cadillacs is very clever if not a
"mastermind". Dortmunder makes a cameo appearance in one of Gore's
novels (I can't remember if it is this one)
The guy in Westlake's "The Axe" is also very clever...