361
(Donald E. Westlake)
361 is Westlake's third book, written in 1962. This was the beginning of his 'hardboiled' period, a book he considers a landmark in his career. It was reissued last year in paperback. The blurb says that 361 means dstruction of life; violent death. Killing.
Ray is released from the air force and his father meets him in New York. The father is reluctant to be seen outside the hotel room, but Ray is hungry for civilian life, and before the ride home to Binghampton he wants as much of the Big Apple as he can get. The next morning his father is shot dead at the wheel while driving home. Ray is badly injured from the resulting accident and when he regains consciousness his brother tells him that his wife was killed by a hit and run driver. The brothers go out to avenge their losses, only to discover very unpleasant facts about their parents. Ultimately, Ray survives all the doublecrossing mob types and finds himself the victor in a war against two groups of the 'Syndicate'.
Westlake's style is fast moving as Ray moves on from one revelation to the next. Ray, brought up by a country lawyer, has an uncanny knack for making the right move before his opponent is aware that the game has already begun. The author will give an explanation for this instinct.
Potential readers beware! In this book the protagonists send messages to one another by killing people.
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