Thieves' Dozen by Donald E. Westlake

Thieves' Dozen by Donald E. Westlake was a fantastic book of mysteries. John Dortmunder is Westlake's hilarious burglar. This book consists of a dozen mysteries featuring Dortmunder.

One of my favorite short stories in this collection was Too Many Crooks. I have enjoyed reading this short story and wanted to read it again. Dortmunder and his partner, Kelp, broke through a wall and into the bank, but when they entered the bank, they couldn't believe what they saw.

This story was intriguing and hilarious, especially after they broke through the wall.

Another story I liked was Give Til It Hurts. Dortmunder had on an Arabian outfit and a pocketful of Roman coins, so he needed to take off his robe as soon as possible and climb on the window of the building. He used sheets and tied them together, so he could climb out that way. He escaped, and then he walked back inside to the gambling area where the men played poker. Dortmunder pretended to be someone else.

This was also a good story. It didn't have the humor like the first story, but I still liked it. I wondered what would happen to Dortmunder when he walked back inside to the gambling area, so I wanted to continue reading.

Art and Craft was another short story I liked. Dortmunder had a phone call from someone whom he wasn't sure he remembered. He thought the guy was someone he met in prison. He had to go to prison several times for his burglaries until he mastered a secret of escaping from the scene of his crimes. The voice finally identified himself as Three Finger. Then, Dortmunder remembered Three Finger had been in prison. He was out of prison and wanted to meet with Dortmunder, but he wasn't that fond of meeting with Three Finger. However, Dortmunder agreed to meet Three Finger.

When they met, Dortmunder couldn't believe his eyes because he was used to seeing Three Finger in prison clothes. Now, he saw him dressed up and looking completely different.

Three Finger wanted Dortmunder to rob his painting store, so he could be in the newspapers. He said it would be ironic to have a burglar be robbed when he was out of prison. Dortmunder didn't know if he wanted to commit the crime.

Now, you'll have to read the book to find out what happened in these stories and the other stories that are included in the book. If you enjoy reading capers, you'll probably enjoy reading these twelve short stories.