Another casualty of 2008

[ffutures]

Looks like 2008 couldn't finish without taking a last casualty. Donald Westlake (AKA Richard Stark and others) died on New Years Eve, aged 75.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_westlake

For those who don't know his work, he wrote at least 100 books, mostly crime; as Westlake he tended to give his stories a humorous slant, as Stark he specialised in hardboiled crime, with an anti-hero prepared to kill anyone who got in his way if it was the most expedient thing to do.

I was a big fan of both aspects of his writing, as may have been apparent a few weeks ago when I mentioned my delight in discovering that there were two Stark books I hadn't read. There's apparently one more book en route to publication, after that presumably it's over.

He'll be missed.

Comments

[cobrabay.livejournal.com]

I've been a fan of Westlake's books, particularly his Dortmunder novels, for a long time, started reading them in the mid-70's. I've never read any of the books he wrote as Richard Stark, I knew of them, but never got around to it. I hadn't realised he had written the screenplay for The Grifters, which is a great film.