Bank Shot

Donald E. Westlake's "Bank Shot" plunges readers into the chaotic world of John Dortmunder, a perpetually unlucky but brilliant professional thief. Fresh out of prison, Dortmunder and his quirky crew are blackmailed by the ruthless financier Victor Kress into pulling off an audacious and seemingly absurd heist: stealing an entire bank. Not just the vault, but the physical building itself, which happens to be a mobile branch housed in a trailer. What begins as a straightforward, if unusual, plan quickly spirals into classic Dortmunder mayhem. As the team attempts to abscond with the bank, they are plagued by everything from uncooperative vehicles and bumbling police to unexpected witnesses and their own brand of incompetence. Westlake masterfully crafts a narrative of escalating absurdity, where each solution creates a new, more hilarious problem, solidifying "Bank Shot" as a pinnacle of comic crime fiction and a standout in the beloved Dortmunder series.