A Five-Year Plan

by Philip Kerr

Dave Delano didn't spend five years in a Florida prison idling away hard time. "I believe in the redistribution of wealth, " he told one of his guards. But redistribution for Dave was a strictly personal matter. His five-year plan aimed to put millions into his own pockets.

In the former Soviet Union there are a million scams. Most lucrative is money laundering. Refitting U.S. yachts to hide dirty dollars and transshipping them across the Atlantic on huge transport ferries destined for the Europoean playground of the international rich, the mob magically "disappears" the cash, moving it through Black Sea ports and into Russian banks. Dave Delano thinks some of that money should be his. It's a simple matter of hijacking one of those yacht ferries on the high seas.

For the Columbian cartel, Europe is a magnet. But landing their cocaine is another matter. When FBI agent Kate Fury gets a hot tip they are shipping it in a hollowed-out yacht hull via transport ferry, she know's she's onto the biggest collar of her career. Boarding that ferry, she's set to pounce. But she hasn't counted on Dave Delano, who has his own personal agenda.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Crime, Mystery, Mystery Thriller

352 pages, Hardcover

First published October 2, 1997

About the author

Philip Kerr was a British author. He was best known for his Bernie Gunther series of 13 historical thrillers and a children's series, Children of the Lamp, under the name P.B. Kerr.

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Manly men doing manly crime in manly ways, and the woman who is momentarily intrigued by one of them before getting hella annoyed. There's also a hurricane that goes in the wrong direction and I lost a few minutes making sure I read what I thought I read. So, really, two women were annoyed.

[Karl Jorgenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Philip Kerr has some range. Here he's Elmore Leonard. Almost. This book is a caper with a lovable crook for a protagonist, creepy bad guys, FBI supervisor, and a smart, charming, FBI agent love-interest. Have you read Out of Sight by Elmore Leonard? In some ways, here it is again. I love Leonard, so naturally I love this story too. Plot driven, it's a sharp, entertaining caper where the reader is left wanting to high-five the protagonist at the end.

[Sam Reaves · Rating 2 out of 5]

Philip Kerr is best known for his Bernie Gunther historical series, which follows a Berlin cop through the middle decades of the twentieth century. But he has also written a surprising number of stand-alone thrillers; this one is from 1997.
Dave Delano is just out of prison, having done five years while keeping his mouth shut rather than testify against a top Miami mobster. In the joint Delano learns from a cellmate about a ruse the Russian mob uses to get bales of cash across the Atlantic and into Russia via the Black Sea, on a transporter vessel used to ship luxury yachts. He comes up with a plan to hijack the cash while insuring against the double-cross he knows is coming from his mobster patron. Complicating the endeavor is the presence of a comely female FBI agent, tracking a Colombian gangster shipping drugs via the same route... All very cinematic.
It's well-researched and intriguing, but it lacks the dark intensity of the Gunther series; the love story's not convincing and there's really nobody to root for. It's just crooks chasing a big score. The whole thing is a bit perfunctory. Reasonably entertaining, but not the best of Kerr's work.

[EmBe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever konstruierter Thriller um einen Coup auf hoher See. Im Mittelpunkt steht der Tresorknacker Dave Delano, der frisch aus der Haft entlassen wird. Er hat die fünf Jahre im Gefängnis genutzt, um einen (Letzten) Plan für den perfekten Raub auszuhecken. Den legt er jetzt den Mafiosi vor, für die er gearbeitet hat und auch in den Knast gewandert ist. Die beißen an, die Gier ist zu groß. Und er hat ja noch etwas gut bei ihnen. Aber Dave verfolgt einen eigenen Plan, er hat da noch eine Rechnung offen. Und auch auf Hoher See kommt dem abgebrühten Dave die Liebe dazwischen, das macht das Thriller-Rezept perfekt.
Dave ist eindeutig die positive Figur, Held kann man ihn ja nicht ganz nennen. Von Kerr plastisch und spannend erzählt. Und natürlich gibt es ein paar scharfe Wendungen und Überraschungen.
In meinen Augen gehört er nicht zur Spitzengruppe von Kerrs Romanen, da ohne historische oder spekulative Elemente.

[grundoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 As per usual, a fine writing job with a random throw-away plot. This one's a high-seas caper involving a yacht transport vessel, which I now know is a thing that exists and certainly helped maintain my interest, but, well... it's a caper, and rooting for an outright criminal does not come naturally for me.

[Dariosk · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is Kerr trying to pull
an Elmore Leonard novel...
and getting pretty close
very enjoyable

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was torn between 3 and 4, so I decided to be kind and round up.

This novel wasn't a deep read at all, and it was completely unlike the other book by Philip Kerr that I've read, Field Gray. It's about a man who gets out of prison and decides to pull a stunt involving stealing some "dirty money" by hijacking a yacht. We're supposed to believe this guy is some sort of "noble thief," because he doesn't want to kill anybody, but he's really just a hypocrite.

There's pedophilia in this book and some really graphic violence. The child sexual abuse is not committed by the main character, so there's that, but the scene seemed to conflate male homosexuality with pedophilia. (Later, there's a vague reference to a couple of lesbians, and it's not negative, at least. The main character even calls out his asshole of a partner on his homophobia.) But, when the main character accuses of his partner of going to bed with a couple of girls who were clearly underage, I was annoyed that the writer stuck that in there, because the main character was present when it happened, and he didn't say anything then. Doesn't that make him an accomplice?

Aside from that, the book was pretty enjoyable, with several funny moments and a main character who was mostly likable. There were some twists that I genuinely didn't see coming, and I enjoyed the ending. There was a bit of romance, but it wasn't overdone and it didn't feel cheap.

I'd recommend this to anyone who's into fictional stories about crime that are mostly light reads, as long as they're not put off by violence and less-than-ideal depictions of gay men.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Philip Kerr wrote this back in 1997, well before he became truly entrenched as a noir mystery writer with his Bernie Gunther series (which is fantastic). Instead, Kerr seemed to be experimenting a bit with what he was writing. He had completed only the first three Gunther books, but had also written some SF & techno-thriller novels. "A Five Year Plan" is different again. While still a crime fiction novel, it lacks the darker theme and mood of noir, and instead goes for some light-hearted moments and scenes. And frankly, it did not always work for me. I found the dialogue to be beyond corny at times, the characters to be a bit too over the top stereotypical, and the situation to be far too fantastic to be plausible. The grand plan of stealing millions in mobster's money has way too many holes in it for even the greediest of thieves to rightly consider doing. Still, there were enough double crosses and unpredictability to make this enjoyable enough. I wondered often throughout the book how it would end for the two main characters, one a thief and the other an FBI agent, who fall in love before either realizes who the other truly was. The ending isn't as explosive as it could (should) have been, and it made me wonder if Kerr has a sequel in mind that he never got around to finishing.

[COL(ret.) Frank J. Stech, PhD · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too bad.
Kerr is shadowing those south Florida masters, Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen, with a cute story about stereotypical Miami hoods, sleazy lawyers, a sexy FBI agent, and a sexier ex-con (paralleling Leonard's "Out of Sight," published the year before, just a bit too much), and an overly-clever, totally unbelievable plot, almost too obviously pitching Hollywood. Leonard's book got the flick, as he should.
Kerr's Bernie Gunther series are really outstanding. This take-off (rip-off?) of the south Florida masters, not so much. Too often sexy her and sexier him sound like bad intros for film noir Turner Classic Movies--Kerr should have just cribbed the jazzy lines and quick repartee directly from Chandler and Hammett. Too often the mob guys sound a bit too, well, Shakespearian. There are so many reality holes in the story line, Kerr has to strain to keep it afloat and convince you there are no icebergs this Titanic plot is going to hit.
Oh. It's 1997 and Kerr is really really ragging on Donald Trump. Just saying.
But a fun quick read it is, and an interesting change of pace from one of my favorite writers (when he is putting Bernie Gunther or Russian cops through their paces).
If Miami Noir floats your boat, grab this and a deck chair, and shove off!

[Scilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is NOT a Bernie Gunther book. It is about Dave Delano, who gets out of prison for not testifying about seeing a gangster kill someone. He gets paid off when he's out, but decides to get even. He convinces the gang leader to hijack drug money on its way to being laundered in Russia. The deal is to get a fancy boat and ship it to Europe. On the transport ship will be drug runner boats hiding the cash. What they don't realize is the FBI is following someone who is shipping drugs on the same transport. Of course, the female FBI agent and Dave fall in love on the transport. However, he has to continue his plan which becomes complicated because the boat easiest to get off the transport is the boat with the drugs. There are lots of twists and turns and the book is amusing.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK - I love everything Philip Kerr wrote although I'm not yet done with all of his books. Really loved this one all the way through - but I have one small quibble! Kerr was always so excellent at his research, and this book is no exception. However... the yacht transports which feature so major in this book left me wondering, so I've been looking at photos on line - and I don't see any current "cat-tug" transports that actually keep their sterns open to the ocean during the trip. Anybody else have more knowledge than I do? Otherwise, I really was "on board" from start to finish! And so different from the Berlin Noir series, as much as I do love Bernie Gunther!

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoy the Bernie Gunther novels so I tried a non- BG Philip Kerr.

The book was ok... but well below the standard of the BG novels. As some astute reviewers wrote below there was a lot of bizarre machismo that did not really make for good reading, and the female characters seemed very unrealistic.

So, this one was a miss, but at least it is an easy read. 2 stars, whereas I would give all the Bernie Gunther novels 4 or more.

[Hella Comat · Rating 4 out of 5]

After spending five years in prison, Dave doesn’t want to ever go back. But he has a plan, not at all legal, that he’s had a lot of time to perfect that will net him a lot of money. There’s ruthless criminals, drugs, cash to launder, and lots of action on the ocean.

Who knew that you could transport your gazillion dollar yacht, along with other yachts, on a ship across the Atlantic??

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther novels and really enjoyed this foray into another world with this novel that is not tied to that series. Such a great writer. Enjoyable characters and plot.

[Howard G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this story. As others noted, it fits into the Florida ex-con/noir genre. John D MacDonald's Travis McGee comes to mind. If this was P. Kerr's homage to them he did a good job. Also just when you think you figured things out there are some neat twists that make it entertaining.

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best thing a discussion on whether Smith & Jones (of the TV series) really never killed people.

[Izabela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Petogodišnji plan

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh, a decent revenge style novel with an interesting cop and some good hijinks. Some of the ending will be a surprise, but most is predictable.

[Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much profanity.

[Moirad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Comic caper involving Russians, FBI, a classic literature-quoting criminal charmer, Mafia thugs, and luxury yachts. Quite enjoyable, but lacking in the lustre of the Bernie Gunther novels.

[Charles P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non Bernie Gunther

[Julien · Rating 2 out of 5]

Le seul personnage qui se fait enculer dans l'histoire (voir la magnifique couverture), c'est le lecteur.

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 1998. A light and breezy caper novel.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not expecting to like this but this got intense and gripping

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the characters, but the writing was horrible. A lot of time wasted on the mundane and then the action was rushed.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The dialogue is a little overly dramatic sometimes, but the plot, when it picks up, is thrilling and will keep you guessing. Lots of red herrings in this one!

[Frank Souder · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK Not nearly as good as the Bernie Gunther books

[Ian Robb]

Dave Delano has spent 5 years in prison for refusing to testify against a mobster, Nudelli. He meets a Russian and together they plan to hijack some boats. Turns out money is hidden in upholstery of luxury boats and transferred out of the US. The boats cross the Atlantic ferry. Dave convinces Nudelli to finance a plan where the money will be stolen at sea and transferred to a freighter. Nudelli’s rep, Al has been told to kill Dave when everything is set up. Surprise ending, Dave does not rendezvous with the freighter, but with a Russian submarine with his friend on board. There is a love interest, Kate Furey, an FBI agent who is also on the ferry for a different reason. Quite good, but not as good as Bernie Guenther books

[Filipe Lemos · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this a while ago, so I don't remember that much: still what I remember (and don't remember) only reinforces the low-esteem I have for this book.

Not that it's bad, it just isn't good, fresh, nor surprising. I didn't find myself rooting for the hero or terribly surprised by the outcome, even though we are kept in the dark about (basically) everything.

[Angel Serrano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un ex-presidiario desarrolla un plan para hacerse millonario y, a la vez, vengarse del culpable de su injusto encarcelamiento. En el desarrollo del plan, se enamora de una agente del FBI que, casualmente, se encuentra en el mismo barco carguero. Tensión amorosa y acción.