Put a Lid on It

by Donald E. Westlake

Francis gets out of prison if he'll pull off one very special heist--of an incriminating videotape that could cost the President of the United States his re-election, and maybe even his freedom. He's about to meet a whole new breed of conspirators: the kind that live in Washington, don't know how to keep a secret, and could get an honest crook killed...

Genres: Mystery, Humor, Fiction, Crime, Audiobook, Thriller, Mystery Thriller

290 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2002

About the author

Donald E. Westlake (1933-2008) was one of the most prolific and talented authors of American crime fiction. He began his career in the late 1950's, churning out novels for pulp houses—often writing as many as four novels a year under various pseudonyms such as Richard Stark—but soon began publishing under his own name. His most well-known characters were John Dortmunder, an unlucky thief, and Parker, a ruthless criminal. His writing earned him three Edgar Awards: the 1968 Best Novel award for God Save the Mark; the 1990 Best Short Story award for "Too Many Crooks"; and the 1991 Best Motion Picture Screenplay award for The Grifters. In addition, Westlake also earned a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1993.

Westlake's cinematic prose and brisk dialogue made his novels attractive to Hollywood, and several motion pictures were made from his books, with stars such as Lee Marvin and Mel Gibson. Westlake wrote several screenplays himself, receiving an Academy Award nomination for his adaptation of The Grifters, Jim Thompson's noir classic.

Some of the pseudonyms he used include
•   Richard Stark
•   Timothy J. Culver
•   Tucker Coe
•   Curt Clark
•   J. Morgan Cunningham
•   Judson Jack Carmichael
•   D.E. Westlake
•   Donald I. Vestlejk
•   Don Westlake

Reviews

[Tracy P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hysterical. What a conglomeration of riotous characters Westlake has brought together in Put a Lid on It.

Main character, Meehan is a lifelong criminal who is only a stones throw away from being sentenced to life and no parole. He is pretty much resigned to his fate when he is offered the chance of a lifetime - a get of jail free card. There is one condition, though. He must steal an elicit videotape for the campaign of the current president to help boost his chances of reelection. Sounds simple enough. Yet, you know it is going to be full of blunders and laugh-out-loud mayhem all throughout.

One of my favorite (of many) lines is when Meehan's lawyer says to him:
"I'm always just a whisker away from being able to understand what you're saying." Classic Westlake.

Narrator William Dufris rocked it from being to end. His ability to bring all the characters to life with nonstop hilarity is remarkable. Constantly had to rewind because of laughing so hard that I would miss what was being said next. Thank you.

[Johnny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Francis Xavier Meehan is not Dortmunder and Put a Lid on It is not a Dortmunder novel. Think back on all the mistakes made by the Watergate burglars and then, imagine the chaos that Donald E. Westlake could create by having a campaign committee hire one of his burglars for an ill-conceived political burglary. This novel features the kind of detailed planning of the “job” and the same kinds of zany crew members that any Westlake fan has come to expect.

One of the crew members is an African-American driver. When the reader is first introduced to him at a garage in Harlem where cab drivers pick up their taxis for the evening shift, his role seems almost cliché’. When the driver is confronted by another character who is incredibly racist, his reaction provides a comical moment. When the reader finds out the details about the driver, it’s an even funnier moment (at least, to me).

The comedy occurs during the interaction of Meehan and the leaders of the committee, the reaction of Meehan’s lawyer to the hare-brained scheme, and the delightful episode of casing the target venue with an ex-con with more passion than sense. Along with the comedy, however, are some pretty interesting action scenes which also have a comic element to them.

My favorite part of the novel, however, was the way Meehan would classify events, actions, and reactions according to the absurd number of rules for the criminal lifestyle or the way he would organize information according to books he hoped to write in the future. Yet, one of the many rules is not to write anything down. Even lists of potential contacts were handled with reversals of their initials and Meehan refused to record any phone numbers—keeping them all in his head except for that of his lawyer and those of the campaign committee.

As in any Westlake novel, one expects a certain amount of double-dealing. This one is no exception. Alert readers will expect it and will be intrigued by the way it plays out. Frankly, I liked Put a Lid on It better than most of the Dortmunder novels I’ve read. I still believe Westlake is the master of comedic thrillers—even more than Elmore Leonard in my opinion.

[Hans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Donald Westlake is that friend from days long past--the one you still keep up with on a regular basis. Donald Westlake is a lazy summer day when you have time to while away a few hours. Even if that summer day is in February. Donald Westlake is a vacation, whether or not you are on vacation. Donald Westlake is Donald Westlake.

Here's one of the gem's from this story:

"You don't trust me," Meehan told him, "and you're right. You give me a doorway and a running start and I'm outa here."

Drily, "We know that," Jeffords said.

"We all know that, or I wouldn't mention it. On the other hand," Meehan said, "I don't do my best work with amateurs in the room."

Jeffords, again on the edge of being miffed, said, "Meaning?"

"It's the old carpenter-to-homeowner wage scale," Meehan explained. "Twenty-five dollars an hour to do the job, thirty-five if you watch, forty-five if you help. I don't want you to watch, and I sure don't want you to help. So you'll have to leave me alone to do it my own way, and as soon as you do, I'm outa here."

[Rob Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun book! Westlake invents a plausible scenario for a weird crime and runs with it, and the result is engaging and delightful. Definitely entertaining.

[Abbi Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty sure I enjoyed this one, though I recall it was confusing in some spots.

[Craig Pittman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a lot of Donald E. Westlake books but I am not sure I read this one before. It concerns a frequent felon named Francis X. Meehan who, while locked up awaiting trial on federal charges, is suddenly sprung because some powerful people need his help.

Specifically, they need an expert thief to go get a package with a videotape and incriminating documents that could ruin the incumbent president's chance at reelection. If Meehan can pull this off then in exchange, he gets his freedom.

Meehan, curious, accepts the challenge -- and meanwhile keeps looking for a way out.

Meehan is an amusing character, a self-educated type who keeps reminding himself about what he calls "The Ten Thousand Rules" that govern life for the criminally minded, and which he never writes down because you don't write anything down. (That's one of the rules.)


When he's first approached by campaign staffer Pat Jeffords, who identifies himself as Meehan's new attorney, Meehan sees through the ruse right away. Over and over, Meehan proves that he's smarter about crime than the so-called straight guys who have hired him. For one thing, they inadertently leaked his mission to a contributor, so that he ends up dealing with spies and reporters.

Not everything goes smoothly on Meehan's end either, though. I particularly liked the part where Meehan takes a possible confederate with him to scout out the scene of the crime, only to blunder into a political rally for the other side.

Some of the best scenes in the book involve Meehan chatting with his court-appointed attorney, Elaine Goldfarb. She's been around the block a few times and is just as cynical and sardonic as Meehan but wary of him as well (she's seen his file). I particularly liked the scene where she's trying to persuade a juvenile court judge (!) to sign off on Meehan's release.

All in all, a winning heist book from Westlake, marred only by the fact that Meehan is no Dortmunder and his confederates lack the comic panache of his usual gang.

PS: Although this is a fairly lighthearted novel, Westlake dedicated it to someone he describes as a friend -- Michael Schwerner, one of the three civil rights workers murdered in Mississippi in 1964. Seeing that totally blew me away.

[Chi Dubinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Francis Xavier Meehan is a thief, currently incarcerated for robbing a mail truck. So what is he to think when a man in a suit appears in the visitors' room, claiming to be his lawyer? The man has a proposition for him; is it too good to be true? He wants Meehan to steal some evidence damning to the President's re-election campaign. Shades of Watergate!
An entertaining caper, one where the criminals have more on the ball than the politicians.

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three-and-a-half. Agree with most other reviewers here. Nothing really goes wrong for the characters and so the novel ends up feeling a bit preordained.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read. Love all the characters. A nice look at corruption in DC.

[Weldon Burge · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me some time to get into it, but I've always loved Westlake's characters. This book was no exception.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun heist w/ tight plot & above-average writing and characters for this genre. Asks little of the reader and gives much. High literature? No. Recommended? Hell to the yeah.

[Louis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of let down in the last quarter, but hey, giggles.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mildly interesting novel about a man who is busted out of prison by all the president’s men in order to retrieve a video taped confession in the hands of a political opponent that is to be used as an October surprise.

The story could be fun at times, but some of the characters were too poorly sketched to allow me to care about them.

The protagonist was interesting, but all the secondary characters seemed too two-dimensional.

The smarmy politician seemed too smarmy to be real, the lawyer/love-interest was just a potted plant with a vagina, not given much personality of her own, only there to be used to add a love story element to the novel.

Had these characters been fuller, more like real men and women, the novel would have been better. The writing was pretty shitty, with Westlake banging on about things that did not add anything to the story.

There was a part of the conversation between the protagonist and the lawyer/love interest where they talk about the origin of the verb “clothesline” comes from; it goes on for a page. Silly bits like this add little to the story. I think this was intended to make the characters seem more real, but Westlake’s efforts fall as flat as the characters.

I was surprised by how bad the writing was, as this comes after The Hook, an incredibly well-written novel with sharp writing. I would have expected that Westlake would continue to mature, but, maybe he rushed this one in order to pay a gambling debt or something. Whatever the explanation, the playfully fun story was only barely able to compensate for the shitty writing. Was it worth the read? Yes, but just by a smidge, and certainly not if you have better books at hand.

Two and a half stars, but bumped up to three.

[Eli · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first Westlake/Stark book I remember being disappointed by. It is not that it is not well written it just was so not what I expected and not what I was looking for. I actually quit it initially and came back to finish it after a couple weeks later. My issue is that what I love about Westlake/Stark books are the characters and the style: professional criminals doing crime. Here I did not overly enjoy the lead character and well a criminal by trade according to the standards of the authors most famous character Parker he is no professional. He even says that he goes into a job with no plan and just wings it. Here he is pulled out of jail by some political types and asked to steal something embarrassing to the President of the USA. Much of the book is making fun of the ridiculous ins and outs of the justice system where it intersects with politics and the ridiculous machinations of the political machine, which here at least is occupied completely by morons. I see where the author was going and it does work to a point though I felt lost a couple times by some subplots and found the whole thing a little meandering, but mostly I just didn’t enjoy it and wanted to read a Parker book instead.

[RJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Francis Meehan, a career thief is awaiting sentencing at the Manhattan Correctional Center, looking at life without parole for hijacking a truck containing U.S. Mail; A federal crime. Unexpectedly, he is called for a visit by someone masquerading as his lawyer. As it turns out, the man is part of the presidential reelection campaign committee. They find themselves in need of a little professional help. If Meehan accepts the job, they will expunge his crime and he will be a free man. They want him to retrieve a damning videotape of the president from a contributor of the opposition. Remember Watergate executed by amateurs? The Campaign Committee does not want to experience this again. Meehan saw his profit when he learned the contributor had an antique gun collection. Getting the prize was one thing, making a profit was another. Not a bad story.

[Greta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Put A Lid On It is a political thriller/mystery story. Westlake writes with clarity and unfolds his story as it happens on a straightforward timeline. The story starts inside a federal prison where an inmate in recruited by US presidential committee workers to carry out a robbery to hide bad news about their candidate. However, it was not as interesting or exciting as crime suggests.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though it's from 2002 it's still classic Westlake. Francis and his crew aren't as good as Dortmunder or Parker but it's still a fun caper. I'm just surprised they didn't call it "October Surprise." I'm a little disappointed in myself in taking so long to read it.

[Rob Lewan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good (ish). I enjoyed most of the dialog but overall it was a little far fetched in most aspects of the story.

[William Leight · Rating 4 out of 5]

[warning, spoilers for plot twists that aren't very difficult to see coming]

“Put A Lid On It” features a couple of Westlake’s more memorable one-shot characters, the middle-aged professional thief Francis Xavier Meehan and the middle-aged public defender Elaine Goldfarb. Naturally the description “middle-aged professional thief” coupled with Westlake's name makes one think of Dortmunder, but aside from a generally jaded outlook on life Meehan and Dortmunder are quite different. Dortmunder is a pessimist, but he has a steady, long-term relationship and an established group of friends/coworkers. Meehan, on the other hand, is a loner, a hard-bitten cynic who has only acquaintances: to compensate, he’s more of a philosopher than Dortmunder, an acute observer with a fund of hard-earned — he seems to have spent more time in jail than Dortmunder — wisdom that he refers to as the ten thousand rules. As for Goldfarb, she seems to have been designed to be the opposite of a typical love interest in every way: age (not young), appearance (not pretty), general attitude towards the world (not welcoming). Also a loner — this and her spiky temperament distinguishes her from Dortmunder's long-term girlfriend, May — Goldfarb is in some ways even more hardened than Meehan, but she isn’t nearly as cynical: after all, she’s a public defender. In fact, she can be a real hothead when something gets under skin, unlike the always self-possessed Meehan. Their tentative romance is the best part of this book.

The main part, though, is a sometimes heavy-handed and very Clinton-era political satire. The book begins with Meehan getting sprung from prison by operatives from a political party (Westlake is careful not to use real names, but it seems fairly clear that this is intended to be the Democrats) who want somebody to steal a videotape that the opposition is planning to use to sabotage the president’s reelection. Having learned from Watergate, they want to bring in a professional instead of trying to handle it themselves. At first reluctant, Meehan eventually agrees to handle the theft as long as he is also allowed to steal something for himself: the videotape is being held by a wealthy Republican (again, the parties are not named, but you can guess), and Meehan plans to make away with his valuable collection of antique firearms as well as the tape. But, being an old hand, Meehan knows that he needs a lawyer for protection, and chooses Goldfarb, who was his state-assigned lawyer for his coming trial. She's his choice partly because he knows that she is independent of the politicos who are hiring him, partly because he can tell that she won’t be overawed by them (or anybody), and partly because he likes her. This leads naturally into a nice heist setup — Meehan doesn’t have a standard group of friends whom he can rely on for help like Dortmunder, but he knows some people — and then an inevitable double-cross. A wild card is provided by the efforts of a pair of foreign agents — one Egyptian, one Israeli — who want to obtain the blackmail tape for their own purposes, which may or may not be aligned with either of the political parties. Like I said, a bit heavy-handed: same with the ultra-reactionary old coot who Meehan is robbing. Westlake is better with the (presumably) Democratic operatives, who are smug, self-satisfied, and not as smart, or as in control of the situation, as they think they are: plus, the total absence of any sort of ideological content on their part is its own commentary on the state of the party. Presumably as a counterpoint to the void at the center of their politics, the book is dedicated to Mickey Schwerner, whom Westlake apparently knew in the ‘60s. On the whole, I think I prefer the Dortmunder books: for one thing, they’re funnier, and the camaraderie of the gang provides an element that is missing here. Nonetheless, Meehan and Goldfarb alone make the book worth reading.

[Mrs. Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite having been forced recently to withdraw of my claim that Donald Westlake wrote only good stuff I made another random selection and hit gold: Put a Lid on It is not merely very funny but also apt in its portrayal of national politics as a process having to do solely with form. Westlake’s forte is plot - the man was endlessly inventive - but what makes a book like Lid so entertaining is the steady stream of snarky observations which are unrelated to plot, e.g. two from chapter 20:

“Their cabby, running down Broadway, wore a skinny headset-mike thing so he could keep both hands on the wheel while engaged in a passionate, sometimes angry, sometimes sorrowful, telephone call in his native Dzavhan-Mongol dialect, a language that sounds mostly like a water buffalo clearing its throat”
“The first two outdoor phones they found were broken, quite badly, as though they'd been in use by a person who'd suddenly had a psychotic episode.”
Assuming willingness to tolerate the constant use of today’s all-purpose verb/noun/adjective/exclamation, the book is highly recommended.

[you can skip this part if you want; it’s a personal rant]. Interestingly, Westlake uses Dobermans to represent Relentlessly Vicious Dog Breed. He’s behind the times: Dobies were replaced, briefly, by Rotts, and of course today’s Killer Canine is a pit. I am old enough to remember when the be-careful-he’ll-bite breed was “police dog” (German Shepard). Just as for some people there’s always a dangerous race/ethnicity of humans (Mexicans, Blacks, Asians, Jews, etc.) there is always an analogous breed of dog. Saves a lot of bother for them as find thinking a challenge.

[Dan Trefethen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boy, do I miss John Dortmunder. But Francis Xavier Meehan may be the next best thing.

Donald Westlake died in 2008, so there will be no more Dortmunder novels. But I stumbled on this short book, and the summary sounded like the kind of funny crime caper that Dortmunder would pull.

It's a hoot. The political campaign of the President pulls a thief (Meehan) out of a Federal prison because they need a professional thief to snatch some incriminating evidence from the Other Side before they spring an October Surprise in the election.

Of course, the crooks are the pros and the political operatives are the rookies. Hilarity ensues. While Meehan dodges some toughs from the Other Side who are sniffing around, he pulls together a Dortmunder-ish crew to rob a country home and get away with a few extra goodies in addition to the political evidence.

This book from 2002 feels a little too close to the mark in our post-2016 election environment, for a number of reasons. But here's the quote that did it for me:

“He had time...to think that, if he cared about it, he could probably decide the upcoming presidential election right now, all by himself. But that would mean looking at those people, those candidates, getting involved, studying their histories and their programs, making an informed decision, so screw it. Let the Americans work it out for themselves. How bad a choice could they make?”

Oy, vey.

[Pseudonymous d'Elder · Rating 3 out of 5]

__________________________
More trouble than Watergate, Iran Contra, and the little blue dress combined.

If you love Donald Westlake’s Dortmunder stories, well, this isn’t one of them. You may think it is. It has a plot that Dortmunder would be comfortable in. Dortmunder would sit on its couch, put his feet up in front of its TV, and feel right at home. Then he would steal its TV.

Dortmunder isn’t in it though, and neither are Dortmunder’s famous felonious friends. I don’t know why. Maybe they wanted too much money. Maybe Dortmunder is too smart to deal with politicians, and this book is infested with politicians.

Instead Dortmunder and gang have been replaced by some other crooks––besides politicians, I mean.

It is a presidential election year, and the incumbent President in trouble. One of his political enemies has gotten a hold of a video tape that proves that POTUS has committed a criminal act––or what would have been a criminal act in the good-old-days before the 2024 Alice-in-Wonderlandish Supreme Court decision that made all official presidential acts legal––and he needs a thief to steal the tape before it can be released in a last minute October Surprise.

🌟🌟🌟 No, this is not Dortmunder funny, but it is humorous and enjoyable and may steal your heart if you have run out of Dortmunder stories and are on the rebound.

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

“They were like a place where the speed limit’s 55, and they enforce 55. Everybody knows you enforce 70.”

Francis Meehan is an accomplished thief who is freed from federal prison by unknown benefactors. He has to steal something for these people to remain free.

And it’s something that could upset the reelection of the President of the United States.

“Given time, Francis,” Benjamin said, “and the spin doctors at our command, we could counteract the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and you’d vote for Pontius Pilate.” Sound familiar?

Meehan is a tougher Dortmunder and a gentler Parker, in the Westlake world. He is still the master strategist of the caper and the man who puts the string together. And he has ten thousand rules that he follows!

“He was on our side in the Revolution,” Meehan said, “but he’s been against us ever since.” Again, sound familiar?

“Presidents do tend to forget that, even for presidents, there are lines that shouldn’t be crossed.”

“If I could tap into the subtext of fears and prejudices and prides and misunderstood history the way he can, only with a little more self- awareness, bring it out a little smoother, a little blander, I wouldn’t be a groundling in the CC, I’d be running for president myself.”

LOTS of things in here apply to the current POTUS, and this book was published in 2002! The story itself is just a bit of fun, with stretches of plain ol' running around. And I never did find out why it was titled what it was!

[Jason Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love me some Donald Westlake - his Parker books written under his Richard Stark pseudonym are some of my favorite “crime” books (a bit pulpy in tone, but fast paced with great set pieces). I really enjoyed the protagonist of “Put a Lid on It” -Meehan is a pretty great character, who speaks a bit like he is from an Elmore Leonard novel - in fact, he reminded quite a bit of Jack Foley from Leonard’s novel, “Out of Sight”. The vast majority of Westlake’s book is preparation for a heist…but the heist is a complete let down. I enjoyed everything leading up to the heist, and even after the heist, but the supposed heart of this novel, the caper itself, just didn’t work for me - I felt like I was on a really solid ride, but a tire went flat. I enjoyed the characters and the dialogue so much that I was tempted to round this up to a 4/5, but there are better caper books (many by Westlake himself) out there.

[Regan MacArthur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three-and-a-half stars. This is a very good crime novel that stands somewhere between the works of Elmore Leonard and Don Winslow. Westlake does something a bit strange here that only Westlake would do. He was definitely writing this one for himself and not the market. He takes a wild premise that you'd find in a bestseller or a Hollywood blockbuster and then he beats on it with the Hammer of Realism so savagely that you're convinced this goofy stuff could actually happen in real life. The unfortunate by-product of all the reality-pounding is that a lot of the excitement that most people would want from a heist story or a romantic subplot is turned into dust. Anyway, that's enough about the plot. What'll stick with me most are the characters. Francis Xavier Meehan and Elaine Goldfarb are terrific creations. It's a shame we will never see them again.

[Diogenes · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars and more...

Although published in 2002, this entertaining criminal caper is amazingly prescient in the Fall of 2019 as foes of a presidential re-election campaign are about to expose extreme dirt to defeat him. But this time, after learning lessons from Watergate, they eschew amateur burglars and conscript a professional to steal it. What follows it a yarn full of irony, fun and surprises. The characters are a delight, the dialog crisp and the story is a page-turner cum thriller that one could almost take seriously. Fans of Dortmunder and Richard Stark's (actually Westlake) Parker will love it.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

It takes a Thief to know a thief! Thief’s rule: Never trust a politician!

A very fascinating parody on desperation when guilty. A President is trying to get re-elected to office but a damaging video could ruin his chances. All’s fair in the game of politics so that Francis Meehan , a professional thief, is selected to steal a video and document. The fun begins when he accepts an offer to gain his freedom.

I liked the storyline and the multitude of characters. An easy read with not quite a predictable conclusion. A bit weak in terms of suspense as there is none. Just interesting to learn the thinking pattern of criminals for life.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Equipped engaging Kindle read this one featuring Meehan facing federal charges being offered a job by the president’s reelection committee to steal some incriminating evidence. The evidence is being held by a bigoted, racist billionaire crank in the countryside in New England, where he has a extensive antique gun collection. Me and is offered to have his federal charges removed by recovering that evidence and posed together a group to do the job. He ends up involved with his federal appointed attorney and working with rather inept politicians trying to organize the evidence collection. There’s some funny bits, but all in all fairly lightweight diversion.

[John Schumitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but I didn't enjoy as much as with other Westlake works. His characters are usually quirky and the humor sarcastic and this one didn't fully disappoint but I didn't laugh out loud more than 2 or 3 times. One of my favorite lines: "Benjamin had a store of meaningless smiles, like Halloween masks. He showed another from the collection...".
The story involves election shenanigans that require a seasoned criminal. I often feel that books could benefit from fewer words but here I would have liked to see more of Westlake's sarcasm tinged detailed descriptions. Enjoyable but not outstanding.

[Nancy Holden]

It was a fun crime novel about a thief who was taken from prison because the Prez. campaign committee needed him to steal some interesting evidence about the Pres. before the election. They promised him freedom. He got a couple of other thieves to help him. They succeeded. The CC planned to send him back to jail but he outsmarted him, so he got his freedom. He formed an interesting relationship with his lawyer--a woman who was first appointed by the court, but then ___ ___ him to protect him with the theft.

Good read.