Cops and Robbers

by Donald E. Westlake

Meet Tom and Joe. They've got homes on Long Island and a dream: to pull off the perfect heist. Tom and Joe also have badges, uniforms and guns, just like the rest of the New York City police force! These two shining examples of New York's Finest don't care what they steal or how, as long as it comes out to 2 million dollars. But they get involved with the Mob and find out that robbing Wall Street can be very dangerous

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Humor, Fiction, Thriller, Hard Boiled

156 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

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

[Checkman · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Westlake novel. I've been told by readers who are fans that this isn't one of his better works. Evidently it began life as a script (I've seen the movie and it isn't too bad) and Westlake novelized it. However being new to his novels this isn't that bad of a read. I see from looking at his entry over on the Internet Movie Database (imdb) Mr. Westlake did a lot of (uncredited) work on scripts. I guess he would polish a script and give it that certain something that made him so popular.

One of the scripts that he worked on in the early seventies was The New Centurions. I suspect that it might have influenced him in writing this story. That and the fact that by the early seventies the N.Y.P.D. was undergoing the trauma of the Knapp Commission/Frank Serpico and people were starting to look at cops in a different light - both good and bad. This book has a Wambaugh flavor to it. There is humor, but it's sardonic and incidental. The story is a heist caper, but this time it's being pulled of by a couple cops who have had enough of their job and the city and just want to get out. The seventies had begun and even though the decade was only a couple of years old one can already see the beginning of the so-called "Me Generation" beginning to take form.

It might not be one of Westlake's strongest works, but I enjoyed it. As a long-time police officer I can appreciate some of the sentiment and even relate to the two officers, Joe and Tom. I've felt that frustration and cynicism at times my self.The job can be both boring and terrifying and there times when I really don't like the public. No I've never decided to pull of an armed robbery, but I can relate. Also I've never had an affair and I actually like my life, both the valleys and mountains.

Joe and Tom cross the line, but I still found myself rooting for them. Perhaps that's wrong, but who among us hasn't occasionally rooted for the rebel and the outlaw. Besides Westlake is very careful. There is very little violence and our two protagonists don't ever hurt anybody. The two victims are a very wealthy brokerage firm which lies about how much is stolen and the Mob. Not actually sympathetic organizations and that's important in stories like this if the reader is to root for the crooks.

Overall this is a fast and enjoyable read even if it is Westlake Lite. It's a little cynical, observant, a little dark and even suspenseful in spots. I read it in just a few (spread out) hours and never found myself getting bored. In my "book" that's a good thing which is why I give it three stars.

[Eric_W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donald Westlake was a national treasure. He wrote more than one hundred novels and I doubt if there is a dud among them. This one is a stand-alone and while not funny, I suspect you'll have a grin on your face at the end, as did I.

A man in a cop's uniform, pulls his gun and holds up a store. Days later he relates what he did to his partner. What follows is how to destroy $12,000,000 in bearer bonds, turning them into confetti, in order to make $2,000,000 in cash.

This was intriguing and suspenseful. Enjoy.

[Book Concierge · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5***

Tom and Joe are New York City policemen. They are also planning a grand heist that should net them two million dollars. But they have to outwit the Mob to keep the money and their lives.

This book doesn’t include the kind of zany antics that Westlake is known for in his comic crime capers, but there’s plenty of action, quite a few surprises and plot twists, and a great sense of time and place. The “heroes” may be crooked cops, but they do have certain standards, and they are very smart about how they go about planning and executing the robbery. They anticipate many obstacles and are quick to compensate and adjust their plans for those things they did not think of in advance.

It was a fast read, and I enjoyed going along for the ride.

[Sam Reaves · Rating 3 out of 5]

You have to go back and re-read the classics sometimes. Nobody did caper novels or New York blue-collar better than Westlake. In this one, two frustrated cops go crooked and try to pull off a big heist. First published in 1972, the book is interesting among other things for its portrait of a declining, dysfunctional New York City in its worst days.

[Janet Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favourite authors. I can't believe he's gone, the comedy really is finished. :'( I always learn so much when I read him too, while being massively entertained. I read this through in one go the first time I read it. I gave this away by mistake and had to buy an inferior copy from eBay. It still rankles. :D

[Dan Seitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tight thriller from Westlake, with both two great heists and some layered and thoughtful character work as well.

[Lyle Boylen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't be fooled by the cover, this is a tense crime tale by the great Donald Westlake. Two NYCP police officers decide to pull off a heist in the financial district of NYC. Another great story by the master.

[William Leight · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected this to be funny but it isn't at all: instead, the book is suffused by an elegiac tone. New York City has been ruined by rich people, both financiers and gangsters (there's also some casual racism on the part of the titular cops, who are the protagonists, but it's clear that the enemies are the rich), and there's nothing for a pair of working-class stiffs who are also cops to do but set up a pair of daring heists to allow them to steal enough money to live in luxury somewhere else. The first robbery is of a financial firm, the second of the Mafia, and both are ok, but there's none of Westlake's usual humor (or what I have been led to believe is his usual humor: this is only the third of his books I've read). And the protagonists aren't all that interesting: Westlake clearly wants them to be ordinary Joes, but ends up making them a bit too ordinary. In the Dortmunder books, of course, the protagonists are also ordinary, but that's the joke, given the incredibly complex heists that they carry out. Here, the robberies are less complex -- their success largely depends on the fact that they're being carried out by cops, who can get away with things that other people couldn't -- and the ordinariness is presumably to encourage the reader to identify with the protagonists. To further this, Westlake doesn't romanticize being a cop, quite the reverse: both of them are perfectly happy to quit (one joined the force mainly because he wanted a civil service job with a pension). But if the protagonists are aggressively ordinary -- their names are Tom and Joe -- it's an ordinariness that's very specific to its 30-year-old setting, including that setting's conception of ordinary working stiffs as white men with middle-class jobs (something that goes along with the above-mentioned casual racism). Ironically, by investing more in making Tom and Joe everymen than in making them interesting, Westlake makes it harder for a reader for whom they don't match the definition of "everyman" to identify with them, and without the identification, and the same feeling that there's nothing left to be done but snatch what little one can from a world-historical defeat, there's just the two heists, which are entertaining but not Westlake's best. On the other hand, Westlake does do a good job of conjuring the atmosphere of defeat, of something lost that can never be recovered, even if he never addresses the reason for the loss, or considers the possibility that Tom and Joe themselves might have made their own small contribution to the slow-moving disaster that is enveloping them. So he gets points for the ambience, but to be quite honest, that's not what I was hoping to get from this book: genuine humorists are rare enough that I'm always disappointed when one tries to be serious. I can't say that this is a bad book, but all things considered I'm not sure that I would recommend it.

[Mohammed Abdikhader Firdhiye · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected a better read because this story had a strange atmosphere,it wasn't hard-boiled or humorous.

Then i read it was written written expressly to be made into a movie and understood why it didnt have the usual Donald E.Westlake quality to it.
A decent story but not a book for any reader except the Westlake dedicated,completist fan.

[Kipp Poe · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fun read if two cops going against the law and performing a great capper if ripping off some high stakes bounds with plenty twist and insight if cop life

[Dominick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is somewhat offbeat for Westlake. It gestures towards the comic caper a la Dortmunder, but it also has elements of Westlake's hard-boiled Parker series (as by Richard Stark). Two cops, a patrolman (Joe) and a detective (Tom), both disgusted with life in New York--early chapters offer vignettes of their daily routine as cops, revealing New York's venal and callow elements repeatedly--decide they can solve their problems if they use their cop status and inside knowledge to pull off one big heist that will allow them to leave the rat race behind. They end up with a plot to steal bearer bonds they will sell to the mob. Of course, the mob plans to kill them, and they plan to rip off the mob (in a thinly-justified twist, they don't actually steal the bonds but destroy them, so that they won't have to hold on to anything incriminating). The novel uses multiple narrative points of view: an omniscient narrator, first-person sections by each of Joe and Tom, and then limited-omniscient chapters focusing on the mob boss, Vigano. This device allows us to see the cops both from the inside and the outside, and in each others' eyes, which makes for some nicely-etched characterization. The narrative shifts keep the action percolating and serve well to ensure that we are always aware of the partial knowledge each character has. As noted above, they don't actually steal the bonds; this on the one hand does make for a nice twist about how what matters is the idea of money (and, let's face it, money actually really is only the idea of money) not the reality, but it does seem thinly-justified to me. They could have avoided mob betrayal with the bonds as easily as without them, while also significantly reducing the likelihood of having to spend the rest of their lives looking over their shoulders. Indeed, part of me half-expected the final sentence to be something like "And then the doorbell rang"--iirc, in fact, one of Westlake's early crime novels (The Mercenaries I believe) had just such an ending). Westlake, however, casually dismisses this possibility, suggesting that our cop robbers will indeed get away with it. Such a conclusion is tonally consistent with the book, to be fair. Anyway, fans of competent crime novels should find this enjoyable.

[Michael Reilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a hardcore Westlake fan. I have read the Dortmunder and Parker books several times. I have read and enjoyed most of Westlake's huge bibliography. I saw a used copy of a reprint of this 1973 novel in a bookstore. I picked it up and, to my surprise, I realized I had never read it, even though I had it in my head that I had. So, I did, and I enjoyed it.

The cover to my edition, which is a 2018 republishing by Mysterious Press has cartoon policeman on the cover and a blurb that talks about things going "hysterically wrong". The 1993 paperback re-issue has funny cops with Halloween type disguises on, a cover blurb that says, "Westlake has no peer in the realm of comic mystery novelists", and a quote from a review saying that he is "hilariously perceptive."

The thing is, this is not a comic novel. Westlake was the master at comic novels, but he wrote crime novels that were not comic, and this is one of them. Because it is a caper novel, like the Dortmunder books and because it has a clever plot, the reviewers pegged it as a comic novel and didn't notice how grim it is.

Joe and Tom are NYC cops who live next door to each other on Long Island. Joe is a patrolman and Tom is a detective. Joe is a bad cop. He is a racist. He gives tickets for fun. He resents everyone poorer than him and everyone richer than him. Tom is burnt out. He hates New York. He hates police work.

Joe commits a crime in uniform and gets away with it. He tells Tom. They decide that they can commit a huge theft in Police uniform and make enough money to start a new life. The goal is to make a million dollars each.

They realize that the Mafia is the only organization that could pay them that kind of money for stolen goods, so they make a contact.

Westlake is a master at capers. He takes us through the planning and execution of the job and the even more dangerous dealings with the Mafia. It is a clever and suspenseful story, but it is not comic. There are no funny coincidences, or funny cops or robbers. The Mafia guys are not funny.

This is a first-rate crime thriller.

[Eddy64 · Rating 3 out of 5]

L’inizio è un classico da romanzo sui poliziotti americani. New York, una serata estiva calda e umida: Joe, agente di pattuglia, guida svogliatamente per le strade di Broadway, tra bar per ubriaconi e puttane sul marciapiede; il colletto della divisa sbottonato ma i pantaloni si appiccicano al sedile. Parcheggia vicino a un negozio di liquori, si avvia lentamente, entra … e – sorpresa! - sfodera la pistola e rapina l’incasso della giornata!!Guardie e ladri rovescia i canoni e racconta di due poliziotti che decidono di fare il salto e darsi al crimine. Joe e Tom – detective presso lo stesso distretto – sono amici e vicini di casa. Non prendono mazzette né sono corrotti (niente a che vedere con quelli della Città degli Angeli nei romanzi di Ellroy...), sono solo stufi di una vita senza tante prospettive in un mondo dove molti si arricchiscono o ne approfittano senza troppi scrupoli perché “i soldi non sono sufficienti per tutti. E così si fa quello che si può. Si ruba per far pari” Dopo la rapina di Joe che ha fruttato quattro soldi, i due amici decidono di tentare il grande colpo, quello da almeno due milioni di dollari, da ricavare con la vendita del bottino alla criminalità organizzata. Un sogno che culmina con la visione di spiagge caraibiche ma non è semplice realizzarlo per due “dilettanti” privi di agganci nella mala. Una trama semplice e lineare, sviluppata con un pizzico di bonomia e leggerezza - più “cool” che “hard”, alternando i punti di vista del narratore con quelli dei protagonisti. Joe e Tom non hanno la vocazione del criminale, l’idea del furto è arrivata a poco a poco, tra una chiacchiera e una bevuta e alla fine non rimane che proseguire (e lo fanno con molta nonchalance…). L’ho trovato un po' lento nella prima parte, poi le lunghe sequenze della rapina e dello scambio della refurtiva a Central Park valgono una stellina in più. Lettura di pura evasione. Tre stelle e mezzo.

[Jared Castiglione · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long before Steven Paige and Ed Robertson mused about what they would do if they had a million dollars, Tom and Joe decided it was a game worth playing; a risk worth taking.

Here we have two very believable New York City cops, living on Long Island and commuting into work together. They often have the same shifts but each has their own partner. We, as the reader, are treated with chapters written in the 3rd person and also chapters from the point of view of either Tom or Joe. It makes the story more personal and exciting as it unfolds from three different points of view.

The book, the story, and the characters are all quite believable for the early 1970s. This wouldn’t (and couldn’t) have worked today. But that’s what’s so great: it’s a point in time when the genius of it all was entirely possible.

The edition I read has this terrible front cover that makes the book out to be a farce rather than a “comic mystery” of its day. Shame that anyone judging a book by its cover would most likely miss this gem.

This was my first Donald Westlake and after looking him up, I found he’s written quite a few books and many more under under several pseudonyms. About a dozen of them fall into this “comic crime novels” category which, by modern standards is not comedy; just two real guys behaving in real ways while going through their normal day (and night) shifts.

There’s also some elements within that touch on the existential; where we are going and why. It’s way more serious than, green dresses, Kraft Dinners, and Dijon ketchups, even if it is supposed to be a comic mystery!

[David Freas · Rating 2 out of 5]

For years, I liked Westlake’s writing, especially his Dortmunder books. But the 3 novels I’ve read this year have left me disappointed. Cops and Robbers continued that trend.

The premise is interesting: two NYPD officers set out to steal a fortune in bearer bonds then sell them to the mob for a fortune. And of course things go wrong, but not ‘totally, hysterically wrong’ as claimed in the blurb.

Nothing in this book generated more than a mild smile – a big letdown from a book written by a man noted for his comedic novels. Perhaps because what strikes me as funny has changed over the years. Or perhaps what was funny when this book hit the market in 1972 falls flat a half a century later.

I may give Westlake another try, but if the next book of his falls as flat as the last four, he’s off my ‘To Read’ list forever. I’m getting too old to read disappointing books.

[Doug Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joe Loomis and Tom Garrity are Manhattan policemen, circa 1972, who are disssatisfied with their lives. On their commuutes to work to and from Long Island, they pass the time with a pipe dream about using their police status to pull off a big heist that would enable them to escape to new and better lives. One thing leads to another, and they end up deciding to give it a try, illustrating the words of James 1:15: "desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin". Will their course of action lead inevitably to the fulfillment of the rest of this verse? ("Sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.") This classic Donald Westlake novel kept us turning the pages to find out.

[J.M. Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know why, but I was expecting this to be a humorous book. Maybe I misread a synopsis. Regardless, it was the opposite of a light-hearted romp -- it was tense and suspenseful, with richly-drawn characters and excellent atmosphere. Westlake is an expert at crime stories, of course, and this one was superb. The danger slowly builds, then he briefly releases it, then it builds again, and the cycle repeats. Until the book ends. It was a very satisfying read, and a nice portrait of Manhattan in the late 60s. Recommended to crime and heist lovers.

[Allen Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Precise Prose Makes This Book A Gem...
A Westlake novel is worth its weight in gold. Succinct, sparse dialogue that's on point - every time. The description of New York in the summertime equates perfectly with the moods of the protagonists. A clever scheme developed by two cops seeking "something better" makes for a great read! Loved the humor and the sheer audacity of it! I couldn't put it down!

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cops and Robbers is definitely a lesser Westlake, but a lesser Westlake is still better than almost anything else you might read. It's a delightful crime romp about two NYPD cops who decide to stage a heist of their own. It's a little looser and goofier than Westlake's usual stuff, but it's still a heck of a lot of fun.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an odd Westlake. He attempted to write a more literary novel, giving the main characters an interior reflection repeatedly through out the novel.

The novel is essentially a caper novel, but Westlake's dry humour is too dry even for me.

I remember watching the movie when I was in highschool. It made a better movie than book, and I don't think I've ever said that before.

[Brian Wheeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Capers by not-so-great people

The heists the two cops pulled off were great. But the cops themselves, not so much. It's hard to root for these corrupt, sexist jerks. But overall the book was entertaining. Two blue-collar cops take on Wall Street and the Mafia in entertaining and fun ways.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good cops gone bad in the Big Apple. Not Westlake's best but certainly a fun read. A fun aside is that the cops' main crime takes place on Pearl Street in the New York City financial district and I happened to be reading the novel while staying in a hotel on Pearl Street in the financial district while visiting my daughter as she embarked on a new career.

[K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some regrettable displays of 1970s sexism and homophobia are the only things that keep "Cops and Robbers" from total excellence. Westlake's writing is cinematic, his characters appealing, and his plot fast-paced and twisty. This older work of his is worth revisiting.

[Joe Besserfan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donald Westlake's "Cops and Robbers" is a lot of fun. It has a good characters and places them in a really good story. The book a fast, fun read. I've read "Cops and Robbers" a couple of times now. It's a great read.

[Araych · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is by one of the funniest authors ever but this one is not a comedy like the Dortmunder books are. It's actually a heist story about 2 New York cops who figure out how to .... well, no spoilers here. It's cute and light but certainly not Westlake's best. 3 stars.

[Tim Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book in High School, so I recently purchased it and read it again. The date 1977 is just a guess. On reading it again, Westlake uses the Lord's name in vain many times. He's my favorite author but I don't appreciate that.

[Matthew Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early Westlake before he established his style. Fun straight ahead crime novel.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it. A good fast read. Brisk writing overall.

[Andrew Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-plotted, fast moving and funny crime novel about two cops who decide to preform a Wall Street robbery. There's a lot of great seventies details and a lot of specific New York details.

[Quentin Feduchin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very amusing, typical Westlake.