Upon finishing the Parker series, I began Dortmunder with a
sense of desperate skepticism, and I have been pleasantly surprised. I was
underwhelmed by Dortmunder #1 (The Hot
Rock), but Dortmunder #2 (Bank Shot)
was good enough to keep me going. Dortmunder #3 (Jimmy the Kid) was genius, which made mediocre Dortmunder #4 (Nobody’s Perfect) even more disappointing.
Fortunately, Dortmunder #5 (Why Me?)
is pretty great. The relationship between Dortmunder and his sidekick Andy Kelp
deepens, which points to the remarkable strength of the series: Dortmunder’s
sad-sack character develops a surprising gravitas, despite his status as a
perpetual punch line. At first I was uncertain whether the Dortmunder novels
should be read at all. Now I think they should be read in order. Grade: A-
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