Lemons Never Lie

by Richard Stark Narrated by Steve Aveson

Overview

When he's not carrying out heists with his friend Parker, Alan Grofield runs a small theater in Indiana. But putting on shows costs money and jobs have been thin lately-which is why Grofield agreed to fly to Las Vegas to hear Andrew Myers' plan to knock over a brewery in upstate New York. Unfortunately, Myers' plan is insane-so Grofield walks out on him. But Myers isn't a man you walk out on, and his retribution culminates in an act of unforgivable brutality. That's when Grofield decides to show him what a disciple of Parker is capable of ...

Editorial Reviews

bn.com

The Barnes & Noble Review
In this gritty 1971 pulp noir classic by Richard Stark (one of the many pseudonyms used by crime fiction icon Donald E. Westlake), a professional thief crosses paths with a psychotic criminal organizing a heist and ends up becoming the prime target instead.

When part-time thief and struggling small theater owner Alan Grofield hears about a big-time heist being planned, he accepts his felonious friend Dan Leach's invitation to fly to Vegas to listen to the job's alleged mastermind pitch his plan. The job -- a risky payroll heist involving a brewery in northern New York -- includes the strong possibility of murder; so both Grofield and Leach walk out on the ringleader, Andrew Myers. Before returning home the next morning, the two buddies spend some time in a Vegas casino, where Leach wins big. That night, Grofield is beaten by masked men who break into his hotel room looking for the money. When he learns that Leach was robbed by the same men, Grofield tells his friend that he's sure their attackers were Myers and his henchmen. Leach vows to go after Myers. More cautious, Grofield returns home to Indiana. Then Leach shows up nearly dead on Grofield's doorstep, and the theater owner is forced into action…

Brutal, relentless, and as callused as a gravedigger's hands, this unearthed Westlake classic is 100 percent pure pulp. What do you do when life gives you lemons? According to protagonist Grofield, skip the lemonade and go straight to the cold-blooded retribution. Paul Goat Allen

From the Publisher

"The author maintains the dead-eyed tone of Stark while plotting as generously and inventively as Westlake. Trust Stark, or Westlake, to make even the most ordinary heist nail-biting." - Kirkus Reviews


PRAISE FOR DONALD E. WESTLAKE


One of the great writers of the 20th Century.—Newsweek


The novel’s deeper meditations will keep you thinking long after you’ve closed the book.—USA Today


Elegant, melancholy… a significant final work from a master.—Publishers Weekly, starred review


One of his most interesting books… absolutely a must-read.—Booklist, starred review


Terse and bleak and low-key emotional… indelible.—Entertainment Weekly


An unsparing look at a man adrift, it's a fitting final dispatch from a master.—Time


A tour-de-force that shows a master at the top of his game.—Edward Champion, Philadelphia Inquirer


Relentlessly involving.—Weekly Standard


Among the best novels of his brilliant career. It is pure noir writing at its best.—BookReporter


A great book… it outshines anything else Westlake has done.—Craig Clarke, Somebody Dies


Compelling… bleak stuff – though always with a bit of hope shining through.—The Complete Review


With the unveiling of his final unpublished novel [Westlake’s] range and depth as a writer are only deepened.—Barnes & Noble


This is an exceptional and painful book. It is the essence of noir… one man's unceasing, provocative struggle to make good in a relentlessly grim world… Our unanimous pick for the best genre book of the year.—PornoKitsch


Few novels conjure up such a state of pervasive dread…This is the noir nightmare, plain and simple. I read it in a white heat.—Vince Keenan


The most terrifying identity puzzle Westlake ever crafted, and it keeps you guessing all the way.—The Westlake Review


A penetrating tale, a wonderful story.—Midwest Book Review

Kirkus Reviews

2024-08-03
Westlake’s fourth and last novel about actor/thief Alan Grofield, originally published in 1971 under the Stark name, focuses on the perilous consequences of refusing an offer you can’t refuse.

Even though Grofield’s old acquaintance Dan Leach has made a point of inviting him to join in the payroll theft of a brewery in Monequois, New York, masterminded by thoroughgoing Andrew Myers, the job doesn’t tempt him once Myers explains it. The logistics are complicated, and the estimated haul of $120,000 is too small to split six ways, especially after the local mob takes its cut. So Grofield bows out. As a result, so does Leach, and Myers ends up canceling the job. Still in need of a bankroll for the summer theater he owns in Mead Grove, Indiana, Grofield joins the crew of another heist in a St. Louis supermarket that looks much more manageable. And indeed this job goes off without a hitch until the moment it’s disrupted by Myers, who’s still holding a grudge over the job he had to scratch after putting all that work into it. Although Grofield manages to escape, he knows he’s in serious danger, and he resolves to take out Myers before Myers comes after him again. But his general distaste for killing people puts him at a serious disadvantage when he returns, against all odds, to Monequois, New York. Throughout it all, the author maintains the dead-eyed tone of Stark while plotting as generously and inventively as Westlake.

Trust Stark, or Westlake, to make even the most ordinary heist nail-biting.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169902952
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	07/15/2008
Edition description:	Unabridged

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