Castle in the Air
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- Create Date：2021-05-08 10:51:34
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Donald E. Westlake
- ISBN：1785657224
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Summary
In the funniest crime caper ever from Grandmaster Donald Westlake， four teams of international thieves race through Paris to steal a king's ransom from the walls of a disassembled castle。
When four groups of international heist artists team up to pull off the theft of the century - stealing an entire castle， and the treasure secreted in its walls - what could possibly go wrong？ Well， consider this: none of the master thieves speak each other's languages。。。and no one knows precisely where the loot is stashed。。。and every one of them wants to steal it all for him or herself。 It's Westlake at his wildest， a breathless slapstick chase through the streets of France with the law in hot pursuit。。。
When four groups of international heist artists team up to pull off the theft of the century - stealing an entire castle， and the treasure secreted in its walls - what could possibly go wrong？ Well， consider this: none of the master thieves speak each other's languages。。。and no one knows precisely where the loot is stashed。。。and every one of them wants to steal it all for him or herself。 It's Westlake at his wildest， a breathless slapstick chase through the streets of France with the law in hot pursuit。。。
Reviews
Craig Childs
，
The soon-to-be-deposed leader of the obscure South American nation Yerbadoro has a plan to save his skin and his fortune。 He has agreed to dismantle his summer castle and have it shipped， brick by brick， to the World Expo in Paris for an exhibition。 He will hide his treasure inside some of the hollowed-out bricks。 He can abscond with the money and live in exile with his wife。 Unfortunately for him， a beautiful idealist has discovered the plan and enlisted the aid of professional criminals to rec The soon-to-be-deposed leader of the obscure South American nation Yerbadoro has a plan to save his skin and his fortune。 He has agreed to dismantle his summer castle and have it shipped， brick by brick， to the World Expo in Paris for an exhibition。 He will hide his treasure inside some of the hollowed-out bricks。 He can abscond with the money and live in exile with his wife。 Unfortunately for him， a beautiful idealist has discovered the plan and enlisted the aid of professional criminals to reclaim the money on behalf of the people of her homeland…Four separate teams of thieves from England， France， Italy， and Germany must steal the parts of the castle while they are en route， locate the gold， and get away safely。 The teams do not speak the same language， they have no intention of sharing the loot with the Yerbadorons or even with each other， and the gendarmes are hot on their trail… What could possibly go wrong？This is a slapstick heist/chase story， similar in tone to movies like Cannonball Run and The Pink Panther。 It is not my type of humor。 I much prefer more ruminative， character-based humor like Westlake wrote in Brothers Keepers， "Love in the Lean Years"， and "Too Many Crooks"。Even so， Westlake is a consummate craftsman。 Two scenes in particular stand out in this novel。 In the first， five men （none of whom speak each other's language） arrive at the hotel room of a beautiful woman at the same time to woo her。 What follows is a very funny， very politically incorrect comedy showcasing all sorts of ethnic stereotypes。Another well-choreographed scene details the abduction of two delivery trucks in the middle of the Arc de Triomphe in broad daylight。 Nine characters come suddenly together in a clash that is surprising， mirthful， and suspenseful all at the same time。Westlake's gift for metaphors is also on full display with quips like "Behind his darks eyes his brain could be seen ticking away faster than a taxicab meter in Milan。" Unfortunately， there is nothing to make the characters or the story particularly memorable。 It is good for a few chuckles but nothing more substantial than that。 。。。more
Neil Fulwood
，
If Alistair MacLean had bumped into P。G。 Wodehouse in Paris， they’d both got thoroughly drunk and then gone back to MacLean’s hotel room and spent the next twenty-four hours smoking wacky baccy and discussing their favourite heist movies， this is the novel they would have written。
Daniel
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A beautiful woman named Lida from the （fictitious） South African nation of Yerbadoro has come to ‘master criminal’ Eustache Dent with a proposition。 Escobar Lynch， the president of her nation has been ousted in a coup。 The former dictator faces exile to keep his life， but cannot bring any of the tremendous fortune he has amassed off exploitation of the masses。Lida has inside information that Escobar has a cunning plan to get his riches outside of the country: smuggling the fortune hidden in the A beautiful woman named Lida from the （fictitious） South African nation of Yerbadoro has come to ‘master criminal’ Eustache Dent with a proposition。 Escobar Lynch， the president of her nation has been ousted in a coup。 The former dictator faces exile to keep his life， but cannot bring any of the tremendous fortune he has amassed off exploitation of the masses。Lida has inside information that Escobar has a cunning plan to get his riches outside of the country: smuggling the fortune hidden in the bricks of his castle， an architectural attraction that is being disassembled and shipped to Paris to be reassembled for a special international exposition。 Lida wants her people’s money returned to the people， but is willing to split the treasure with Dent， the nefarious thief who might just be able to pull such a heist off: taking a whole castle。The novel begins with Dent starting to assemble his international group of thieves needed to coordinate such a complicated caper。 He enlists a top thief from England， France， Germany， and Italy and instructs them each to recruit goons to help them。 Each team is to simultaneously steal the castle blocks （edifices） as they are transported en route to Paris。 None of the criminals are too happy about half the spoils going to Lida and back to to Yerbadoro， but Dent assures the team leaders that they will be cheating her out of any money as soon as they are able。There are a couple problems。 First， none of the thieves share a common language， so coordinating proves to be quite a challenging task！ A bigger issue is that no one knows with part of the disassembled castle will hold the loot until after all are separately stolen and searched。 Once one team discovers their pieces of the structure hold the valuables， what’s stopping them from taking it all and running？ Is there any trust among criminals？ Or will the fear of being chased by their fellow colleagues be a deterrent against greed？ When there’s so much money involved， none of them can manage to say no， and all simply push doubts aside。As I started reading Castle in the Air I became reminded of Rowan Atkinson’s The Black Adder， particularly a first series episode where the Prince Edmund goes throughout England to enlist the most ruthless bandits and criminals for help in seizing the throne。 Things don’t go as planned。 After all， you can’t really expect criminals to play well together。The novel proceeds similarly， with farcical takes on each nation’s thieves that includes silly sounding names and clichéd eccentricities， all for comedic effect。 With a fast moving pace the story proceeds through all the introductions and then spends a chapter on the actual theft。 Then the really zany aspects of the caper begin， the double， triple， and quadruple crosses between each of the international teams。 The humor of idiots trying to deal with the language barriers gets amped up through this all， until things finally settle with the loot ‘won’ by one and the others discovering themselves with unexpected successes of a different kind。Castle in the Air is a much lighter sort of fare from Hard Case Crime than normal， but that doesn’t make it less entertaining。 Just in a different way。 There is very little violence， more just inept bumbling。 No one dies， they are just humiliated。 There is also very little sex or femme fatale type interaction， and brief bits that are present are also mostly played for comedy by poking fun at the stereotypes， and making the playfully seductive language extremely corny。The success of the novel then is really going to depend on the reader’s potential enjoyment of a silly caper romp。 It’s a pulp crime version of It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World。 It may not be as laugh out loud funny， but some chuckles may come。 The other potential interest for Castle in the Air may come for fans of the author。 The prolific Westlake first had this novel published in 1980 and it’s pretty much disappeared since then。 Hard Case Crime does a great job reissuing forgotten works such as this。 It’s certainly not Westlake’s best， or usual kind of offering， but it is a worthwhile quick read， a curiosity worth a rediscover by genre fans。 。。。more
Glenn G
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Possibly Westlake’s silliest caper novel， this 1980 work gets off to a shaky start （written very stiffly） but loosens up and gets rolling after the first quarter or so。 All during the antics， there is a sense that this broad， money-hunting farce was designed more as a film plot， relying heavily on short cutaways to action among the various groups of thieves， and even some of the characters are reminiscent of ones from numerous madcap films that preceded it。 Overall it’s a light and fluffy Parisi Possibly Westlake’s silliest caper novel， this 1980 work gets off to a shaky start （written very stiffly） but loosens up and gets rolling after the first quarter or so。 All during the antics， there is a sense that this broad， money-hunting farce was designed more as a film plot， relying heavily on short cutaways to action among the various groups of thieves， and even some of the characters are reminiscent of ones from numerous madcap films that preceded it。 Overall it’s a light and fluffy Parisian soufflé and if you’re expecting more than empty calories， you’ll be disappointed。 。。。more
Darius Ostrowski
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A fun caper through the streets of Paris。。。 this has the feel of a 1960s/1970s comedy chase movie。We start with four thieves， English/German/French/Italian。。。 add their accomplices （none of which speak English）， a beautiful South American lady who wants to prevent the dictator from stealing the money from her people， her "cousin" / lover who knows that the dictator has hid the money in castle stones being shipped to Paris for an international world's fair， and the English thief who is trying to A fun caper through the streets of Paris。。。 this has the feel of a 1960s/1970s comedy chase movie。We start with four thieves， English/German/French/Italian。。。 add their accomplices （none of which speak English）， a beautiful South American lady who wants to prevent the dictator from stealing the money from her people， her "cousin" / lover who knows that the dictator has hid the money in castle stones being shipped to Paris for an international world's fair， and the English thief who is trying to keep the wheels from falling off this madcap farce。 What could possibly go wrong？Rather predictable， but well written and laugh out loud funny。 The double-crosses， chases， conspiracies， lies， misunderstandings， are all very well done。 A quick fun read。 。。。more
Jeff
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Another rediscovered Westlake gem from Hard Case Crime。 An international caper book set in Paris。 Think The Italian Job or McGivern's Caper of the Golden Bulls only funnier。 Four teams work together to pull off the heist of an entire castle that's being moved to， and rebuilt in， Paris。 One team is British， the other teams are French， German and Italian。 The problem is that none of the these criminal masterminds， with but one exception， speaks another language other than his own， nor do any of th Another rediscovered Westlake gem from Hard Case Crime。 An international caper book set in Paris。 Think The Italian Job or McGivern's Caper of the Golden Bulls only funnier。 Four teams work together to pull off the heist of an entire castle that's being moved to， and rebuilt in， Paris。 One team is British， the other teams are French， German and Italian。 The problem is that none of the these criminal masterminds， with but one exception， speaks another language other than his own， nor do any of them trust the others， not even their own countrymen。Hilarity ensues。 。。。more
Greg Trosclair
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If somebody tells me that I am reading too many Crime novels， well then， I might agree but I would want them to give me something equally enjoyable。 Donald Westlake might be the King of Crime Novels between things like Dortmunder and parker but this sweet Hard Case Crime novel is excellent。 It was a great day read and felt like watching a 60's or 70's slapstick comedy film。 It was great。 He really had a grasp of the genre both serious and comedic。 The gathering。 the planning， the crime and then If somebody tells me that I am reading too many Crime novels， well then， I might agree but I would want them to give me something equally enjoyable。 Donald Westlake might be the King of Crime Novels between things like Dortmunder and parker but this sweet Hard Case Crime novel is excellent。 It was a great day read and felt like watching a 60's or 70's slapstick comedy film。 It was great。 He really had a grasp of the genre both serious and comedic。 The gathering。 the planning， the crime and then the resulting chaos are almost a standard of his many crime novels。 This was a lot of fun like reading a version of The Italian Job。 Great read。 。。。more
Bookreporter。com Mystery & Thriller
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A little backstory is appropriate for Donald E。 Westlake’s CASTLE IN THE AIR。 It was originally published in hardcover in 1980， released in paperback the following year， and quickly vanished。 Westlake was quite prolific， and the market could consume anything and everything he was writing in those halcyon days of publishing。 The now veritable and always indispensable Hard Case Crime imprint has resurrected the book in fine fashion。 While it is not Westlake’s best work （or his worst， for that matt A little backstory is appropriate for Donald E。 Westlake’s CASTLE IN THE AIR。 It was originally published in hardcover in 1980， released in paperback the following year， and quickly vanished。 Westlake was quite prolific， and the market could consume anything and everything he was writing in those halcyon days of publishing。 The now veritable and always indispensable Hard Case Crime imprint has resurrected the book in fine fashion。 While it is not Westlake’s best work （or his worst， for that matter）， this fast-moving， relatively short caper novel is worth your time， attention and money。Eustace Dench， who is described in the book’s first sentence as a master criminal， is the prime motivator of the piece， though the narrative by no means is limited to him。 Dench learns that Escobar Lynch， the president of the （fictitious） country of Yerbadoro， has plans to move a castle --- or at least a portion of it --- to Paris。 That is all well and good， but Lynch also intends to plunder his country by hiding a fortune in jewels and the like in the blocks of the castle that will be reassembled once they reach their destination。 Dench learns of this plan from the lovely and comely Lida， a Yerbadoran revolutionary。Lida wants the treasure to finance the revolution， and Dench has a way of getting it， though not necessarily for her。 He quickly assembles a team of thieves from across Europe to pry the treasure from Lynch。 Dench has some great ideas， but he doesn’t always think things all the way through。 While each member of his team possesses a particular expertise， there are a number of language barriers built in the mix --- the Italians don’t speak French， who don’t speak German， and none of them seem to speak English。 This makes communication and coordination during the heist difficult， to say the least。However， the major complication is the personality flaw shared by all the participants in Dench’s plan: greed。 There is no honor among thieves here。 They are ready and willing to perform their respective parts that Dench has assigned， but they also are committed to absconding with the treasure at the first opportunity。 Even the internal sub-alliances formed during the heist are not immune to their greed， and the team quickly learns that no one can be trusted。 This creates a number of vignettes that are interesting yet predictable， but there is always a twist or two in the conclusion of each。 The story wraps up pretty much the way one might expect， though there is a surprise secondary ending that is as clever as it is amusing。CASTLE IN THE AIR will be of interest primarily to Westlake completists who are either part of a new generation of readers who are unaware of him or were not on this earth when the book initially released， or to those who loyally collect the Hard Case Crime books as they are published。 It should be noted， though， that Westlake’s cinematic narrative ability is on full display here。 The novel may never be adapted as a movie， but it wouldn’t be necessary anyway。 One plays in your head as you read his fine prose， which incidentally references his best-known character in a couple of different ways。 It is a fun reading ride for everyone。Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub 。。。more
Wesley Mead
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Pretty amusing， and the elaborate theft at the story's center is a good one， but there's a couple too many characters and settings to feel cohesive Pretty amusing， and the elaborate theft at the story's center is a good one， but there's a couple too many characters and settings to feel cohesive 。。。more
Dave
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Let's Carjack a Castle Westlake's "Castle in the Air，" now being republished after four decades， is one of his wacky comedic crime caper stories which stand in sharp contrast to his hard-edged Parker novels。 This one seems like it was originally thought of as a movie treatment。 The idea is that the President of a fictional third-world republic is losing his grip on the country and has secreted enormous wealth in the flagstones of a castle。 The castle is being taken apart piece by piece and shipp Let's Carjack a Castle Westlake's "Castle in the Air，" now being republished after four decades， is one of his wacky comedic crime caper stories which stand in sharp contrast to his hard-edged Parker novels。 This one seems like it was originally thought of as a movie treatment。 The idea is that the President of a fictional third-world republic is losing his grip on the country and has secreted enormous wealth in the flagstones of a castle。 The castle is being taken apart piece by piece and shipped to Paris as part of a World's Fair type exhibition。 In Paris， the devious el presidente and his wife are going to slowly tap into the hidden fortune in jewels。 But， others from the little third world country have gotten wind of the operation and are going to intercept the stones and have engaged a crack team of thieves to do the job。 Onward we go to small teams of crooks from Britain， Germany， and Italy， all speaking different languages and out to execute this devious plan to swipe a castle and make a fortune， the actual execution of which seems akin to the more recent movie， The Italian Job， but with a wacky cast of goofy stars in it。 Overall， a mildly entertaining short novel that shows off Westlake's comedic touch。 。。。more
Eric Keegan
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Enjoyable， comedic romp that’s readable in an afternoon。 The plot does get a bit frenzied and there are too many characters to latch onto by the time you reach the back cover， but a fun escapist read overall。
T。 Layhew
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Fantastic novel， great republication by Hard Case Crime with an amazing cover （as they do）。
Richard Schaefer
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This comedic heist reminds me how genuinely funny Westlake can be， combining tight plotting with confident characterization and escalating farcical situations。 In this particular book， the heist involves stealing an entire castle being shipped from South America to Europe to score some treasure hidden within it。 As always， Westlake is a master of efficiency， slapstick， and farce but paired with a plot that is compelling in its own right。 It’s a quick read and well worth checking out。
Sarandah Princess
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Added today but read years ago。 This book was utterly ridiculous- who steals a castle？ But it was also funny。 Anytime an author can have you rooting for the - rather inept- bad guys， that’s talent。
Ian Dixon
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A very enjoyable crime caper from the always excellent Donald E Westlake。 Re published this by the wonderful Hard Case Crime imprint。
Erik Tanouye
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Another delightful breezy heist/double-cross story from Donald Westlake。 I find his light crime fiction is the perfect kind of book to read on a rainy or snowy weekend。 Or while traveling， in times when it's safe to travel。 This one takes place in Paris， so it's a bit like taking a trip to France if you're feeling cooped up at home。（Won this early copy from Hard Case。） Another delightful breezy heist/double-cross story from Donald Westlake。 I find his light crime fiction is the perfect kind of book to read on a rainy or snowy weekend。 Or while traveling， in times when it's safe to travel。 This one takes place in Paris， so it's a bit like taking a trip to France if you're feeling cooped up at home。（Won this early copy from Hard Case。） 。。。more
Tom
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Closer to 2。5 stars。 It started off fine， but the plot became confusing， and the light tone became too light。
Col
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Synopsis/blurb。。。。In the funniest crime caper ever from Grandmaster Donald Westlake， four teams of international thieves race through Paris to steal a king's ransom from the walls of a disassembled castle。When four groups of international heist artists team up to pull off the theft of the century - stealing an entire castle， and the treasure secreted in its walls - what could possibly go wrong？ Well， consider this: none of the master thieves speak each other's languages。。。and no one knows precis Synopsis/blurb。。。。In the funniest crime caper ever from Grandmaster Donald Westlake， four teams of international thieves race through Paris to steal a king's ransom from the walls of a disassembled castle。When four groups of international heist artists team up to pull off the theft of the century - stealing an entire castle， and the treasure secreted in its walls - what could possibly go wrong？ Well， consider this: none of the master thieves speak each other's languages。。。and no one knows precisely where the loot is stashed。。。and every one of them wants to steal it all for him or herself。 It's Westlake at his wildest， a breathless slapstick chase through the streets of France with the law in hot pursuit。。。-----My take。。。。One which I enjoyed without feeling like it was anything close to amazing。 It's a forty year old comedy heist caper from Westlake which is in the process of being re-issued by Hard Case Crime。 I think what the book has confirmed for me is that I prefer the harder， edgier pseudonymous Richard Stark books to the ones published under his own name。 That aside I do fully intend to read more Westlake books in the future。A dictator has been fleecing his country and ahead of an impending overthrow of his regime， has smuggled his ill-gotten gains out of the country in a castle， which is being rebuilt and displayed at an international event in Paris。 Word of the scam has leaked and a plan is set in place to recover the riches and split the bounty between the liberators of the wealth ie a gang of thieves， with the other half being returned to the country and its people。Looking back a few weeks on from reading， finer details are already fogotten - character's names and the kingdom which is significant insofar as it's the start point and set-up for all that follows， probably some fictional South American creation of Westlake's imagination - but that's fine。 I do remember the main events as they unfold。 I was amused at the difficulties which emanated from a multi-national team of villains - British， French， German and Italian - none of whom could communicate with each other readily。 I enjoyed the mistrust and oneupmanship which was at play as each faction tried to commandeer the spoils for themselves， and on occasion to the exclusion of fellows within their own group。 Events border on the ridiculous at times， but it was one I'm glad I read。 Plusses - setting - Paris and a bit of time in London， character interactions， the daft plot and it's execution， the outcome and the fact that it's not too long either。Negatives - not all the jokes hit their mark， but then comedy in books is very subjective， no real wow or grip you by the balls factor， no real tension， all played for laughs。Enjoyable， fun， amusing without every being laugh out loud， fall off the chair funny - a la Hiaasen， entertaining and never boring。 3。5 from 5Westlake's The Busy Body was enjoyed during 2020 also。Read - December， 2020Published - 1980Page count - 208Source - review copy from Edelweiss - Above the Treeline siteFormat - ePUB file read on laptophttps://col2910。blogspot。com/2021/01/。。。 。。。more
John Marr
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This one reminds me of those caper/comedy movies of the 1960s with all-star casts。 I'm sure Westlake was thinking movie-sale and a cast from Hollywood Squares when he penned this one about a multi-national crew stealing a castle disassembled for shipping。 Unfortunately， this one ranks with Westlake's lesser efforts。 Although there are enough deft and witty touches to elevate it from mediocre， the overly-large cast of characters confuses and the antics never really jell。 Too bad Dortmunder didn't This one reminds me of those caper/comedy movies of the 1960s with all-star casts。 I'm sure Westlake was thinking movie-sale and a cast from Hollywood Squares when he penned this one about a multi-national crew stealing a castle disassembled for shipping。 Unfortunately， this one ranks with Westlake's lesser efforts。 Although there are enough deft and witty touches to elevate it from mediocre， the overly-large cast of characters confuses and the antics never really jell。 Too bad Dortmunder didn't get in on this caper。 。。。more
Charles Wagner
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Steal a castle！A desperate despot seeking to ship his ill gotten spoils in a castle to be reassembled at some goofy international affair while a slick gaggle of world thieves assemble to steal the entire castle， extract the loot， theoretically give 50% to Lida who plans to return to the godforsaken homeland and create a utopia of peace and opportunity。 Then， the fun begins… The assemblage of evildoers is comically collected and we are off to the theft。。And， just to be interesting， there is dis Steal a castle！A desperate despot seeking to ship his ill gotten spoils in a castle to be reassembled at some goofy international affair while a slick gaggle of world thieves assemble to steal the entire castle， extract the loot， theoretically give 50% to Lida who plans to return to the godforsaken homeland and create a utopia of peace and opportunity。 Then， the fun begins… The assemblage of evildoers is comically collected and we are off to the theft。。And， just to be interesting， there is dishonor among thieves。Yet， there is something pleasant about being an honest man。An entertaining diversion。 。。。more
Jan
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His books are always fun to read， but this one was a bit hard to follow with all the crosses and double crosses。 Love the ending！
Charlie
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Was staying at the hostel in Detroit， the abridged version was on the shelf in the bunk room。Entertaining。
Hans
，
Donald Westlake is one of my favorite writers。 This isn't a life changing book， nor even one of his best， but as usual， I find that he consistently gave more than was necessary。 It won't change the world， but it brought a smile to my face。 That's good enough for me。 Donald Westlake is one of my favorite writers。 This isn't a life changing book， nor even one of his best， but as usual， I find that he consistently gave more than was necessary。 It won't change the world， but it brought a smile to my face。 That's good enough for me。 。。。more
Mary Newcomb
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This caper involves a castle （with hidden riches） being set up for exhibit in Paris。 A quadrilingual crew undertakes the heist。 Hilarity ensues along with a surprising ending。
Pupottina
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Nuovi misteri fra antiche mura。Solitamente pensiamo ai castelli， antiche ed imponenti costruzioni， come luogo ideale per l'apparizione di un fantasma che ci deve spaventare e minacciare con suoni di catene e lamenti o con improvvise e fugaci， ma terrificanti， apparizioni。 Invece， una volta tanto ci piacerà scoprire che i castelli possono essere il luogo per un efferato delitto o， ancora meglio， più di uno。 Tanti sono i personaggi， tanti sono i sospettati， tante le potenziali vittime。 Grazie a Do Nuovi misteri fra antiche mura。Solitamente pensiamo ai castelli， antiche ed imponenti costruzioni， come luogo ideale per l'apparizione di un fantasma che ci deve spaventare e minacciare con suoni di catene e lamenti o con improvvise e fugaci， ma terrificanti， apparizioni。 Invece， una volta tanto ci piacerà scoprire che i castelli possono essere il luogo per un efferato delitto o， ancora meglio， più di uno。 Tanti sono i personaggi， tanti sono i sospettati， tante le potenziali vittime。 Grazie a Donald E。 Westlake， a Edgar Wallac e a G。K。 Chesterton superiamo il ponte levatoio e facciamo il nostro ingresso fra le antiche e regali stante d'un tempo dove ora sicuramente sta per accadere un crimine。 Spetta a noi affiancare l'indagatore di turno e risolvere il rebus del delitto， prima che ne avvenga un altro。Ottima raccolta di tre perfetti classici del giallo， opera di tre celebri maestri del genere。 。。。more
Dale Rosenberg
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Madcap hijinks by the master of comic crime novels。 LOL funny。 What fun to find one I hadn't read！ Madcap hijinks by the master of comic crime novels。 LOL funny。 What fun to find one I hadn't read！ 。。。more
Ossian
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Thoroughly enjoyable。 My second Westlake （after A Spy in The Ointment， just as good）， and I understand from some excellent reviews on here （thanks Tony） that these were his earlier and sillier efforts。 Great， there's more and better Westlake to look forward to！ His silliness and slapstick and capers are still intelligent and within the bounds of good taste。 Love it。 Thoroughly enjoyable。 My second Westlake （after A Spy in The Ointment， just as good）， and I understand from some excellent reviews on here （thanks Tony） that these were his earlier and sillier efforts。 Great， there's more and better Westlake to look forward to！ His silliness and slapstick and capers are still intelligent and within the bounds of good taste。 Love it。 。。。more
Lisa
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A fun frolic through Europe with several groups of thieves all after the same thing。
Rebecca
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This book is written in a way that makes it sound as if the narrator is talking to you， like he is telling you the story。 I think the casual tone and laid back way that things are said add to the humor of the situation。 I also think that it is one of the reasons that the book is so easy and quick to read。 Westlake has a knack for a good comic crime。 And he makes watching this international group of thieves stealing a castle a lot of fun。 The humor does get almost slap stick at times with all the This book is written in a way that makes it sound as if the narrator is talking to you， like he is telling you the story。 I think the casual tone and laid back way that things are said add to the humor of the situation。 I also think that it is one of the reasons that the book is so easy and quick to read。 Westlake has a knack for a good comic crime。 And he makes watching this international group of thieves stealing a castle a lot of fun。 The humor does get almost slap stick at times with all the people falling into canals and no one understanding anyone else because they all speak different languages， but it is also witty。 The actual crime is not the end of the story here。 You get to see it planned and then perpetrated but then you get to see after the crime where everything starts to fall apart。 It’s fun to watch the group breakup and reform and morph along the way as you follow the money and try to figure out you is going to get what by the time everything is said and done。 It’s an entertaining and quick story for anyone who likes a little fun with their crime。 。。。more
Canard Frère
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Un rythme toujours endiablé， une idée de départ tordue， une écriture pleine d'humour， du Westlake， donc。 Malgré tout le niveau général reste assez peu convaincant de par un ton finalement assez potache et une conclusion un brin naïve。 Un rythme toujours endiablé， une idée de départ tordue， une écriture pleine d'humour， du Westlake， donc。 Malgré tout le niveau général reste assez peu convaincant de par un ton finalement assez potache et une conclusion un brin naïve。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Castle in the Air
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Castle in the Air&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Castle in the Air&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0