Pulp

Call Me a Cab

Call Me a Cab

  • Downloads：2138
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-03-19 09:51:32
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Donald E. Westlake
  • ISBN：1789098181
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Summary

The final unpublished novel by MWA Grandmaster Donald E。 Westlake - a wild， romantic road trip across America by taxi cab -- demonstrates why this beloved author is so fondly remembered and so dearly missed。




"A book by this guy is cause for happiness。"
Stephen King

DONALD E。 WESTLAKE

GOES OFF THE BEATEN PATH

In 1977， one of the world's finest crime novelists turned his pen to suspense of a very different sort - and the results have never been published， until now。

Fans of mystery fiction have often pondered whether it would be possible to write a suspense novel without any crime at all， and in CALL ME A CAB the masterful Donald E。 Westlake answered the question in his inimitable style。 You won't find any crime in these pages - but what you will find is a wonderful suspense story， about a New York City taxi driver hired to drive a beautiful woman all the way across America， from Manhattan to Los Angeles， where the biggest decision of her life is waiting to be made。 It's Westlake at his witty， thought-provoking best， and it proves that a page-turner doesn't need to have a bomb set to go off at the end of it in order to keep sparks flying every step of the way。

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Reviews

Patrick ，

A delightful read， from top to bottom。

Lyle Boylen ，

A delightful last book from Donald Westlake。 Westlake is one of my all time favorite authors， and to have this released years after his death is a real treat。 Do yourself a favor and read it。

Ezekiel ，

Don't let the cover fool you。 This is very much the opposite of some sleazy， hardboiled crime novel - instead， it's a heartfelt， even pure， ride across America with a quite forward-thinking （for its time） view on men/women relations。 A slow burn romance， with very little sex， but all the better （and erotic， if you're keen on that sort of thing） for it！ A realistic （ish） and poignant ending， with lots of good-humored moments， throughout。 Sparely elegant prose and some old-fashioned wit makes this Don't let the cover fool you。 This is very much the opposite of some sleazy， hardboiled crime novel - instead， it's a heartfelt， even pure， ride across America with a quite forward-thinking （for its time） view on men/women relations。 A slow burn romance， with very little sex， but all the better （and erotic， if you're keen on that sort of thing） for it！ A realistic （ish） and poignant ending， with lots of good-humored moments， throughout。 Sparely elegant prose and some old-fashioned wit makes this a genuine page-turner。 Would've benefitted from a more appropriate cover， though， since I'm sure many will approach this book with the expectations of some crime/mystery to solve。 There's only a cabbie， a beautiful woman， an impending marriage， and the problems （and excitations） therein。 。。。more

Paul Parkinson ，

What a delight。 I've got the other 3 "unpublished" books to read。 What a delight。 I've got the other 3 "unpublished" books to read。 。。。more

Kate Ayers ，

Five stars for the sheer fun of the read。 It's a suspense story that has no crime， except for possibly illegal parking and exceeding the speed limit。 It starts with a woman hailing a cab in New York City。 The driver prays she wants to go to the airport， a prime fare。 She does。 It doesn't get much better than a beautiful woman in the backseat paying $$$ for a long ride in his cab。 But then it gets longer。 Like cross country longer。 See， she has to make up her mind whether to marry Barry when she Five stars for the sheer fun of the read。 It's a suspense story that has no crime， except for possibly illegal parking and exceeding the speed limit。 It starts with a woman hailing a cab in New York City。 The driver prays she wants to go to the airport， a prime fare。 She does。 It doesn't get much better than a beautiful woman in the backseat paying $$$ for a long ride in his cab。 But then it gets longer。 Like cross country longer。 See， she has to make up her mind whether to marry Barry when she gets to LA。 She's panicked， and five hours in a plane simply isn't enough time。 Well， she didn't tell Barry how she'd get there， just that she'd have her answer when she did。 So she hires the cab to drive her。 The trip is a hoot。 。。。more

Bookreporter。com Mystery & Thriller ，

Donald E。 Westlake's final unpublished novel is a superb work of suspense in which no crime occurs。 Except maybe illegal parking and occasional speeding。 It begins with a beautiful young woman --- of course --- hailing a cab in New York City。 Taxi driver Tom musters all his powers of mental persuasion to get his potential fare， Katherine， to say the magic word: “Kennedy。” He is rewarded for his cranial efforts。A smiling Tom sits back for the long drive to the airport， happy in the knowledge of a Donald E。 Westlake's final unpublished novel is a superb work of suspense in which no crime occurs。 Except maybe illegal parking and occasional speeding。 It begins with a beautiful young woman --- of course --- hailing a cab in New York City。 Taxi driver Tom musters all his powers of mental persuasion to get his potential fare， Katherine， to say the magic word: “Kennedy。” He is rewarded for his cranial efforts。A smiling Tom sits back for the long drive to the airport， happy in the knowledge of a lucrative trip with a good-looking woman。 Until he realizes something isn’t quite right with her。 Come on， he doesn’t need trouble， and the lady in the backseat is beginning to look a lot like trouble: mumbling to herself， running her hands through her hair， frowning and making faces。 So before she can do something unpleasant in his cab， Tom asks， essentially， “What’s up with you？”Katherine blurts out the story of her perfect boyfriend， Barry， waiting in Los Angeles to meet her when her flight lands。 She had promised him by then that she would give him an answer to his proposal of marriage。 Tom， naturally， can’t see why this is an issue， but apparently his fare can’t seem to make up her mind， and five hours on an airplane is far too little time to decide。 Well， it’s not Tom’s problem， so he lets her stew about it for a bit， which actually lasts a very short period before she comes up with a brilliant idea。 At least in her mind。 You see， she promised Barry that she would give him an answer once she reached LA。 She didn’t say how she’d get there。 So if she doesn’t fly but goes by cab， that would give her several days to decide what to tell him。Is she serious？ Indeed she is。 After almost no consideration， Tom says he’s game。 So， cleared for departure， the driver and his fare head west and the adventure begins。 At first， Katherine shows signs of relief at not having to make up her mind in the next few hours。 She sleeps and broods and watches the landscape change。 You know that， while crossing the entire United States， they can’t avoid talking。 Katherine discovers that Tom has been married， so she wants to pick his brain。 Maybe she can learn from his experience。 What she learns is that it doesn’t work that way。 Marriage is different for every individual。 She must figure out what’s right for her。As each day passes， driver and passenger become more familiar with each other。 And more fond of each other。 Eventually， Tom finds it hard to keep things platonic， but at the end of each day， Katherine checks them into separate rooms at the Holiday Inn。Katherine also has difficulties on the journey， but probably not the same as Tom’s。 The reader is the one who has a totally delightful experience。 Tom’s conversational style is witty with quick comebacks， making everything he says worth anticipating。 And Katherine’s responses slide in perfectly。 The people they encounter， the troubles they have， the good and the bad --- it’s all high entertainment。 And the ending？ Well， there’s the suspense。Stephen King said， “A book by this guy is cause for happiness。” It is indeed。 You’ll be hard-pressed to find more fun in a single sitting。Reviewed by Kate Ayers 。。。more

Blair Roberts ，

Another fine tale by Don Westlake！ A fresh and forward thinking suspense novel with zero crime。

L B ，

Never going to be my favorite Westlake， but I'll probably re-read it at some point。 Never going to be my favorite Westlake， but I'll probably re-read it at some point。 。。。more

Dave ，

call me a cab 🚕 “Call Me A Cab” is a situation in which Hard Case Crime publishes a novel by Westlake who has been gone a few years （and has not come back yet） which has no crime in it， not one iota。 But， ladies and gentlemen， it’s Donald Westlake and it’s Hard Case and it has the most awesome retro cover of this sexy dame in heels and the taxicab in the middle of the Utah desert。 The novel was once published in Redbook magazine， but abbreviated as it may be。 So this full version has never befor call me a cab 🚕 “Call Me A Cab” is a situation in which Hard Case Crime publishes a novel by Westlake who has been gone a few years （and has not come back yet） which has no crime in it， not one iota。 But， ladies and gentlemen， it’s Donald Westlake and it’s Hard Case and it has the most awesome retro cover of this sexy dame in heels and the taxicab in the middle of the Utah desert。 The novel was once published in Redbook magazine， but abbreviated as it may be。 So this full version has never before hit the bookshelves。The story is quite simple。 Tom is a cab driver。 He drives a New York City checker cab。 Katherine （no Kat or Kathy， always Katherine） hails the cab and they head for Kennedy Airport， but on the way there she explains that she is heading to California to give Barry， her longtime fiance， her decision， but she has not yet decided。 Then， the brainstorm hits her。 Boom！ If she hires the cab to drive her to Los Angeles， she’ll have a week to think it over。 After a little haranguing with dispatch， an agreement is reached and they cross the George Washington and head off through Jersey and Pennsylvania。What follows is a cute novel about two people crossing the country together。 If you will， it is Westlake’s answer to Kerouac’s On the Road。 It offers us Westlake’s trademarked clever sense of humor and takes us back to a time when the interstates did not go all the way through and the exits were dotted with Holiday Inns， each one refreshingly identical in every way， which was at the time an improvement on the broken down run-down tourist courts that were mismanaged everywhere。 It offers us diners， with the same six things on the menu and two people debating the merits and demerits of matrimony。It is not a crime novel and barely even a suspense novel unless you count the long-awaited answer to Barry’s question。 Remember Barry？ But it is an enjoyable jaunt。 。。。more

Steve ，

I received this from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review。"What does a caper look like without a caper？" According to the afterword， that's the question Donald Westlake asked that lead to this book。 It looks like this: well-developed characters in an interesting situation， driving across the country， and learning who they are。I love stories like this。 Simple， thoughtful， and elegant in its prose。 Easy to put myself into the story and into the mind of the characters。Great way to start 2022。 I received this from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review。"What does a caper look like without a caper？" According to the afterword， that's the question Donald Westlake asked that lead to this book。 It looks like this: well-developed characters in an interesting situation， driving across the country， and learning who they are。I love stories like this。 Simple， thoughtful， and elegant in its prose。 Easy to put myself into the story and into the mind of the characters。Great way to start 2022。 Five stars！ 。。。more

Addison ，

Well。 This is a book read and I have no feelings about it。 Other than that it said it was a "hard case crime" but at absolutely no point was there a crime or a mystery of any kind。 Well。 This is a book read and I have no feelings about it。 Other than that it said it was a "hard case crime" but at absolutely no point was there a crime or a mystery of any kind。 。。。more

Jeff Swartz ，

Very nostalgic。 Really brought back the 70’s and road trips and Holiday Inns！Any Donald Westlake is a good Donald Westlake。Kept waiting for the crime but was not disappointed when it never arrived。

Ben ，

Donald Westlake is among the best crime fictions writers， period， especially the caper novel。 As Richard Stark， he gave me two of my favorite book characters of all time: Parker and Alan Grofield， two professional thieves。 I've stayed up far too late many times reading Parker books simply because I could not put them down， I had to know what happened next。 Call Me a Cab is a crimeless novel。 But it does have two more great characters Tom and Katharine and like those Parker books， I couldn't put Donald Westlake is among the best crime fictions writers， period， especially the caper novel。 As Richard Stark， he gave me two of my favorite book characters of all time: Parker and Alan Grofield， two professional thieves。 I've stayed up far too late many times reading Parker books simply because I could not put them down， I had to know what happened next。 Call Me a Cab is a crimeless novel。 But it does have two more great characters Tom and Katharine and like those Parker books， I couldn't put it down， I had to know what was going to happen to them。 Hard Case Crime delivers again with a beautiful， striking painted cover and a great afterword from Charles Ardai。（Special Note: I received a digital ARC from Hard Case Crime through Edelweiss） 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Call Me a Cab

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Call Me a Cab&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Call Me a Cab&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0