361

A Hard Case Crime Novel

By: Donald E. Westlake

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

The men in the tan-and-cream Chrysler came with guns blazing. When Ray Kelly woke up in the hospital, it was a month later, he was missing an eye, and his father was dead. Then things started to get bad. From the mind of the incomparable Donald E. Westlake comes a devastating story of betrayal and revenge, an exploration of the limits of family loyalty and how far a man will go when everything he loves is taken from him.

©1962 Donald E. Westlake (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks America

Amazing!!!!!

Incredible story and performance too! One of the all time great audiobooks in my opinion

Westlake??

This was such a long, boring, contrived story. It was full of despair and violence and made no sense at all.

361

This was a very fast moving murder mystery. I enjoyed it and want to read more from this author.

A good romp

Good characters, twisty and compelling story line and great narration. Although if I hear someone say "see what I mean" any time soon, I may have to smack them :)

Good Coice

I really enjoyed this book. It kept my interest from start to finish. The characters and the storyline were realistic . I am looking forward to more of this authors work. Narration was good, too.

Great Listening

The story kept me engaged throughout, I liked the main characters and there development and the mystery that ran through the story was also interesting and a well developed storyline. The narrator was also good. Would definitely listen to more by the writer.

Nice and hard-boiled.

A solid story with a good performance. Has that gritty, hardcore, old old-school crime.story feel.

Numbers mean violence

Westlake will have you thinking this is some deep existential story that will keep you guessing. After all the title “361” when looked up in the right thesaurus will read “361. [Destruction of Life; Violent Death.] Killing., violence”. Then again once you get past the title, you know what’s up. This book is a straight forward revenge story. If it were made into a film in the 70’s, or 80’s, it would be a starring vehicle for Mel Gibson.

We follow Ray Kelly after he gets out of the Air Force and returns from Germany. He meets up with his dad on his first night home and are going to meet up with his brother Bill when they are attacked. Ray survives the assassination attempt. His father and his eye aren’t so lucky. Ray and his Bill strike out against the “syndicate”, and before they know it Kills wife and kid are killed, and the two of them are suddenly unintentionally and unknowingly embedded in the “syndicate” as they continue to seek justice.

They learn their father and mother used to be players in the mafia, which is what landed them in the violent precarious spot they find themselves. The car chases, fights, shootouts and threats all feel real. None of it ever quite gets to the point of sensationalism. With his blunt and straight forward gritty storytelling Westlake has created a page turner that is difficult to put down.

Added bonus, it has my favorite most horrifying vividl nightmare fuel murder that has ever been written EVER. Hard Case Crime continues their tradition of publishing books you don’t want to put down.

4 stars out of 5

Not Bad

Narrator was fine
Story was fine
Listened through Audible +
Overall it was wasn't that bad

Ya know what I mean?

Ray Kelly, recently retired from the U.S. Air Force hopped the subway to Manhatten to meet his father at a hotel. The next day they checked out to go home to Binghamton 38 miles outside of New York. As they traveled, a car pulled up next to them and shot his father. Before he died, his father said Cap!, and the car swerved into a bridge support. Ray woke in the hospital, missing one eye and crushed ankles. Released from the hospital, he met Charlie, telling him to get out of the city for his good. Ray learned his father, a young lawyer had been connected with the mod back in the day. Then Ray went to his brother, Mike’s house finding that Mike’s wife had also been killed. Ray and Mike wanted revenge for their father and Mike’s wife. New York was the answer. What they found in their investigations was more than they ever imagined. The story leads to a mob takeover of New York. Very interesting and very violent. Ray is into it up to his neck. The story gets better as it goes along. After a long introduction, it gets good.