Description

Book Synopsis
JAILED FOR A JOKE It isn't easy going to jail for being a practical joker. Of course, this particular joke left 20 cars wrecked on the highway and two politicians' careers in tatters - so jail is where Harold Kunt landed. Now he's just trying to keep a low profile in the Big House. He wants no part of his fellow inmates' plan to use an escape tunnel to rob two banks. But it's too late: he's in it up to his neck. And that neck may just wind up in a noose... HELP I AM BEING HELD PRISONER is Donald E. Westlake at his funniest and his most ingenious, a rediscovered crime classic from the MWA Grand Master returning to stores for the first time in three decades.

Trade Review
"The novel offers so many gifts to the reader-wonderful characters; a wide-eyed, goofy sense of humor; some delightfully hysterical wordplay-that the publisher has done readers an enormous favor by bringing it back into print." -- Booklist starred review "A bright reprint from 1974 that shows [Westlake] working the field in which he remains unrivaled: the comic caper in which Murphy's law reigns supreme...Fans of Westlake's Dortmunder series, which got started around the same time with The Hot Rock (1970), will appreciate the author's consummate blending of comedy and suspense, often within the same sentence, and rejoice that more Westlakes are slated for resurrection." --Kirkus Review "Fans both old and new will be tickled." Publishers Weekly "Donald E. Westlake at his funniest and his most ingenious...not to be missed" -- The Violent World of Parker "Pick up this well-written, exquisitely plotted and, yes, really funny caper novel and see what all of the excitement was and is about." - BookReporter "a fast, funny romp of a story, virtually "unputdownable." - Anthony Cardno blog review "Like all of the best Westlake books, this one careens along like a cyclist on meth." -- GrouchyGrammarian.com "thoroughly entertaining little gem" - Bookgasm

Help I Am Being Held Prisoner

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    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Mon 27 Jul 2026.

    A Paperback / softback by Donald E. Westlake

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      View other formats and editions of Help I Am Being Held Prisoner by Donald E. Westlake

      Publisher: Titan Books Ltd
      Publication Date: Publication Date: 13/02/2018
      ISBN13: 9781785656828, 978-1785656828
      ISBN10: 1785656821

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      JAILED FOR A JOKE It isn't easy going to jail for being a practical joker. Of course, this particular joke left 20 cars wrecked on the highway and two politicians' careers in tatters - so jail is where Harold Kunt landed. Now he's just trying to keep a low profile in the Big House. He wants no part of his fellow inmates' plan to use an escape tunnel to rob two banks. But it's too late: he's in it up to his neck. And that neck may just wind up in a noose... HELP I AM BEING HELD PRISONER is Donald E. Westlake at his funniest and his most ingenious, a rediscovered crime classic from the MWA Grand Master returning to stores for the first time in three decades.

      Trade Review
      "The novel offers so many gifts to the reader-wonderful characters; a wide-eyed, goofy sense of humor; some delightfully hysterical wordplay-that the publisher has done readers an enormous favor by bringing it back into print." -- Booklist starred review "A bright reprint from 1974 that shows [Westlake] working the field in which he remains unrivaled: the comic caper in which Murphy's law reigns supreme...Fans of Westlake's Dortmunder series, which got started around the same time with The Hot Rock (1970), will appreciate the author's consummate blending of comedy and suspense, often within the same sentence, and rejoice that more Westlakes are slated for resurrection." --Kirkus Review "Fans both old and new will be tickled." Publishers Weekly "Donald E. Westlake at his funniest and his most ingenious...not to be missed" -- The Violent World of Parker "Pick up this well-written, exquisitely plotted and, yes, really funny caper novel and see what all of the excitement was and is about." - BookReporter "a fast, funny romp of a story, virtually "unputdownable." - Anthony Cardno blog review "Like all of the best Westlake books, this one careens along like a cyclist on meth." -- GrouchyGrammarian.com "thoroughly entertaining little gem" - Bookgasm

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