Dancing Aztecs

By: Donald E. Westlake

Narrated by: Brian Holsopple

Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Specialist in the scam, the con, and the rip-off, Jerry Manelli is running around New York hot on the trail of a priest: a thousand-year-old, two-foot-tall, ugly, misshapen, dancing Aztec priest made of solid gold, with eyes of pure emeralds, worth a million dollars.

Somebody stole it from its museum home in South America and smuggled it through U.S. Customs in a shipment of plastic imitations. But the wrong one got delivered, and the million dollar statue, mixed with the 15 copies, is somewhere in New York. Jerry Manelli is searching for it, as are Wall Street financiers, New Jersey union thugs, Manhattan aristocrats, college professors and PR men, liberated women and unliberated wives, tough guys and conmen, and sharpshooters of every kind.

From Harlem to Greenwich Village, from Long Island to Connecticut, the motley group races in and around New York in this comic adventure of the 1970s.

©1976 Original material, Donald E. Westlake. Recorded by arrangement with Mysterious Press, LLC. (P)2011 HighBridge Company

always enjoy Westlake

this may not be one of his best but Westlake is always enjoyable and his comic capers are generally good for light fun. and he's not a bad writer, usually witty with a dash now and then of something literary, and sometimes just plain laugh out loud funny.

It’s a mad mad, mad mad Westlake

The review title says it all. If you like that, you’ll love this. Very enjoyable narrator.

Not ideal for casual listening

It's very a very funny and sometimes hilarious story and the narration is very good. However, the great number of characters makes it difficult to follow if like me you listen to audiobooks mostly while driving and walking errands.

Loved the book, remember the time

Some of the reviews comment regarding the language and reference to certain groups of people in a negative way. I don't think they are remembering that this book was written at a time when it was perfectly normal to refer to people that way. I think it helps to get a better feeling of the times and attitudes in the story.

I love Westlake's Dortmunder series and this was my first venture into his other works. I was very pleased with it. I'll be looking for others!

It's an endless smile all the way through with an ending you won't expect or understand why you didn't pick up on it sooner.

One of his sillier books

If you could sum up Dancing Aztecs in three words, what would they be?

a madcap adventure?

What did you like best about this story?

the wild ride. I love every single Westlake book. But there were times I wanted to put it down and walk away. See Comments, below*

What about Brian Holsopple’s performance did you like?

He's a great reader for tongue-in-cheek Westlake. He doesn't overdo. Except as below, in Comments*

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Uh, not exactly a "moving" story. A lot made me laugh.

Any additional comments?

*Well, it's racist. The Mexicans are more or less portrayed as individuals, but the black people are cartoons, and some of this may be the fault of the reader. Seriously Amos N Andy stuff.

fun!

The book is long and complicated but it is really fun! Well read! So many intertwining stories but all comes together at the VERY end.

Laugh till you cry!

I will fist caution the reading/listening audience with this: there are MANY offensive slurs in this book. Almost to the point where I was discouraged from reading further. However, this is one of the funniest books I have ever read! Westlake takes the caper theme to another level. His descriptions of what is actually going on under the facade will stick with you. Worth checking out!

I enjoyed this book from Donald E Westlake

I enjoyed my first book from Donald E Westlake and it was well narrated by Brian Holsopple. Centred around a solid gold statue, and various people who attempt to steal it, this is a humorous and thoroughly entertaining book with a surprise ending. If you like Lawrence Block's series featuring Bernie Rhodenbarr you'll enjoy this one too. I put this in the top tier of my library and look forward to the next in the series.

One of my favorites ever.

Unbelievable cast of highly entertaining characters in a hilarious mystery. Loved this!! Extremely clever writing.

Dancing Aztecs

I used to read Westlakes works in the seventies. It was only a fair storyline and the narrator did a poor job. Odd pauses that confused the listener.