The Road to Ruin

By: Donald E. Westlake

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

John Dortmunder and his merry band of crooks return to the scene of the crime world in an attempt to steal a fleet of automobiles that would leave the Sultan of Brunei blushing. The mark is Monroe Hall, corrupt CEO of a now defunct conglomerate, who spent more of his company's money on himself than the boys at Enron and WorldCom combined. Having escaped prosecution, Hall is holed up on his massive Pennsylvania farm, and Dortmunder, as usual, has his eyes on the big prize: Hall's vintage wheels.

©2004 Donald E. Westlake (P)2004 BBC Audiobooks America

Critic reviews

"Nobody does comic capers better than Westlake. This one unfolds with...cinematic energy." ( Publishers Weekly)
"William Dufris has a high old time with the large and disparate cast of characters, including Dortmunder's merry band and an alcoholic traveling salesman. He even gives voice to one of the venture capitalists before and after a broken jaw." ( AudioFile)

Not a mystery or thriller

Not a mystery or a thriller unless maybe you are British! It reminded me of a British comedy. Not my cup of tea.

Dortmunder does it again!

The plot weaves and twists in the usual hilarious Westlake fashion, with all your favorite Dortmunder characters.

Well, It Wasn't Quite As Funny

If you could sum up The Road to Ruin in three words, what would they be?

OK Little Story

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I kind of felt that there were a lot of word added just to make it a longer story. Not sure but it did seem to drag a bit. For some reason it just felt like the story wasn't really about the mis-fits themselves but about everyone else. I like when the story totally revolves around the "gang".

Which scene was your favorite?

When the guys watched all the classic cars they wanted to steal taken out on flat beds.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but its a longer book so it took two days even with the re-reads/listens.

Any additional comments?

This one wasn't as funny as some others in the series. I did miss that. It also seem a bit more confusing so I kept going back for clarity. Not sure if it was the reader or the writing or both.

Motorhead mayhem!

An old friend of Andy Kelp’s, Chester Fallon came to his apartment to offer a job. Dortmunder was present. He had been an employee of a corporation maintaining all the rare classic cars of the CEO, Monroe Hall. When the government tax man intervened, all went wrong. Now he was out of a job, his retirement, and all his benefits disappeared. His idea for Andy was to steal the rare classic cars of Hall’s. The idea of getting into the compound where the cars were stored was much more difficult than imagined. A different method of accessing the classic cars needed to be created. The time waiting to get t this solution was a bit disappointing, it downplayed the entire story but I did continue. Unknown to Dortmunder, a concurrent heist was in play, ruining Dortmunder’s plan. We finally get to the twist. I didn’t like this book as much as the others.

Another good Dortmunder tale

This is my 4th Dortmunder story and eve though I’ve read them out of order they still flow well. Feel like this one may continue so am looking for the next one to see if there is some sort of continuation.

The Dortmunder Gang tries again!

Another Dortmunder caper comes to audio, and is once again well-read by William Dufris. His portrayals of Dortmunder, Kelp, Tiny and all the members of the crew, as well as the "civilians" and law enforcement officials, kept me grinning all through the story.

A decent story ruined by overzealous narration.

Dissapointing. The narrator should have been reminded that this was a book, not a play.

😂😂😂Amazing and hilarious 🥰🥰🥰

I typically don’t write reviews but after I saw the negative comment left by “Karen”. I had to chime in and redeem the integrity of this book. I laughed and laughed until tears came rolling down my cheeks. The plot and the narration were well put together and flowed like water. I just found this author. I’m usually a suspense thriller kind of person but man these comedy books have been a welcomed breath of fresh air. During this pandemic it’s been gloom and doom and media chaos everywhere. These books written by Mr. Westlake have been laughter for the soul. Comic relief to bring back healthy endorphins into the brain and cheer up some of the sad and depressing events of the last two years. Your books have been keeping me mentally healthy. And with my sincerest gratitude I thank you.

Bleehhh!

Boring, poorly plotted, no sense of pacing. The jokes fall flat.
The narration really doesn't help--monotone, and some of the characters, even quite important ones, are indistinguishable from one another. The women, in particular, sound almost alike, and this is yet another male narrator who can't seem to read a female dialogue without sounding like he's mocking the woman in question.