Donald Westlake

Donald Westlake has died at the age of 75, author of more than 100 novels and one of the most influential American writers of the last century. Wonderful tributes have been written over the past couple of days by his friends and fans, by writers who were influenced by him, by those who had the good fortune to meet him, and also by people who knew his work and had studied it for years. A couple of standouts include the terrific piece Sarah Weinman wrote for the LA Times, which you can read here, and also Duane Swierczynski's remembrance of how he first discovered Westlake's writing and the influence it had on his own (which can be found on his blog).

I never had the opportunity to meet Westlake and suspect I would have been tongue-tied if I had, but he left a lasting impression when I saw him on a panel during Edgars week a couple of years ago. He was sitting alongside several other award-winning authors, all of whom were hugely successful in their own right, and what struck me was how the other writers were so clearly in awe of him but his self-deprecating humor put everyone at ease. He said he never outlined, except in one case, and that was for a book he'd never finish because he already knew how it was going to end.

He described writing as telling a story to himself, and we're all incredibly lucky he decided to share those stories with the rest of us. Best known for his Dortmunder series and the Parker novels (which he wrote under the name Richard Stark), Westlake had so many voices and stories in him that it's hard to believe a single man could have produced so many great novels in one lifetime.

In a century known for some pretty great crime writers, Westlake was in a class by himself, and his books are timeless because of it. Pick up anything by Westlake (or any of his aliases), and see for yourself.