Fin­ished Get Real by Don­ald E. West­lake. This is the lat­est book in Westlake’s long-running series about John Dort­munder, a thief who seems to have the worst luck in the world.

In this one, Dort­munder and the rest of his crew are approached by a pro­ducer about star­ring in a reality-television series. The premise is sim­ple — Dort­munder and his friends will be video­taped plan­ning a heist. But what the pro­ducer doesn’t real­ize is that Dort­munder has his eye on another prize — a safe full of cash at the show’s headquarters …

This is another fine entry into the Dort­munder series, as West­lake slyly pokes fun at America’s obses­sion with so-called “real­ity” pro­grams. West­lake hits all the usual notes in this one, as the gang meets at their favorite bar, to the quirks that each char­ac­ter has, to how they all work together as a team to make sure that every­thing comes out okay in the end.

This is one of my all-time favorite series, and I can’t think of any­one who writes comic crime capers bet­ter than West­lake. I was very, very sad to hear about his pass­ing in late 2008. I always meant to write to him and tell him just how much I enjoyed his books. Now, I’ll never get the chance. But I will be re-reading this series for years to come when­ever I need a good laugh. And when I’m in the mood for a darker heist, I’ll re-read his Parker series, writ­ten under the name Richard Stark. I can’t think of a more fit­ting trib­ute to West­lake than that.

If you’ve never read a West­lake book, you should. Thumbs up to this book and the legacy that this great writer has left behind for read­ers to enjoy.

Up next: Never Love a Law­man by Jo Goodman.

Books in my TBR pile: About 15.