This one cab driver is given a tip in a horse race, and wins $930. He goes to pick up the winnings from his bookies place only to find him a recent corpse! Who killed the guy? And how is our hero gonna get his money?

Absolutely enthralling. Full of slam bang action, hilarious dialogue, and fast moving chase sequences. I’ve found a new bibliography to dive into. ( )

Somebody Owes Me Money is Donald E. Westlake’s first comic caper novel. A Manhattan cabbie wins a longshot bet on the ponies. When he arrives at his bookie’s apartment to pick up his winnings, he finds the guy with a gun by his side and a gaping wound in his chest. When the cops arrive, they find him covered with blood, the murder weapon in hand, and a woman screaming that he killed her husband. He naturally has to solve the case to get off the hook, a feat that may or may not get him paid.
As for style, I can’t do better than quote the first paragraph:
I bet none of it would have happened if I wasn’t so eloquent. That’s always been my problem, eloquence, though some might claim my problem was something else again. But life’s a gamble, is what I say, and not all the eloquent people in this world are in Congress.
If you like the patter, you will like the novel. ( )

Fun little crime novel by the Westlake. If you like his light crime stories then this one is fine. ( )

Can't go wrong with Donald Westlake when you're in the mood for something quick, easy, and charmingly familiar. All the tropes you expect from good crime fiction. The bumbling large but dumb bad guys, the shorter smooth brains of the mobsters, the blonde girl in trouble. And it all comes with it a wonderful trip back in time to 1960s New York City. A fun read for a rainy day. ( )

"Somebody Owes Me Money" by Donald Westlake was a hard case true crime book about a New York taxi driver named Chet who makes a bet on a horse and when he goes to collect the money from his bookie he finds the bookie dead. The cops think Chet did it, McKay's sister thinks Chet did it, and two rival gangs think Chet did it. Chet's in a big mess. It was pretty good, although the ending was so convoluted I'm not 100% sure who the killer was. ( )