
The Busy Body
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Narrated by:
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Brian Holsopple
About this listen
Al Engel had worked his way up to being Nick Rovito’s right-hand man, near the top of the syndicate. And this was a delicate job that Rovito had given him: retrieving a very important jacket, loaded with heroin, from the fresh grave of the drug mule who was accidentally buried wearing it.
Rovito ordered Engel to go to the grave in the early hours of the morning, dig up the coffin, and get back the suit - plus kill two birds with one stone (so to speak) and whack the guy who would help with the digging. There was just one problem (at least - just one to begin with): It turned out the grave was empty. Suddenly Engel was the one finding himself “in deep”.
Busy Body is early Westlake, as he was mastering the genre he would become known for: the comic caper.
©1966 Original material © 1966 Donald E. Westlake. Recorded by arrangement with The Mysterious Press.com, LLC. (P)2012 (p) 2012 HighBridge CompanyListeners also enjoyed...
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EMPTY SPACES AND HILARIOUS BITS
- By Inez on 12-30-24
By: Lance Carney
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Money for Nothing
- By: Donald Westlake
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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There is no such thing as a free lunch, but it takes Josh Redmont a while to figure that out. The first check arrived when Josh was 27, $1,000, issued by "United States Agent" through an unnamed bank with an indeterminate address in Washington, D.C. The checks continued to arrive once a month, even when Josh changed addresses, with nary an explanation or a peep from the IRS.
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Poor
- By Roger AG on 10-06-06
By: Donald Westlake
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An Old Man's Game
- Amos Parisman Mysteries, Book 1
- By: Andy Weinberger
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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When a controversial celebrity rabbi drops dead over his matzoh ball soup at the famed Canter's Deli in Los Angeles, retired private eye Amos Parisman - a 60ish, no-nonsense Jewish detective who lives with his addled wife in Park La Brea - is hired by the temple's board to make sure everything is kosher. As he looks into what seems to be a simple, tragic accident, the ante is raised when more people start to die or disappear, and Amos uncovers a world of treachery and hurt that shakes a large LA Jewish community to its core.
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Loved it.
- By feigie on 09-24-24
By: Andy Weinberger
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The Fisherman
- A Thriller
- By: Vaughn Hardacker
- Narrated by: Christopher Price
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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After tracking down a crazed sniper last year, homicide detective Mike Houston opted to leave Boston for the isolated mountains of Maine. He adjusted nicely to chopping his own firewood, relaxing in his log cabin, and simply enjoying the solitude of the mountains. But then his former partner, Lt. Anne Bouchard, pays him a visit and dangles the words serial killer in front of him. And suddenly he finds himself back in the game beside her - though not "officially".
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Great action story
- By JL on 04-02-25
By: Vaughn Hardacker
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The Grasshopper Trap
- By: Patrick McManus
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Often compared to Garrison Keillor and Mark Twain, Patrick F. McManus maintains just the right balance between baffled innocence and conspiratorial confidence. Since 1979, this humorist has been delighting readers with hilarious stories recounting his childhood in rural Idaho and relating his misadventures in the great outdoors. Whether you're a sportsman or a couch potato, he will have you laughing out loud at his escapades.
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Classic Pat McManus
- By Elizabeth on 06-13-17
By: Patrick McManus
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The Comedy is Finished
- By: Donald E. Westlake
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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The year is 1977, and America is finally getting over the nightmares of Watergate and Vietnam and the national hangover that was the 1960s. But not everyone is ready to let it go. Not aging comedian Koo Davis, friend to generals and presidents and veteran of countless USO tours to buck up American troops in the field. And not the five remaining members of the self-proclaimed People’s Revolutionary Army, who’ve decided that kidnapping Koo Davis would be the perfect way to bring their cause back to life....
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not my favorite Westlake book
- By rent house guy on 03-30-16
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Tourist Season
- By: Carl Hiaasen
- Narrated by: George Wilson
- Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Tourist season is swinging into high gear in Miami. So are the activities of a bizarre terrorist group determined to keep the hapless "snowbirds" away. Armed with bombs, weed, and jumbled credos, they move toward their grand target, the Orange Bowl Parade, with plans to bring Miami and its tourist trade to a halt.
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CAUTION: BELLY ACHING LAUGHTER IMMINENT!
- By Tracy P. on 02-08-17
By: Carl Hiaasen
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Hitman
- A Stanley Hastings Mystery
- By: Parnell Hall
- Narrated by: Allen O'Reilly
- Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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A contract killer who wants out of the game, Kessler hires Stanley mostly to watch his back in the event that someone of similar professional skills is shadowing him. Someone is, in fact, only Stanley fails to spot him and dead bodies are soon piling messily up. The hapless Stanley thus begins an odyssey around Manhattan in his attempt to uncover just what did go down, and why, during his client's last, decidedly dirty, job.
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Interesting at first….
- By Audio Dave on 03-04-25
By: Parnell Hall
What listeners say about The Busy Body
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- Mandy Holman
- 04-09-25
LOVED IT!!!
Great story, great narration definitely want more!! Listing to anything by Donald E. Westlake
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-10-23
I can't believe this is in the plus catalog
This was so much better than most of the stuff I buy. Crisp intelligent banter in the style of Dashiell Hammett.
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1 person found this helpful
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- RJ
- 02-24-23
The Blue Suit!
Charlie Brody was the first in the organization to die in several years. The Boss, Nick Rovido thought this would be a good time to have a great sendoff. Unfortunately, Charlie was buried with something important to the Organization. Fred Engle, Al’s father arranged a meeting with the Boss. Given some condemning information from his father, Al replaced Nick’s existing right-hand man. Four years later, Engle was to retrieve something important for Nick and to rub out Willie Menchik, a truck driver for the organization who talked too much. Engle was to do both jobs at the same time. The situation went from bad to worse. What Nick wanted Engle to retrieve disappeared, along with clues to where it went. All the Boss wanted was the item and it was up to Engle to get it. The story wandered all over, seeming to have nothing to do with the plot. Confusing twists and turns, make me wonder if it will eventually come together. Three.point.five.
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-30-12
early westlake
Would you listen to The Busy Body again? Why?
If you're a fan of Westlake, this is an early book with a lot of early threads. Non politically correct and loving New York
What about Brian Holsopple’s performance did you like?
funny accents
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- Larjane
- 11-17-23
What Gangsters Go Through
Who says it’s easy being a gang member. Who can a guy trust? He should have gone to dinner at his mother’s.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Sam Fachinglesse
- 12-19-22
Very Enjoyable
The busy body takes in NYC. This takes place before John, Tiny and the others get together. It is a very interesting story. Even if you are a Dortmunder fan like me, you will not miss them. The reader is excellent- I wish I could give him more stars. With twists and turns galore, and double crossing gangsters it really kept my interest.
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- Hank
- 05-18-24
Love this guy’s writing.
Westlake writes like no other. His stories have such detailed criminal activities or dark humor that you cannot compare them to any other author’s work. He also writes as Richard Stark and those are also classic hard boiled crime fictions.
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- John
- 08-21-24
This One Deserves a Sequel
A great story with an ending just open-ended enough to invite a next installment. Sadly, the almighty Internet tells me this is one of Westlake's standalone books. A pity. Would love to hear what happens to Aloysius in California.
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- Thomas
- 12-03-12
Comic criminal caper
What made the experience of listening to The Busy Body the most enjoyable?
I'm a late convert to Westlake's subtle comic charms. I read a fair bit of crime and have read plenty of Westlake's alter ego, Richard Stark. I've only started to get into his comic capers in the last few years and realise that their is much gold here too. I like the whiny, almost apologetic, mobster hero and the narrator Brian Holsopple is a good choice to voice his thoughts.
Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?
I wanted to know what happened next. Westlake is an easy listen for sure.
Which character – as performed by Brian Holsopple – was your favorite?
Not Applicable.
Who was the most memorable character of The Busy Body and why?
Westlake introduces plenty of oddball characters and potential "guilty parties" throughout so it's really just a mix-up of them all.
Any additional comments?
This title is a stand alone so you won't need to read something else to get the running gags. I'd recommend it if you are a fan of Lawrence Block, Chester Himes, or even someone like George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman series.
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- lindablue
- 03-27-12
A good listen
What did you love best about The Busy Body?
This was my first listen to a Westlake book and I enjoyed it. It was a good little mystery with amusing characters and humorous incidents. I plan to listen to more by Westlake.
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