The late Donald Westlake was a master of his craft. Crisp, realistic dialog, with a judicious use of slang make his novels some of the most readable there are. Put a Lid on it, is the story of a career criminal who is sprung from jail while awaiting trial on federal charges by the President's reelection committee. "Nixon botched the Watergate break in because he used political hacks, instead of pros." It’s a great story idea and Westlake pulls it off. I would have given the book 5 stars, but I like my bad guys bad. These guys are "good" bad guys. The novel reminded me of Lawrence Block's Bernie Rhodenbarr series, which I abandoned in search of real bad guys. Westlake wrote almost 100 novels under a dozen pen names. I read 361 before Put a Lid on it. In 361 there were lots of bad guys and shootem-ups. I’m going to read more of Westlake’s works. In this political season, Put a Lid on it, is a fun read, regardless of your political leanings. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.