Books › Drowned hopes
Drowned hopes
First published 1990 · 624 pages
A frantic, high-stakes caper where a ticking clock of dynamite forces a reluctant thief into increasingly desperate underwater heists.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like watching a meticulously planned heist unravel into pure, waterlogged chaos. The narrative moves at a brisk, escalating pace, driven by a literal ticking clock and the looming threat of mass destruction. It balances a wry, ironic tone with genuine suspense, as each desperate attempt to solve an impossible underwater puzzle ends in failure. The mood is tense and frantic, steeped in the anxiety of dealing with an unpredictable, dynamite-happy partner. It explores themes of criminal ingenuity pushed to its absolute limits and the absurdity of desperate measures. This is a perfect read for those who delight in chaotic capers, where the stakes are life-or-death and the protagonists are perpetually one bad decision away from total disaster.
- Mood
- tense
- chaotic
- high-stakes
- waterlogged
- Tone
- wry
- suspenseful
- ironic
- urgent
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- desperate measures · ticking clocks · criminal ingenuity · unintended consequences
- The writing
- Sharp and suspenseful, balancing the intricate mechanics of a heist with the escalating absurdity of a ticking clock.
- The arc
- Moves from greedy anticipation to a frantic, escalating desperation as carefully laid plans repeatedly unravel.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love a chaotic, high-stakes caper where everything that can go wrong absolutely does.
Content notes
- threat of mass casualties
- explosives
- criminal behavior
About the book
Tom Jimson, the burglar has $700,000 stashed away in a valley town, which has been converted into a reservoir, by the state of New York. Now, the money lies fifty feet below water and the only way in which Jim wants to retrieve it is to blow up the dam. With the fate of nine hundred people at stake, it falls on John Dortmunder to formulate an alternate plan for retrieving the loot. And, as each attempt by Dortmunder fails, Tom's dynamite finger gets itchier...and itchier.
Description from Open Library.
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