Westlake dead at 75

The mystery writer Donald E. Westlake died last night, apparently of a heart attack, while on vacation in New Mexico. Described as the Neil Simon of the crime novel and the Mel Brooks of mayhem—he is perhaps best known for the comic John A. Dortmunder series—Westlake was astonishingly prolific, writing ninety-two books under his own name and eleven pseudonyms, including Get Real, due out in April.