If this novel had been written by Updike or Cheever, the critics would still be cheering. It's a brooding masterpiece of its time, the seventies. Just imagine that Bob Hope has been kidnapped by a dysfunctional group of leftover sixties' radicals who want ten other loonies released as well as air passage to Algeria, and you have the initial setup. As you read, however, there are mediations on family, government, modern society, sex and even the possibility of love and understanding. What this novel is not is a 'typical' Westlake novel. Humorous yes, but the humor is stark and bitter. No mystery, just the honest suspense of a story that could end well or in tragedy. Above all, this is not a category or genre novel. It's a real reflection of its time and place. Superb, in short.