Mon Westlake préféré. Un moine cloitré mène l'enquête dans New York : il doit retrouver le bail de son couvent afin d'empêcher la main mise d'un promoteur immobilier sur la parcelle.

A monastery in the middle of Manhattan is about to be torn down. Only Brother Benedict can save his home by appealing to the family that owns and leases the building. But the monastery's copy of the lease seems to have disappeared. Lighthearted and a little dated since it was written in 1975.. ( )

Having heard many good things about Donald E. Westlake, I looked forward to reading Brothers Keepers. After all, what in the world can a group of sixteen monks do when their 200-year-old monastery on Park Avenue in New York City is condemned to make way for a new high-rise?

It's a miracle they knew about it at all. If not for Brother Benedict's weekly purchase of the Sunday New York Times, they might have been blissfully unaware until the wrecking ball showed up at their door. Once they know, however, they move as quickly as possible in an attempt to save their home.

Humor is one of the most subjective things there is, and I'd heard a lot about Westlake's. Although I did smile a time or two at Father Banzolini's way of listening to confession, I did not find the book overly funny. In fact, the entire book didn't grab me at all even though I could appreciate how well it was written.

That happens sometimes. No matter how well someone writes, a book just doesn't pique a reader's interest. I'm glad that I did read a Westlake novel and can move on. Your mileage, of course, will definitely vary, and I hope you do enjoy Brothers Keepers. ( )

Even though the plot of "Brothers Keepers" doesn't have the comedic potential of some of his best novels, Donald E. Westlake makes the most of it. There are enough amusing situations and unusual characters to make this a very enjoyable read.

The situation is this: Brother Benedict discovers, quite by accident while reading the Sunday New York Times, that real estate developers have plans for the land in the midst of New York City that the Crispinite Order has leased since 1777 and on which their monastery sits.

It is a contemplative Order, and what the 16 monks who reside in the monastery contemplate, besides God, is Travel. They believe Travel (the word is always used with an uppercase T) should be done only when necessary and that people would be better off if they just stayed put.

Well, the monks want to stay put right where they are, in their stark, unimposing monastery. But in order to save it they must, gulp, Travel outside its walls. Brother Benedict, for no other reason than that he discovered the Times article, leads the way.

It all appears hopeless, especially when Brother Benedict falls in love with the landlord's daughter. He follows her to Puerto Rico, supposedly to ask her help in saving the monastery, and he very nearly doesn't return.

But he does and with the help of, of all people, a Travel agent, he rescues the monastery from destruction. ( )

This was the first book I read by one of my favorite authors, Donald Westlake. It is the story of a monk who lives in a monastery in the center of NYC and his efforts to save the monastery from developers. While not a crime or mystery novel it has many similarities to his Dorfmunder novels, fast paced, funny and soaked with New York City ambiance. ( )