Edgar Award Best Novel Winner

God Save the Mark

by Donald E. Westlake

Summary

Fred Fitch is a hapless New Yorker so easily swindled that con artists treat him as a natural target, until he inherits a fortune from a murdered uncle and becomes a mark worth killing. Donald E. Westlake plays the premise for comedy, building a fast, witty caper around an everyman who must outthink the schemers circling him. The novel showcases the comic crime style that made Westlake a defining figure in the genre.

Historical Context & Significance

Donald E. Westlake won the Edgar Award for Best Novel for this comic mystery, one of three Edgars he earned across different categories during his career.