Donald E. Westlake's final unpublished novel is a superb work of suspense in which no crime occurs. Except maybe illegal parking and occasional speeding. It begins with a beautiful young woman --- of course --- hailing a cab in New York City. Taxi driver Tom musters all his powers of mental persuasion to get his potential fare, Katherine, to say the magic word: “Kennedy.” He is rewarded for his cranial efforts.

A smiling Tom sits back for the long drive to the airport, happy in the knowledge of a lucrative trip with a good-looking woman. Until he realizes something isn’t quite right with her. Come on, he doesn’t need trouble, and the lady in the backseat is beginning to look a lot like trouble: mumbling to herself, running her hands through her hair, frowning and making faces. So before she can do something unpleasant in his cab, Tom asks, essentially, “What’s up with you?”

"Stephen King said, 'A book by this guy is cause for happiness.' It is indeed. You’ll be hard-pressed to find more fun in a single sitting."

Katherine blurts out the story of her perfect boyfriend, Barry, waiting in Los Angeles to meet her when her flight lands. She had promised him by then that she would give him an answer to his proposal of marriage. Tom, naturally, can’t see why this is an issue, but apparently his fare can’t seem to make up her mind, and five hours on an airplane is far too little time to decide. Well, it’s not Tom’s problem, so he lets her stew about it for a bit, which actually lasts a very short period before she comes up with a brilliant idea. At least in her mind. You see, she promised Barry that she would give him an answer once she reached LA. She didn’t say how she’d get there. So if she doesn’t fly but goes by cab, that would give her several days to decide what to tell him.

Is she serious? Indeed she is. After almost no consideration, Tom says he’s game. So, cleared for departure, the driver and his fare head west and the adventure begins. At first, Katherine shows signs of relief at not having to make up her mind in the next few hours. She sleeps and broods and watches the landscape change. You know that, while crossing the entire United States, they can’t avoid talking. Katherine discovers that Tom has been married, so she wants to pick his brain. Maybe she can learn from his experience. What she learns is that it doesn’t work that way. Marriage is different for every individual. She must figure out what’s right for her.

As each day passes, driver and passenger become more familiar with each other. And more fond of each other. Eventually, Tom finds it hard to keep things platonic, but at the end of each day, Katherine checks them into separate rooms at the Holiday Inn.

Katherine also has difficulties on the journey, but probably not the same as Tom’s. The reader is the one who has a totally delightful experience. Tom’s conversational style is witty with quick comebacks, making everything he says worth anticipating. And Katherine’s responses slide in perfectly. The people they encounter, the troubles they have, the good and the bad --- it’s all high entertainment. And the ending? Well, there’s the suspense.

Stephen King said, “A book by this guy is cause for happiness.” It is indeed. You’ll be hard-pressed to find more fun in a single sitting.