Plot summary
It describes an attempt of robbery in an isolated hotel on Costa Brava. The robbery is planned with the help of a Critical path method, Critical Path Analysis computer program, but unforeseen events get in the way. The three Americans needed cover, as lone men stood out. So each decided he would pick up a girl, and mingle with the crowd.The women
* Annette was a working girl who did her best work after hours. * Cynthia was nymphomaniac who liked Cannabis (drug), marijuana and men—often together. * Jenny was rich girl who wanted to be Swinging (sexual practice), loved for her body. The women were irrelevant, as the men's real interest was the hotel's safe, which would net them a million dollars in Jewellery, jewels, money, cash, and Traveller's cheque, traveler's checks. The crime was brilliantly conceived. It was masterminded by a modern computer. But when they forgot the biggest risk of all—the women, and Sexual intercourse, sex.Structure and format
As in many other Crichton novels the chapters are named by date as in a diary, rather than by number or other content. In this particular novel the chapters reflect the total timespan, the ticking clock, of the plot as a whole. The fifteen chapters begins with ''Saturday, June Fourteenth'', and ending with ''Afternoon, June Twenty-Second''. The timespan of the story is just a little more than a week, which is yet another similarity to Crichton's later novels. Being his first book, it also contains some of Crichton's 'trademarks' for the first time. Among other things, Crichton started his tradition of beginning his novels with quotes: :''"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."'' :'' – Benjamin Disraeli''Background
Crichton wrote the book in 1965 while a student at Harvard Medical School. He sent it to Doubleday for consideration under the name "John Lange". A reader at Doubleday loved the book but thought it was "too saucy" for that company, so sent it on to a friend at New American Library. Crichton used the name John Lange because at this stage he planned to be a doctor and did not want his patients worried he would use them for his plots. The name came from a fairy tale writer called Andrew Lang; Crichton added an "e" and substituted his own real first name, John, for Andrew.Proposed adaptation
In 1969, around the time film rights were bought for Crichton's ''The Andromeda Strain'', independent producer Sam Roy bought the film rights to ''Odds On''. However, no movie was made.References
{{Michael Crichton Novels by Michael Crichton 1966 American novels Works published under a pseudonym Novels set in Spain Novels set in hotels 1966 debut novels Signet Books books