Monday, October 13, 2014

Plunder Squad by Richard Stark


(pb; 1972, 2010: fifteenth novel in the Parker series.  Introduction by Charles Ardai.  Loosely linked crossover novel with Joe Gores' novel Dead Skip.)


From the back cover:

" 'Hearing the click behind him, Parker threw his glass straight back over his right shoulder, and dove off his chair to the left.' When a job looks like amateur hour, Parker walks away. But even a squad of seasoned professionals can't guarantee against human error in a high-risk scam. Can an art dealer with issues unload a truck of paintings with Parker's aid? Or will the heist end up too much of a human interest story, as luck runs out before Parker can get in on the score?"


Review:

Plunder is another favorite-for-this-reader entry in Stark's Parker series.  It not only varies up the usual Parker storyline in a taut and thrilling way, it brings together familiar faces from previous novels in this series: Ed Mackey, one of Parker's cheerful semi-regular heistmates; Dan Kearny*, a P.I. who crossed paths with Parker prior to the main storyline of The Hunter; George Uhl, a murderous thug Parker encountered in The Sour Lemon Score; Stan Devers, whose work with Parker in The Green Eagle Score led to Devers' expulsion from the ROTC and his subsequent life of crime; and, of course, Handy McKay, a ex-Parker-heistmate-now-diner-owner in Presque, Maine who serves as Parker's "contact man" for jobs.

Plunder, like the preceding Parker novels, is an excellent read, one worth owning.

Followed by Butcher's Moon.


[*Dan Kearny is the main character in Joe Gores' DKA Files series.]

No comments: