(hb; 2008: twenty-fourth / final novel in the Parker series)
From the inside flap:
"In Nobody Runs Forever, Parker and two cohorts stole the assets of a bank in transit, but the police heat was so great they could only escape if they left the money behind. In this [second] follow-up novel, Parker and his associates plot to reclaim the loot, which they hid in the choir loft of an unused country church. As they implement the plan, people on both sides of the law use the forces at their command to stop Parker and grab the goods for themselves. Though Parker's new getaway van is an old Ford Ecoline with 'Holy Redeemer Choir' on its doors, his gang is anything but holy, and Parker will do whatever it takes to redeem his prize, no matter who gets hurt in the process."
Review:
The twenty-fourth and final Parker novel sports a largely familiar cast of characters (many of them from Nobody Runs Forever and Ask the Parrot). It also, once again, teams Parker up with an odd, semi-quirky ally mix -- namely: Sandra Loscalzo (bounty hunter, from Nobody), Frank Meaney, thug-boss of Cosmopolitan Beverages (from Firebreak), as well as -- briefly -- Ed Mackey (fellow thief, last seen in Breakout).
Like most of the previous Parker novels, Dirty is full of plot and character twists, ruthlessness, action, intriguing characters and a strong, word-lean sense of series continuity (that doesn't require that you to read previous Parker books). Excellent capper to the series, this, one worth owning.
(hb; 2006: twenty-third book in the Parker series)
From the inside flap:
"On a sunny October afternoon a man is running up a hill. He's not dressed for running. Below him are barking police dogs and waiting up ahead is a stranger -- with a rifle, a life full of regrets, and a parrot at home who will mutely witness just how much trouble the runner, Parker, can bring into an ordinary life.
"The rabbit hunter is Tom Lindahl, a small-town lonely heart nursing a big-time grudge against the racetrack that fired him. He knows from the moment he sees Parker that he's met a professional thief -- and a man with murder in his blood. Rescuing Parker from the chase hounds, Lindahl invites the fugitive into his secluded home. He plans to rip off his former employer and exact a deadly measure of revenge -- if he can get Parker to help.
"But Tom doesn't know Parker and that the desperate criminal will do anything to survive -- no matter who has to die."
Review:
Parrot picks up where Nobody Runs Forever left off. Parker, pursued by law enforcement officers and their tracker dogs, is forced to pair up with a loser-by-his-own-reckoning (Tom Lindahl), who wants to rob his old employers, whom, he feels, treated him in a shabby manner.
Once again, I love how Stark changes the situations that Parker finds himself in, exploring new plot, character and creative territories as the series progresses. The first half of Parrot is, in turns, amusing and annoying (the latter emotion stemming from the actions of the civilians Parker must deal with). (Parts of this section almost feel like a darkly comedic Parker side novella.) The second half of the novel brings that slow-build desperation (as experienced differently by Parker and Lindahl) together in Stark's ruthless waste-no-action-nor-words fashion.
As with the previous book (Nobody), impatient fans of the series may want to have the next Parker novel -- Dirty Money -- on hand, as Dirty picks up where Parrot leaves off. Worth owning, this.
(hb; 2004: twenty-second book in the Parker series)
From the inside flap:
"Seven men came to a meeting in Cincinnati. One wore a wire, and another didn't hesitate to kill him -- fast and hard. Now Parker has left that meeting and the murder behind, and gotten involved with a scheme that is stuffed with money and trouble.
"In the rural northwestern corner of Massachusetts, Parker and a pal plan to steal an armored car. But the human element gets in the way. From a nervous ex-con and his well-intentioned sister to a bank manager's two-timing wife and a beautiful, relentless cop, too many people have their hands too close to Parker's pie. Then a bounty hunter, who just happens to be hunting the man who never left Cincinnati meeting, joins the fray.
"Parker can see this job turning bad, yet he can't let go of the score. And when guns go off and the heist goes down, the perfect plan will explode with a sound and fury all its own. For Parker, there's always the choice of turning from fight to flight -- even if there's nowhere to run."
Review:
Parker and his current heistmates -- Nick Dalesia (from an earlier Parker novel, I forget which one) and Nelson McWhitney (a recent acquaintance) -- have their hands full when they take on an armored car heist that initially seems easy-peasy but quickly turns complicated because of other human scavengers who, for various reasons, have taken an interest in the heisters' activities. (Briggs, an explosives expert and another former Parker heistmate, briefly makes an appearance in Nobody as well.)
This twenty-second novel in this series is, like all previous Parker novels, a high-water pulp-noir mark work, hardboiled, masterful and entertaining. It's worth owning, and those reading Nobody should have the next Parker novel in their possession if they can't wait to see how this character-complicated actioner plays out.
Followed by Ask the Parrot.
(hb; 2002: twenty-first novel in the Parker series)
From the inside flap:
"In a drab, hulking warehouse in a hulking, drab city in the center of an empty state, Parker is caught moving pharmaceuticals into a waiting truck. Led into a joint called Stoneveldt -- from which no one has escaped -- Parker has to find a way out, before his whole violent past catches up with him. And getting out of Stoneveldt means taking on the only partners he can find, including one who is already planning his next job.
"For Parker and his fellow jailbreakers, freedom is just another word for committing their next felony. They pull off the perfect jailbreak then start the perfect heist. But things go south in a hurry -- leaving three men dead and Parker and his fellow escape artists scratching, clawing and running for their lives. Suddenly, the big, drab city in the big, empty Midwestern state has become a prison. A cast of cops, busybodies, snitches and weak links have turned into jailers. And for Parker, the ultimate jailbreak is about to begin."
Review:
The twenty-first entry in the Parker series provides a new, truly-living-on-a-razor's-edge situation for the master thief: not only must he escape from prison (something he hasn't seen the inside of since the first Parker book, The Hunter), but he must pull an immediate job with fellow escapees (Tom Marcantoni and Brandon Williams) while the police search for them. So much goes wrong in this particular caper, yet -- as in previous ventures -- Parker rarely loses his cool, with help from his aforementioned prison-mates and Ed and Brenda Mackey (last seen in Comeback).
Stark (a.k.a. Donald E. Westlake) once again delivers the hairpin plot turns, succinct writing and often-edgy feel that is associated with his Parker novels. Worth owning, this.
Followed by Nobody Runs Forever.
(hb; 2001: twentieth novel in the Parker series)
From the inside flap:
"Parker put down the body and answered the phone. And from that moment on he had two jobs to do. One was to rob a remote Montana lodge where a dot-com billionaire hid stolen art treasures in his basement. The other was to find out why a hitman had come to Parker's home -- and who had sent him. Parker couldn't do one job if he didn't finish the other.
"The master thief wasn't the only one in his crew with scores to settle. Recently released from prison, Lloyd is the brains behind the Montana heist, the only guy who can crack the lodge's alarm system. But Lloyd had a quarrel with some former partners -- and a temper. And when he explodes, and shoots a guy through the eye, Parker just happens to be by his side.
"Now Parker and his would-be partner are both cutting swaths of destruction on their way to Montana. With broken bodies and broken promises piling up behind them, one question remains: is there enough room in this heist for both men to come out alive?"
Review:
Warning: possible spoilers in this review.
Parker and his crew have quite a few job-related fires to put out in the twentieth Parker novel. One of those metaphorical fires are two ex-heistmates who may or may not have something to do with a hit that's been put out on Parker (mayhem- and rape-inclined Matt Rosenstein and his partner Paul Brock, from The Sour Lemon Score). Then there's the uncertainty surrounding one of Parker's heistmates, an amateur and socially awkward hacker named Larry Lloyd. Add to this volatile situation a lot of cops and a high-pressure time window that's been placed on this Montana job, and you have another thrilling, fast-paced, cut-to-it and briefly disturbing book in this influential, lean-prosed and often edgy crime series.
Of course, it wouldn't be a Parker novel without at least one Parker confederate in the mix. This time, his confederates are Frank Elkins and Ralph Wiss, last seen in Butcher's Moon.
Like all the Parker novels I have read thus far, Firebreak is worth owning. Followed by Breakout.
(pb; 2000: nineteenth novel in the Parker series. Foreword by Terry Teachout.)
From the back cover:
"Parker hobnobs with the excessively monied citizens of West Palm Beach while impersonating a Texan oilman looking to buy property. The true object of his affection is a twelve-million-dollar stash of jewels that he aims to steal from under the noses of a hundred socialites, a hit man, and six other thieves who have an unhealthy love of explosions. When things go sour, Parker finds himself shot and trapped -- and forced to rely on a civilian to survive."
Review:
When three fellow heisters (Boyd Melander, Hal Carlson and Jerry Ross) cheat Parker out of his money, Parker follows them to Palm Beach, where he hopes to recoup his cash -- with interest -- from them.
Further complications arise when he's at the wrong place at the wrong time, resulting in a hit being put out on him, and a blond real estate agent takes interest in Parker, a.k.a. Daniel Parmitt, who doesn't strike her as a typical client.
Stark's writing is pulp icy, blunt and intense (character- and action-wise), his usual style. Tom Hurley, last seen in Butcher's Moon, also makes a brief "appearance" (he is heard on the phone) in this difficult-to-put-down thriller.
Worth owning, this. Followed by Firebreak.
#
Flashfire inspired the 2013 film Parker, which was released stateside on January 25, 2013. Taylor Hackford directed the film from a script by John J. McLaughlin.
Jason Statham played Parker. Jennifer Lopez played Leslie Rodgers (cinematic stand-in for Leslie Mackenzie). Emma Booth played Claire. Nick Nolte played Hurley.
Michael Chiklis played Melander. Wendell Pierce played Carlson. Clifton Collins Jr. played Ross. Carlos Carrasco played Norte.
Bobby Cannavale played Jake Fernandez. Patti LuPone played Ascension.
Micah Hauptman, billed as Micah A. Hauptman, played August Hardwicke. Kirk Baltz played Bobby Hardwicke. Mike Watson played "Sheriff on Boat". Rio Hackford, son of director Taylor Hackford, played Oliver.
(hb; 1998: eighteenth novel in the Parker series)
From the inside flap:
"It's not in Parker's nature to gamble; he steals instead. So when it comes to ripping off a big fat floating gambling casino on the Hudson River, Parker leaves nothing to chance. From the phony politician to the getaway boat, from bringing the guns on board to getting the money off. Parker has it all planned out. There are only a few little problems. . .
"The guy who tipped off Parker in the first place is a bureaucrat who has a moral streak - or a yellow streak - plus a story that doesn't quite add up. The guy who's steering the getaway boat has some unsavory friends who happen to have plenty of guns. And a reporter on the casino has enough sense to know that something on this cruise isn't quite right.
"Suddenly Parker's surefire plan is blowing up like fireworks on the Fourth - only these bangs make people dead. Now with his luck going south and no one left to trust but himself, Parker will do what he does best: punch, claw and kill his way out of the night."
Review:
As Parker heists go, this is a relatively smooth one, meaning: there are a few character-based complications and a betrayal or two, but they are relatively minor -- this translates into a lighter-in-tone-than-usual Parker novel. (The writing is still sharp, concise and ruthless, of course, because this is a Stark work.)
Joining Parker this time around are a few series-familiar, distinctive faces: Lou Sternberg and Noelle Braselle from The Mourner, and Dan Wycza and Mike Carlow from Butcher's Moon. These returning characters add an almost-chummy feel to Backflash's thievery as well as its trifling post-heist bumps.
Like all the preceding Parker novels, this is worth owning.
Followed by Flashfire.
(hb; 1997: seventeenth novel in the Parker series)
From the back cover:
"The heist went down while the people prayed. An angel walked with sagging shoulders - he was Parker's inside man, dressed in wings and robes and destined to be a problem. An hour later, Parker, [George] Liss, and [Ed] Mackey were out in the shimmering heat of a stadium parking lot with four duffel bags full of cash. Then the double cross began.
"Now the half-million-dollar robbery of a Christian crusade is drawing a crowd of cops, crooks and the evangelist's own unrelenting security man, a tough ex-Marine who trusts nobody and nothing. What began at a gathering of the faithful has moved into the realm of night. Here every move has a countermove, every man is on his own, and every lie leads to the deadliest moments of truth."
Review:
Comeback is an excellent, hard-to-set-down crime thriller with lots of action, plot twists, colorful characters and lean 'n' mean writing that is Stark's trademark style. Great series, all of the books in this series thus far are worth owning.
Followed by Backflash.
(pb; 1974, 2011: sixteenth novel in the Parker series. Introduction by Lawrence Block.)
From the back cover:
"Parker's back in town where he lost his money, and nearly his life, in Slayground. He wants his money back and he's willing to call in a career's worth of favors - and drop a career's worth of bodies - to get it. Even if it means starting a gang war."
Review:
Butcher's is the wrap-up novel of the "first cycle" of Stark's Parker novels (he wouldn't publish another one until 1997, twenty-five years later). It is a great early summary work that not only recalls the structure and storyline of the first Parker novel (The Hunter) but updates it by reworking and updating those elements with characters Parker has met throughout the previous fifteen books - particularly Slayground, Plunder Squad, The Green Eagle Score, The Outfit and The Score, among others.
This series is easily one of the best series - in any genre - that I have read in my forty-plus years as a reader. Do yourself a favor (if you're a fan of taut, waste-no-words crime writing) and read these books, preferably in order.
Followed by Comeback.
(pb; 1971, 2006: fourth novel in the Alan Grofeld series)
From the back cover:
"When he's not pulling heists with his friend Parker, Alan Grofeld runs a small theater in Indiana. But putting on shows costs money and jobs have been thin, which is why Grofeld agrees to listen to Andrew Myers' plan to knock over a brewery. Unfortunately, Myers' plan is insane - so Grofeld walks out on him. And you don't walk out on Myers."
Review:
Lemons is a distinctive - and, along with The Blackbird, one of the best books - in the Alan Grofeld series. What sets Lemons apart from the three previous Grofeld entries is that it also shows Grofeld interacting with his supportive and easygoing wife, Mary (last seen in the Parker novel The Score). When he's with Mary, he's not nearly as caustic or wise-cracking as he is when he's working as a heistman; this shift in personality makes him even more likeable. Even when a murderous amateur (Andrew Myers) forces Grofeld into a tiresome endeavor - getting revenge on Myers, and hopefully some much-needed cash while doing so - Grofeld is tender and loving with his wife, in a way he isn't with his occasional, extramarital women or those he encounters in his criminal works.
This being a Stark novel, there's no wasted words, the action is swift and smart, the characters' core personalities are deftly sketched out and the ending is edgy and memorable - this time with an added amiability, as this is a Grofeld story.
Excellent, hard-to-put-down conclusion to a standout series. Worth owning, these books.
(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.]
(pb; 1969, 2012: third novel in the Alan Grofeld series. Foreword by Sarah Weinman.)
From the back cover:
"Both Parker and his sometimes associate, Alan Grofeld, are pros when it comes to stealing loot and staging heists. But where Parker is cold and calculating, Grofeld is slick, funny and flirtatious - a criminal Casanova. The Blackbird shares its first chapter with the Parker novel Slayground: after a traumatic car crash, Parker eludes the police, but Grofeld gets caught. Lying injured in the hospital, Grofeld is visited by G-Men who offer him an alternative to jail, and he finds himself forced into a deadly situation involving international criminals and a political conspiracy."
Review:
Blackbird is my favorite Grofeld novel thus far - not only is it humorous, action-packed, James Bond-esque and tightly written, it also ties other elements (including some of their more intriguing characters) from previous Grofeld books into this fast-moving tie-together story, which is attention-getting from its first word to its last. Like every Stark work I've read this is worth owning.
Followed by Lemons Never Lie.
(pb; 1969, 2012: second novel in the Grofeld series. Foreword by Sarah Weinman.)
From the back cover:
"An occasional conspirator in Parker heists, Alan Grofeld is everything Parker isn't: charming, funny and easily distracted by dames. But Parker and Grofeld are both great at what they do -- steal. And even when Parker isn't around, Grofeld manages to get himself into sticky situations. The Dame follows Grofeld to Puerto Rico, where he takes up a job protecting a rich, demanding woman in her isolated jungle villa. When events take a deadly turn, Grofeld must reluctantly assume the role of detective."
Review:
Shortly after the events of The Damsel, Grofeld's south of the border roadtrip continues, though this time a murder mystery - with him as the caustic-witted main suspect - flavors the fun, action-punctuated proceedings. Like every Stark work I've read thus far, Dame is worth owning.
Followed by The Blackbird.
(pb; 1967, 2012: first novel in the Grofeld series. Foreword by Sarah Weinman.)
From the back cover:
"On the surface, Alan Grofeld and Parker seem to be strange allies. Where Parker is cold and calculating, Grofeld is chatty and charismatic. But while they may not have much in common, they are both great at what they do -- steal. The Damsel. . . follows the action of the Parker novel The Handle, and it finds our hero, dazed and injured, waking up to discover a girl crawling through the window of his hotel room. [Soon,] Grofeld and his new companion begin a scenic, action-packed road trip from Mexico City to Acapulco. . ."
Review:
Chatty - compared to the waste-no-words efficiency of the Parker series - and entertaining crime tale about Grofeld and his south of the border road trip-adventure with Ellen Marie, a charming hotel room burglar whose circumstances involve political intrigue, corruption and murderous thugs.
Followed by The Dame.
(pb; 1969, 1971, 2010: fourteenth novel in the Parker series. Introduction by Charles Ardai.)
From the back cover:
"The hunter becomes prey, as a heist gone sour and Parker finds himself trapped in a shuttered amusement park, besieged by a bevy of local mobsters. There are no exits from Fun Island. Outnumbered and outgunned, Parker can't afford a single miscalculation. He's low on bullets - but, as anyone who's crossed his path knows, that doesn't mean he's defenseless."
Review:
One of the many things I appreciate about the Parker novels is how Stark changes up the elements (structure, characters, tones, etc.) from book to book, while maintaining the overall qualitative elements that make this character-progressive series so great - e.g., in the last Parker outing, Deadly Edge, much of the book was about Parker's relationship with Claire (when they weren't fighting and evading those villainous amateurs); in Slayground, Claire is generally mentioned but not seen, and most of the action takes place in the amusement park that could easily become Parker's last battlefield. . . it's just him and the worse guys. Not even Alan Grofeld, one of Parker's semi-regular heistmates - who's seen briefly in the beginning of Slayground - gets much "air time" (though Grofeld's post-crash fate is shown in the side-series novel The Blackbird).
Like all the preceding Parker novels, Slayground is an excellent, waste-no-words crime thriller with a consistently compelling anti-hero: this, also, is worth owning.
Followed by Plunder Squad.
#
Slayground was released stateside as a film in February 1984. The film was directed by Terry Bedford from a screenplay by Trevor Preston.
Peter Coyote played Stone (cinematic stand-in for Parker). Mel Smith played Terry Abbatt. Billie Whitelaw played Madge. Phil Sayer played Costello. Bill Luhrs played Joe Sheer (a character who was killed in the sixth Parker book The Jugger). Clarence Felder played Orxel. Ned Eisenberg played Lonzini. David Hayward played Laufman.
Side-note: This film references Point Blank (based on Stark's first Parker novel The Hunter) and the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun.
(pb; 1962, 1966: crime anthology)
Overall review:
Excellent murder and crime anthology, worth owning.
Standout stories:
1.) "The Children of Noah" - Richard Matheson: A cross-country, speeding motorist (Mr. Ketchum) gets pulled over in Zachry, Maine and finds that leaving this strange town may be more difficult than he first thought. Fun story, with a Twilight Zone-esque feel.
2.) "Fair Game" - John Cortez: Plot-twisty, excellent story about a hunting guide (Sam Ludlow) whose attraction to his client's wife leads to some dark revelations. I especially love the ending to this one.
3.) "The Curious Facts Preceding My Execution" - Richard Stark: A man (Freddie) and his mistress (Karen) plot the demise of his materialistic wife (Janice) and encounter unforeseen complications. Darkly humorous and increasingly intense tale.
4.) "Your Witness" - Helen Nielsen: Fun, well-written story about a woman (Naomi Shawn) whose husband's vicious lawyerly tactics inspire her own revenge on him.
5.) "Blackout" - Richard Deming: A drunk man's murder confession turns out to be more complicated than it initially seems. The ending isn't a surprise, but the story is well-written.
6.) "The October Game" - Ray Bradbury: Memorable, nasty (in a dark notions way) and Halloween-atmospheric tale about a man and his family who host a horrifying holiday party. This is one of my favorite stories in this collection. The ending is especially effective.
7.) "The Last Escape" - Jay Street: An escape artist (Joe Ferlini) has more tricks up his sleeve than anyone - including his wife (Wanda) - suspects. Great finish to this one.
8.) "Most Agreeably Poisoned" - Fletcher Flora: Urbane and "civilized" work about a cuckolded husband who suggests to his wife and her lover a unique port-wine-and-poison solution to resolve their sudden-change situation.
9.) "The Best-Friend Murder" - Donald E. Westlake: Police procedural tale about a polite poisoner's immediate confession to the cops, and how his confession rings odd to one of the investigating officers (Abraham Levine). Great, reader-hooking writing in this work, with palpable, effective themes of youth and mortality. Love the ending to this one.
(pb; 1971, 2010: thirteenth novel in the Parker series. Introduction by Charles Ardai.)
From the back cover:
"Deadly Edge bids a brutal adieu to the 1960s as Parker robs a concert, and the heist goes south. Soon Parker finds himself - and his woman, Claire - menaced by a pair of sadistic, drug-crazed hippies. Parker has a score to settle while Claire's armed with her first rifle - and they're both ready to usher in the end of the Age of the Aquarius."
Review:
The darker-than-usual sensibility that set the tone for The Hunter and The Sour Lemon Score is also evident in Deadly, another hard-to-set-down crime thriller that has some particularly torture-giddy (if amateur) villains. Still cut-to-it and not for the sentimental, Deadly is one of the bloodier books in the Parker series and an excellent one at that.
Followed by Slayground.
(pb; 1969, 2010: twelfth novel in the Parker series. Foreword by Dennis Lehane.)
From the back cover:
"Bank robberies should run like clockwork, right? If your name's Parker, you expect nothing less. Until, that is, one of your partners gets too greedy for his own good. The four-way split following a job leaves too small a take for George Uhl, who begins to pick off his fellow hoisters, one by one. The first mistake? That he doesn't begin things by putting a bullet in Parker. That means he won't get a chance to make a second. . ."
Review:
More so than any of the Parker sequels thus far, Sour recalls the especially dark acuity of the first book in this series (The Hunter) - its outlook, reflecting Parker's and several other characters', is harsher than usual and its delectably wicked finish is especially memorable and applaudable. For these reasons Sour is one of my favorite entries in this twenty-four book series, and - like the preceding Parker novels - is worth owning.
Followed by Deadly Edge.
(pb; 1965, 2010: eleventh novel in the Parker series. Foreword by Dennis Lehane.)
From the back cover:
"A corrupt African colonel has converted his country's wealth into diamonds and smuggled them to a Manhattan safe house. Four upstanding citizens plan to rescue their new nation by stealing the diamonds back with the help of a 'specialist' - Parker, that is. He has the best references in town. Will Parker break his rule against working with amateurs and help them because his woman would be disappointed if he doesn't? Or because three hired morons have threatened to kill him and his woman if he does? They thought they were buying an advantage, but what they get is a predated death certificate."
Review:
Black is another lean, blunt and excellent crime-noirish entry in the Parker series, with a foreign intrigue/political edge thrown into the mix.
Followed by The Sour Lemon Score.
(pb; 1967, 2010: tenth novel in the Parker series. Foreword by Dennis Lehane.)
From the back cover:
"Here’s Parker—planning to steal the entire payroll of an Air Force base in upstate New York, with help from Marty Fusco, fresh out of the pen, and a smart aleck finance clerk named Devers. Holed up with family in a scrappy little town, the hoisters prepare for the risky job by trying to shorten the odds. But the ice is thinner than Parker likes to think—and Marty’s ex-wife is much more complicated."
Review:
Green is another lean, machine-precise and entertaining entry in the Parker series. This time out, the spanner in the works is one of Parker's crew members' ex-wives (Ellen Fusco) and her psychiatrist (Fred Godden) who provide the spanner elements in Parker's otherwise clockwork endeavors. Great, burn-through read, followed by The Black Ice Score.
