(pb; 1972: first novel in the DKA File series. Loosely linked crossover novel with Richard Stark's novel Plunder Squad.)
From the back cover:
"Ballard had 72 hours to find out who attacked his partner, Bart Heslip. Bart was no help. He was in the hospital, in a coma; his woman was doing a slow burn by his side. Now Ballard was racing around in the frayed edges of Oakland and San Francisco tracing down deadbeats. A lush stripper, an embezzler and an ex-con all had repo'd cars in common. Did they also share a murder? With the clock ticking away like Bart Heslip's heartbeat, Ballard was up against a dead skip, a blank wall. Then Ballard's boss, Dan Kearny, jumped into the hunt, loving every minute of it - and hurtling them both toward the pointed barrel of a gun."
Review:
Dead is a fun, fast-moving and P.I.-gritty novel that features the East Bay and San Francisco area, written with feels-like-you're-there detailed effectiveness. Good book for a lazy autumn afternoon read, worth owning. Followed by Final Notice.
(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.]
