Published by: michael5276122 (Karma: 0) on 27 May 2007 | Views: 2186
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Parker remains the true dispassionate enigma. Sure he's heartless, cruel and vindictive but you've just gotta love the guy.
The Outfit
# Paperback: 224 pages
# Publisher: Mysterious Press (December 1, 1998)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0446674672
# ISBN-13: 978-0446674676
Book Description
Count on this.... The castle was in Buffalo and the king was in the castle. The car was in the pine woods of Georgia and Parker was on the move: slowly plotting his attack on the head of the powerful criminal outfit that had put a contract on his life. Armed with a new face and the old iron will, Parker is declaring coast-to-coast war. And after Parker's associates pull off twelve robberies in five days against Outfit targets, the man in the castle starts to get the picture. All except one part: with a hot car and a cold tenacity, Parker is coming after him....
Backflash
# Paperback: 304 pages
# Publisher: Mysterious Press (October 1, 1999)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0446675261
# ISBN-13: 978-0446675260
A large part of the pleasure of having Richard Stark back writing about the master criminal Parker is the obvious delight that Stark (a pen name for Donald Westlake) takes in doing the research for his capers. This one must have been a blast. Certainly, he must have spent time on board a cruise ship to get all the inside details for Parker's planned robbery of a fictional floating casino called the Spirit of the Hudson--details such as how to get the cash off (inside a wheelchair's converted potty seat) or how to make use of a hard-shelled female publicist.
The Mourner
# Paperback: 224 pages
# Publisher: Mysterious Press; Warner Books ed edition (September 1, 2001)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0446677728
# ISBN-13: 978-0446677721
"Cunning...courage...imagination....Parker is in action once more."
This fifth book about master criminal Parker since his welcome return from a 20-year hiatus is packed so tightly with the painstaking details of everything from the dank tedium of prison life to the architecture and construction of a Midwestern shopping complex that it comes as a shock to realize the volume isn't bigger than it is. Stark, the nom de crime adopted for this series by MWA Grand Master Donald Westlake, is an artist of compression, with the ability to create a complex, frightening character in very few words. Of an Asian lawyer visiting Parker in prison, he writes, "Li was amused, not by Parker in particular but by his own entire life; it made him easy to be around, but suggested there were circumstances when he might not be completely reliable." But Stark is also remarkable because he seems to know how everything works and can explain it without slowing down the story. Stuck in a fortress-like holding prison "on the outskirts of the only large city in this big empty midwestern state" after a robbery goes bad, Parker links up with two other prisoners in a totally logical way, then plans a breakout (the first of several in the book) so credible that we're swept up in its mechanics. But before he can return to his haven in rural New Jersey, Parker has to pay off the help he received by taking part in another robbery that falls apart in a different way that's just as exhilarating. Watching artists like Stark and Parker at work is a great pleasure, which an increasing audience will be delighted to share.
The Score
# Paperback: 224 pages
# Publisher: Mysterious Press; Warner Books ed edition (October 1, 2001)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0446677736
# ISBN-13: 978-0446677738
Book Description
It was an impossible crime: knock off a huge plant payroll, all the banks, and all the stores in one entire city in one night. But there was one thief good enough to tryParker. All he needed was the right men, the right plan, and the right kind of help from Lady Luck. The men and the plan were easy; Lady Luck was another story. She turned out to be a good-looking blonde with a taste for booze and eyes for Parker. And Parker knew this chilling caper could either be the perfect crime or a set-up that would land him in jailfor life.
Book Description
For some people, a visit to Sagamore, Nebraska, is a stroll down Main Street, USA. For Parker it's a nightmare. A geriatric safecracker named Joe Sheer who shares a lot of Parker's criminal secrets says he's in trouble. Parker has no pity for Sheer-he just wants his old skeletons to stay in the closet. But by the time Parker gets to Sagamore, Joe is dead, and a greedy cop, a nosy neighbor, and a gaudy crook are busy looking for a treasure the old man may never have had. Parker is a pro with a past to protect and a future to consider-and the last thing he needs is to run into a bunch of determined amateurs who know more than they should. And for this pro, killing is the only way out of town....
he Wheel of Fortune turned and Parker figured his number had finally come up. An armored car heist had gone sour. His partners were dead or dying. He had escaped with the loot, but holing up in a deserted amusement park with only one exit had turned into a fatal mistake. Now the local mob and a couple of crooked cops were on their way in after the money...and the odds were against Parker getting out with his life. But Parker always did like to play the long shots. Besides, he knew all the ways there were to kill: with his gun...with his knife...with his own bare hands.
Book Description
For master criminal Parker the only thing worse than a jailbird is becoming one, in this latest caper from beloved master of suspenseRichard Stark. Parker's back in jail, but not just any old jail; it's the correctional center, where people without bail wait before and during their trial. So Parker's first order of business is to build a network among these cons and break on through to the other side. Once out, he gets involved in a heist set up by one of his co-conspirators, but the deal heads south, and Parker and his fellow escapees are running for their lives. A cast of cops, busybodies, snitches, and weak links quickly have the walls closing in on him. For Parker, the ultimate jailbreak is about to begin.
