Another Great Parker Adventure to Read on Your Break or if You're Fired

books:

	• Firebreak (Parker Novels) Richard Stark Mysterious Press, 2001 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 19 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Solidly entertaining light reading

Parker is caught between two ongoing storylines that demand a lot of time. But time organization is one of the many, many things that the ever-practical Parker is good at, and he neatly balances ferreting out the source of a contract on his life with pulling a heist at an isolated, but immensely well-guarded, estate near that Canadian border. Once again, Parker has to work with other thieves in order to accomplish both goals, and his interactions with the underworld are fascinating as always.
The Good and the Bad:
This is only my second Parker novel (and my second Stark novel), but I'm already beginning to appreciate the elements and rhythm that make up the series. Even though Parker's actions would be detestable in the real world, the fact that he is fiction allows us to take joy in watching a tough-guy who means what he says, says what he means, and has the guns and the wits to enforce his rigid moral code on those around him. Stark has captured an underworld that lacks the relentless glamour and gravitas of The Godfather (or any of a million-and-one crime movies out there), and yet avoids the complicated realism of The Sopranos. Stark's criminals are like those in the movie The Usual Suspects, or maybe a Tarantino film. Crime is a profession, an exciting profession with real drama, and the man who excels in it is the ultimate professional. He's like the Sherlock Holmes of shooting people and stealing stuff; he is so highly specialized that he can be an apex criminal, but probably doesn't know a blog from a boo-bah.
If I had a criticism of Firebreak, it would be that, at times, the characters are a little too talkative, and their conversations can be a little too neat. I can accept Parker as an exceptional man who imposes order and logic on a messy world, but when other characters pick up that black-and-white clarity, it seems insincere.

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A popular noir series

Parker is a thief. That is the basis for this very popular noir series. He goes on a different caper with each book. In most cases the plots are straightforward. Parker is approached by some unsavory characters about a job. He usually accepts. They plan the job, something goes wrong. It is corrected and Parker moves on. The books are all short and quick to the point. They are also quite insightful concerning the human character of greed and what it can do to the individual and those around them.
In FLASHFIRE, our antihero is faced with the problem that somebody wants him dead. He must try to find out who and eliminate the threat. At the same time, he is asked to help out on a job stealing paintings from a remote house. As usual, things go wrong and Parker must overcome them on the way to the usual satisfying conclusion.
The Parker series is one of my favorites. The books might be a bit repetitive and I wouldn't suggest reading several of them one after the other. However, they are a lot of fun. Besides the clever plots, one of the major strengths of this work are the characters. They are each so unique and full of their own personal failures, that meeting each one of them makes this series especially worthwhile. Start with any book of the series. Just start.

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A novel variation on a theme

Parker is back, and this time he is the target of a hit. This was a very enjoyable Parker novel. Not only is the typical plot turned on its head, by Parker being the target, but even the grand theft is totally undone. This is a great story that demonstrates the ad lib abilities of Parker.

Like always, the writing is terse and quick. Details are for the dead men. This was a very quick read, and I recommend it to anyone with a taste for hard-boiled writing.

Another Great Parker Adventure to Read on Your Break or if You're Fired

Parker narrowly escapes a Russian hit man who came to the cabin he shares with Claire. In the midst of disposal of the body he is contacted about a potential job with huge rewards involving stolen paintings in an isolated Montana mansion. The time frame on the Montana job is very tight so Parker has no time to put closure into those who put the price on his head. Of course they aren't prepared to wait.

As well as other Parker adventures written as Richard Stark also check out under Westlake's own name his masterpiece solution to being unemployed, The Ax. His novels Corkscrew and the Scared Stiff are also brilliant!

I would also recommend James Pattinson (Pattinson not Patterson), a British author who writes very similar style novels which are also short chaptered and simple but enjoyable reads for those who have read everything Westlake has written so far but want more of this sort of reading. Feast of the Scorpion, Wild Justice, A Car for Mr Bradley, The Time of Your Life, Homecoming The Animal Gang and Crane all have criminal characters very similar to Stark's Parker character. Check them out.

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Consistent Stark (Westlake) excellence.

If superior criminals don't talk, think, and act like Parker, they should. Never a slow moment in a Stark book.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

When the telephone rang, Parker was out in the garage killing a man. Someone from his past had hired a soon-to-be-departed assassinand Parker wasnt one to give a guy a second chance. But where theres one cockroach, a whole nest isnt far behind. Now, with one eye over his shoulder, Parkers gotta keep focused on the project at hand: breaking into a computer moguls compound to retrieve some priceless, purloined works of art. Parker is feeling the pressure, but thankfully, hes always at his dead-on best when hes got a deadline.

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