Synopses & Reviews
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 in 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 the 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
"[T]he shrewdest sociopath this side of Tom Ripley. Is this a fitting coda to a great hard-boiled series, or just the latest in an entertaining string of impossible escapes? Only Parker knows for sure and, as usual, he ain't talking." Booklist
Review
"[A]n adventure that is mordantly funny as well as intricately plotted....[D]o yourself a favor and read (or re-read) the other titles in this most excellent series." The Washington Post Book World
Review
"Stark's careful control over every element results in a fascinating novel, a look at the true price of crime, and an opportunity to enjoy another book by this master writer." School Library Journal
Review
"A little too much situational bumbling better suited to one of the Dortmunder plots of Stark's alter ego, Donald E. Westlake. Still, if you want to make a killing, Parker's your kind of guy." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
When a clandestine meeting of shady friends and shadier strangers ends with the death of a stool pigeon, Richard Stark's classic antihero, Parker, is forced to reconsider his life's work. Then he and a pal plan to steal an armored car, but too many people get their hands too close to Parker's pie. He can see the job going 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.
About the Author
Richard Stark is one of the preeminent authors and inventors of noir crime fiction. Stark's recent Parker novels
Comeback and
Backflash were selected as
New York Times Notable Books of the Year. His first novel,
The Hunter, became the classic 1967 movie
Point Blank. Thirty years later
The Hunter was adapted again by Hollywood, in the hit Mel Gibson movie
Payback.
Richard Stark is also, at times, mystery Grand Master Donald E. Westlake.