Richard Stark writes a harsh and frightening story of criminal warfare and vengeance with economy, understatement and a deadly amoral objectivity—a remarkable addition to the list of the shockers that the French call romans noirs.
New York Times Book Review - Anthony Boucher
Fiercely distracting . . . . Westlake is an expert plotter; and while Parker is a blunt instrument of a human being depicted in rudimentary short grunts of sentences, his take on other characters reveals a writer of great humor and human understanding.
If you’re looking for crime novels with a lot of punch, try the very, very tough novels featuring Parker. . . . The Hunter , The Outfit , The Mourner , and The Man with the Getaway Face are all beautifully paced, tautly composed, and originally published in the early 1960s."
Christian Science Monitor
Parker is a true treasure. . . . The master thief is back, along with Richard Stark.
New York Times Book Review - Marilyn Stasio
Richard Stark’s Parker novels . . . are among the most poised and polished fictions of their time and, in fact, of any time.
Bookforum - John Banville
Elmore Leonard wouldn’t write what he does if Stark hadn’t been there before. And Quentin Tarantino wouldn’t write what he does without Leonard. . . . Old master that he is, Stark does all of them one better.
Westlake knows precisely how to grab a reader, draw him or her into the story, and then slowly tighten his grip until escape is impossible.
Washington Post Book World
Parker is refreshingly amoral, a thief who always gets away with the swag.”
Entertainment Weekly - Stephen King
"If you're a fan of noir novels and haven't yet read Richard Stark, you may want to give these books a try. Who knows? Parker may just be the son of a bitch you've been searching for."
Virginia Quarterly Review - John McNally
"The University of Chicago Press has recently undertaken a campaign to get Parker back in print in affordable and handsome editions, and I dove in. And now I get it."
Writing a couple of years ago . . . John Banville reckoned the Parker novels to be 'among the most poised and polished fictions of their time and, in fact, any time.' That's high praise from an impeccable source, and Banville is right to single out the technical excellence of these books. The Parkers read with the speed of pulp while unfolding with an almost Nabokovian wit and flair. . . . Original editions of these books, and even later reprints, change hands for scores or hundreds of dollars on the Net, and it’s excellent to have them readily available again—not so much masterpieces of the genre, just masterpieces, period. . . . . The Hunter glitters with seemingly effortless intricacy, being aimed at one episode—a stunner, the kind of moment in fiction that really does have you leaping from your chair and exclaiming in surprise and glee.”
Los Angeles Times - Richard Rayner
Donald Westlake’s Parker novels are among the small number of books I read over and over. Forget all that crap you’ve been telling yourself about War and Peace and Proust—these are the books you’ll want on that desert island.
"Parker is a brilliant invention. . . . What chiefly distinguishes Westlake, under whatever name, is his passion for process and mechanics. . . . Parker appears to have eliminated everything from his program but machine logic, but this is merely protective coloration. He is a romantic vestige, a free-market anarchist whose independent status is becoming a thing of the past."
New York Review of Books - Luc Sante
The UC Press mission, to reprint the 1960s Parker novels of Richard Stark (the late Donald Westlake), is wholly admirable. The books have been out of print for decades, and the fast-paced, hard-boiled thrillers featuring the thief Parker are brilliant.”
Globe and Mail - H. J. Kirchoff
Whatever Stark writes, I read. He’s a stylist, a pro, and I thoroughly enjoy his attitude.
"I wouldn't care to speculate about what it is in Westlake's psyche that makes him so good at writing about Parker, much less what it is that makes me like the Parker novels so much. Suffice it to say that Stark/Westlake is the cleanest of all noir novelists, a styleless stylist who gets to the point with stupendous economy, hustling you down the path of plot so briskly that you have to read his books a second time to appreciate the elegance and sober wit with which they are written."
Commentary - Terry Teachout
Elmore Leonard wouldn’t write what he does if Stark hadn’t been there before. And Quentin Tarantino wouldn’t write what he does without Leonard. . . . Old master that he is, Stark does all of them one better.
“Parker represents the antihero with dubious morals. Stark’s clever plot structure, moving back and forth in time, is totally engrossing.”--Library Journal
"The University of Chicago Press has recently undertaken a campaign to get Parker back in print in affordable and handsome editions, and I dove in. And now I get it."
Josef Braun
"If you're a fan of noir novels and haven't yet read Ricahrd Stark, you may want to give these books a try. Who knows? Parker may just be the son of a bitch you've been searching for."
John McNally
Virginia Quarterly Review
"I wouldn't care to speculate about what it is in Westlake's psyche that makes him so good at writing about Parker, much less what it is that makes me like the Parker novels so much. Suffice it to say that Stark/Westlake is the cleanest of all noir novelists, a styleless stylist who gets to the point with stupendous economy, hustling you down the path of plot so briskly that you have to read his books a second time to appreciate the elegance and sober wit with which they are written."
Terry Teachout
"Parker is a brilliant invention. . . . What chiefly distinguishes Westlake, under whatever name, is his passion for process and mechanics. . . . Parker appears to have eliminated everything from his program but machine logic, but this is merely protective coloration. He is a romantic vestige, a free-market anarchist whose independent status is becoming a thing of the past."—Luc Sante, New York Review of Books
Luc Sante
“Richard Stark writes a harsh and frightening story of criminal warfare and vengeance with economy, understatement and a deadly amoral objectivity—a remarkable addition to the list of the shockers that the French call romans noirs.”—Anthony Boucher, New York Times Book Review
Anthony Boucher
New York Times Book Review
“Richard Stark’s Parker novels . . . are John Banville
“Parker . . . lumbers through the pages of Richard Stark’s noir novels scattering dead bodies like peanut shells. . . . In a complex world [he] makes things simple.”—William Grimes, New York Times
William Grimes
“Parker is refreshingly amoral, a thief who always gets away with the swag.”—Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly
Stephen King
The first of 24 novels Donald Westlake wrote under the name Richard Stark introduces the coldhearted antihero named Parker, a career criminal who then appeared in 15 other novels. In this first caper, the newly freed ex-con, having been betrayed by his ex-partner and his wife, goes on a one-man campaign in pursuit of money and revenge. John Chancer provides a serviceable reading in a clear, even voice. But Parker is a gritty noir character—as dark as they come—and Chancer lacks the edge to convey that ruthlessness. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine