The Outfit: A Parker Novel
admin | Dec 03, 2009 | 5 comments
- ISBN13: 9780226771014
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
You probably haven’t ever noticed them. But they’ve noticed you. They notice everything. That’s their job. Sitting quietly in a nondescript car outside a bank making note of the tellers’ work habits, the positions of the security guards. Lagging a few car lengths behind the Brinks truck on its daily rounds. Surreptitiously jiggling the handle of an unmarked service door at the racetrack.
They’re thieves. Heisters, to be precise. They’re pros, and Parker is far and away the best of them. If you’re planning a job, you want him in. Tough, smart, hardworking, and relentlessly focused on his trade, he is the heister’s heister, the robber’s robber, the heavy’s heavy. You don’t want to cross him, and you don’t want to get in his way, because he’ll stop at nothing to get what he’s after.
Parker, the ruthless antihero of Richard Stark’s eponymous mystery novels, is one of the most unforgettable characters in hardboiled noir. Lauded by critics for his taut realism, unapologetic amorality, and razor-sharp prose-style—and adored by fans who turn each intoxicating page with increasing urgency—Stark is a master of crime writing, his books as influential as any in the genre. The University of Chicago Press has embarked on a project to return the early volumes of this series to print for a new generation of readers to discover—and become addicted to.
In The Outfit, Parker goes toe-to-toe with the mob—hitting them with heist after heist after heist—and the entire underworld learns an unforgettable lesson: whatever Parker does, he does deadly.
“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
“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.”—Los Angeles Times
“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.”—Lawrence Block
$7.79
The Outfit: A Parker Novel
Filed Under: Books Today
The third novel in the Parker series has everyone’s favorite professional robber facing off against the Outfit. After bloodying their nose in the first book, The Hunter (Payback/Point Blank), Parker is almost mordered by an Outfit hitman. This leads Parker to orchastrate a roberry spree against Outfit operations and thier head man, Bronson.
The story is simple and to the point and we again see Parker’s mode of operation in setting up his crime spree; from the mundane act of buying a stolen car and weapons, to the more explosive outburst of robbing an Outfit club and the final show down.
As with the second novel, this one is a little more relaxed than the breakneck debut novel. parker is more in control of his actions and we can Richard Stark modelling Parker to better suit the episodic nature of the series, as opposed to the Hunter, which was written as a one off novel.
As I have mentioned in the reviews of the previous books, the cover design for the current printing is just as dull as the previous two novels, ensuring a buyer will glance right past it on the bookstore shelf. The cover collage is cheap looking and fails to reflect the contents of the book, but readers who know what to look for will be treated to another classic Stark novel.
Rating: 4 / 5
Those who enjoy Stark’s(Westlake’s)storytelling will not be disappointed, though this is hard-boiled stuff even for Stark. This time Parker is out to teach the mob a lesson, and he has just enough friends to do it. After a face change and some rooting around he gets the job done, but not without some blood and unpleasantness.
Rating: 4 / 5
parker on a quest to get revenge on the head of the outfit for having sent a hit man after him and hopes to rob the guy in the process! this plot line alone made this an excellent book but what makes this one stand out from the series so well is that it also details multiple other exciting robberies against the outfit carried out by parkers associates. from two guys ripping off an illegal casino and burning off in a car modified to go incredibly fast to somebody else holding up an underground bookies while dressed like Frankenstein and a few more in between this book has it all and then still returns to the story that brought you here in the first place and shows you what happens between parker and his greatest enemy!
Rating: 5 / 5
This one isn’t up to par with it’s predecessor’s. It’s an okay read, but not as engaging as the first two. It’s hard to believe the “Outfit” guys are that easy to steal from and kill. It all happens so easily that it’s not very enjoyable.
Rating: 3 / 5
The Outfit is a thinner than normal Parker adventure by Westlake writing under his Richard Stark penname. Although the 1963 Parker character is pretty similar to Parker in the post novel Comeback modern era crime adventures he is rougher written in The Outfit with Westlake not showing the intelligence Parker has that he does in other novels. Although Westlake goes into great detail with the crimes against The Outfit by other criminals he doesn’t do so to much of an extent with crimes and confrontations involving Parker himself, which is a bit disappointing and if he had done so would have probably made The Outfit the usual length. Chapters are also a lot longer in The Outfit than modern novels. The Outfit definitely isn’t a bad read and any fan of this series is going to enjoy it but to be honest you’ll enjoy other Parker adventures a lot more.
In The Outfit, with a new face courtesy of a plastic surgeon Parker is not amused when a hired assassin interrupts his relaxing vacation. Parker declares war against the head of American organised crime who contracted the hit. Sending word to all his criminal acquaintances across the USA that they have a green light to hit the soft targets where the proceeds of the mafia are stored as he will get the blame, the powerful mafia outfit starts to take some major hits. Parker of course cannot rest until the head of the organisation has a bullet in his.
As well as other Parker adventures 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.
Rating: 3 / 5