Nothing better than an anti-hero. You know the type: really a bad guy, but also the hero of the piece. With two of this week’s books starring the same person, consider this our tribute to the bad guy. In the movies, no one played a better anti-hero than the late, great Lee Marvin. Don’t believe me? Go rent PRIME CUT or POINT BLANK. After you read the book, of course…

POINT BLANK by Richard Stark aka Donald Westlake – Stark’s Parker is probably the ultimate in anti-hero. You know right away this is a man not to screw with. When people do screw with him in any way, there will be a price to pay. From 1962, POINT BLANK is the first of the Parker novels and such a great intro to the character. As someone who grew up watching the movie of the same name, I never read this particular Parker novel until now.

The basic gist has Parker out for revenge after being double-crossed by his wife and his partner. After escaping from a work farm, Parker is on a mission to get the money he’s owed, no matter what is in his way. Even if it means going up against the Organization, the syndicate-type outfit prevalent throughout the Parker series. The great thing about finally reading the book is that you actually see the betrayal told through flashbacks, from the actual planning of the job to the ultimate betrayal by his wife. Either she shoots Parker or she will be shot – so goes the ultimatum she’s given – while the partner takes all the money to pay back the Organization.

Stark’s writing sucks you into this world, making you feel compassion for probably one of the most unlovable characters. Parker is not a nice man at all, folks, from conning people into draining their bank accounts to the brutality he exhibits to anyone who might try and stop him. The closest I’ve gotten to a character like that recently was in Gregg Hurtwitz’s LAST SHOT. Whatever you do, never watch the Mel Gibson version of this book; it’s just a total miscarriage.

THE SOUR LEMON SCORE by Richard Stark aka Donald Westlake – In 1969’s SCORE, Parker is back and he has a bank heist all set to go. Once the robbery is complete and the take is about to be split, one of his crew members – George Uhl – starts to kill the other men. He even sets fire to the farmhouse to get rid of the evidence. Parker goes on the rampage to find his money.

But there is someone else Parker has to deal with first: a man just like him – a hood named Rosenstein. So as Parker slowly gets closer to Uhl, Rosenstein is on his own little tear to find the money for himself, be it through former associates or Uhl’s current girlfriend. Stark devotes the final fourth of the book just to Uhl and Rosenstein’s storylines, with Parker making a slight appearance here and there, so you’ll see the other angle of situations you’ve read before.

I would say most folks in this book are pretty much scum, but you can’t help but love every page of it. I know these books were reissued a few years ago in pricey editions, so dig through the used places first. There is a nothing like those old-school covers than the new generic ones.

QUARRY’S LIST by Max Allan Collins – I figured with Max Allan Collins’ brand-new Hard Case Crime effort THE LAST QUARRY getting nothing but love here, it was time to cover some of Quarry’s earlier adventures. For those who don’t know, Quarry is a hit man who used to work for a man called The Broker. Hence the book cover over there on the right. THE BROKER’S WIFE title was the publisher’s idea, not Collins’. Since my version has a super-lame cover (Foul Pay Press Edition) and the correct title, let’s go with the cover with the hottie.

The 1976 book opens by tying up all the loose ends left from the previous book, since in the afterword, Collins points out he never intended the character to continue on. Quarry is alone in his home while two other hit men have come to take care of him. Foiling their plans, Quarry is given a name to act on: a former partner named Ash. So after trailing Ash, he discovers Ash is on a case of his own, waiting for the right time to eliminate his target.

Was Ash behind the whole set-up or is there something more sinister going on? Is Quarry right in thinking Ash is trying to take over the operation, with The Broker being killed off in the first book? Won’t ruin it for you, folks. But do yourself a favor and grab any Quarry book you can find, even if it’s that collection with the ultra-awful cover. Collins gives us a great anti-hero in Quarry; for a hit man, Quarry is not your typical wear-a-suit type. He has a life outside the business and just wants to be left alone, going about his job like it’s no big deal.

BODIES ARE WHERE YOU FIND THEM by Brett Halliday – Even though it doesn’t quite fit the anti-hero motif, I’m including this 1941 book because I finally watched its recent, loose Hollywood adaptation, KISS KISS BANG BANG. If you have seen that Robert Downey Jr./Val Kilmer movie, you know the basics: Mike Shayne is on his way to New York with his wife when he gets a call from a pal of his running for office. It seems some girl has some information that could change the outcome of the election completely.

This girl stumbles into Shayne’s office on the verge of passing out from a Mickey Finn. Shayne leaves here there so he can drive his wife to the train, and once he returns, the girl has been strangled to death.

This is Halliday firing on all cylinders this time out, and not some hack ghostwriter. The book keeps you guessing throughout. Even when Shayne thinks he has it all solved, wham!, he is thrown an unexpected surprise. So read the book and see the movie. For me doing the latter, let me thank the constant badgering of two people: our editor Rod Lott and my pal Colin of Kung Fu Fridays. (If only Colin had told me it was a Mike Shayne movie updated, I would have caught it a lot sooner.) If nothing else, it’s a loving tribute to that author’s character.

Next time: I got spurs that jingle jangle jingle. –Bruce Grossman

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MISS EARLIER INSTALLMENTS OF ‘BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS’? REGASM THESE:
• #24: Good Evening
• #23: Alphabet Soup
• #22: For Queen and Country
• #21: Red Spies at Night
• #20: September Is for Spies

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THESE AUTHORS:
• THE LAST QUARRY by Max Allan Collins
• LEMONS NEVER LIE by Richard Stark
• NEVER KILL A CLIENT by Brett Halliday
• TARGET: MIKE SHAYNE by Brett Halliday
• 361 by Donald E. Westlake
• THE WAR OF THE WORLDS MURDER by Max Allan Collins