With the University of Chicago Press’ third set of Richard Stark’s Parker reissues, there is much rejoicing in the land of crime fiction. Instead of referring to Stark as the author, let’s just call him by his real name: Donald Westlake. He used the name Stark for what he called his dark stories, and THE SEVENTH, THE HANDLE and THE RARE COIN SCORE move along the greater story of Parker himself. Let the cold-blooded fun begin.

The title of 1966’s THE SEVENTH is twofold. Not only is it the seventh book in the series, but refers to the payout of a robbery Parker has just pulled off at the start. He’s marking time until he and the rest of the crew can meet and split up the take. Of course, this being a Parker novel, you just know that trouble will rear its head quicker than a gunshot.

In a moment of weakness, Parker heads out to the store for some cigarettes and beer, only to come back to the room he is staying at to discover the woman he has been spending time with has been murdered, and by a sword, no less. Adding to this very new problem is that the police turn up a few minutes later. But it was not Parker who called the cops, since sitting in the closet are the money and the guns from the job.

When the cops start looking around, the discovery of the contents of the closet is made … with one small exception: Whoever killed the woman took the money, too, forcing Parker to try and knock out the cops or be arrested. The story is pitch-perfect storytelling from Westlake, especially with Parker trying to piece together who might have killed and stolen the money. His first thought is that someone in the crew took it upon himself to abscond with the loot. Or maybe it was one of the crew talking too much that led to this problem. All of these are explored.

While this goes on, Westlake flashes back to the robbery, which was of a football stadium, where they payoff for each member would be close to $20,000. Throwing Parker into a tailspin, it seems whoever took the money is also trying to kill off Parker, with a few attempts made as soon as possible in this taut crime thriller. To add to the tension, Parker does something who has read these books would never expect: trying to enlist the help of the local police.

Again, Westlake shows Parker as a man with no empathy — just a cold streak a mile long. There is one scene in particular which shows again that he is not one to mess with. For new readers, there is no worry of carryover from previous novels, beyond a slight mention of some facial reconstruction. As brutal as the story gets, the reader will be rooting for Parker all along, especially when it comes to the end, where Parker gets his justice.

If THE SEVENTH is a standalone, 1966’s THE HANDLE relies on readers following the series from the very start. There are references to the previous novels, all of which play an important role in this one, except for THE MOURNER.

The story here takes place six weeks after the events of THE SEVENTH. Parker is in need of some sudden cash, with the one person providing a score being Karns, a man from Parker’s past and the current head of the Outfit, which wants Parker to do a job they know he is the perfect man for: laying waste to an offshore casino on an island off the coast of Texas.

The man who runs the operation, The Baron, never leaves and is thumbing his nose at the Outfit and the U.S. government. It’s a business transaction for Parker, nothing else, but he still does not like some of the baggage he has to deal with, since it’s the Outfit’s money fronting him. As he starts putting together a crew for this operation, we are reintroduced to one of the few recurring characters: Grofield, his trustworthy acting pal and comrade from THE SCORE.

There is another person from that previous operation whom Grofield brings along: Salsa. All they need to get started is a man who can handle boats. This is where Parker has to deal with people who know a lot more about him than he expected: the U.S. government. It seems Parker’s crew has been under surveillance since the start. The feds not only need Parker’s help, but they demand it, even threatening to tie him to his previous crimes. They’ll let the crew walk if everything goes to plan, with one little concession: that Parker brings back The Baron alive.

You could easily see that in the time this book was written, the spy craze was in full swing, so Westlake adds little touches of espionage into the plot. THE HANDLE is more about the buildup and aftermath than the job itself, especially with the various double-crosses that happen along the way. Also, it shows that Parker is a man of his word when it comes to his crew, in the fact he will never leave a man behind.

Finishing out this set of reissues is 1967’s THE RARE COIN SCORE, in which Parker breaks two of his rules: no working with nonprofessionals and no getting involved with a woman during planning stages. He is in a bit of a lull, going from town to town, killing time while waiting for a job opportunity to finally appear. When he is finally contacted, it shows promise in that it involves an old partner who is getting up there in age and just got out from doing a stretch. But once Parker finally meets the “brains” behind the job, he knows it’s a waste of his time.

See, Billy is not only a total amateur, but a lovesick puppy dog for a woman named Claire. Parker sees this job as amateur hour, but he takes control, fully lock stock and barrel. That makes Billy upset and he actually wants to take Parker on. The job has to deal with a coin convention in town. Since Billy is the coin expert, he figures if he can get a crew together, it’ll be easy pickings.

This is one of those Parker novels that not only shows the inner workings of the job, but that our hero is as much of a loner as he purports to be. However, he might have finally found a companion in Claire. Westlake does a great job of setting everything into motion. The reader watches as Parker figures out the process to rip off the convention, while also dealing with Billy, who thinks his guns-blazing ideas are the best way. Parker knows Billy is a total liability, but puts up with him because he can unload the score easier than anyone.

Those expecting everything to go smoothly have never read a Parker novel. The writing is just as crisp as ever, with Westlake never missing a beat. It’s very easy to praise this one with no problems, since a series like this has readers coming back for more.

All together, the Parker series is a towering achievement in crime fiction that has never been equaled. The University of Chicago Press has done a great job with these reissues, especially in the covers and their “stark” artwork. There is a great foreword by Luc Sante printed in all three, in which he gives a detailed history of the series and how it compares to the European crime writing that came before it. His closing line is a perfect way to sum up the series, in that you could read all of them and never have use for a bookmark. —Bruce Grossman

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OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• ASK THE PARROT by Richard Stark
• THE AX by Donald E. Westlake
• BANK SHOT by Donald E. Westlake
• THE BUSY BODY by Donald E. Westlake
• COPS AND ROBBERS by Donald E. Westlake
• THE CUTIE by Donald E. Westlake
• DIRTY MONEY by Richard Stark
• GET REAL by Donald E. Westlake
• THE HOT ROCK by Donald E. Westlake
• THE HUNTER by Richard Stark
• I KNOW A TRICK WORTH TWO OF THAT by Donald E. Westlake
• THE JUGGER by Donald E. Westlake
• KILLING TIME by Donald E. Westlake
• KILLTOWN by Richard Stark
• LEMONS NEVER LIE by Richard Stark
• THE MAN WITH THE GETAWAY FACE by Richard Stark
• THE MOURNER by Donald E. Westlake
• THE OUTFIT by Richard Stark
• PITY HIM AFTERWARDS by Donald E. Westlake
• POINT BLANK by Richard Stark
• THE SCORE by Donald E. Westlake
• SOMEBODY OWES ME MONEY by Donald E. Westlake
• THE SOUR LEMON SCORE by Richard Stark
• THE SPY IN THE OINTMENT by Donald E. Westlake
• 361 by Donald E. Westlake
• WHAT’S SO FUNNY? by Donald E. Westlake
• WHAT’S THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN? by Donald E. Westlake