When a retired bureaucrat told Parker about the job, it sounded like a good score; rob a riverboat casino and take nearly half a million dollars, cash. Only other people know what's going down and want the money for themselves. And what's in it for the bureaucrat anyway? Will Parker finish the job with his money and his life intact?Parker's back and still up to the same old tricks. I wonder how much money he's stolen and spent over the years. As always, the plan is both believable and well-execu...

When Parker takes a boating trip along a river, you know that it’s not gonna be a pleasure cruise.After a narrow escape from his previous robbery, Parker is contacted by a retired government bureaucrat named Cathman who has a proposition. Cathman has the details on a new riverboat casino that is always loaded with cash, and while Parker doesn’t much like the idea of pulling a job on a boat, it’s too tempting a target to pass up. Parker assembles a top notch crew of thieves to pull off the heist,...

‘’We live and learn, Ray.”And then Parker shot him”—StarkThe second Parker book Stark wrote after a 23 year hiatus, #18 of 24, and it is better than Comeback, the previous book. Feels a bit like they are getting back in their stride, Parker and Stark. A solid entry in the series, with just the right mix of details about the planning and execution of the crime, and when things go inevitably south, the careful planner Parker improvises his way out of a couple jams. Part of the attraction to these

As a professional thief Parker goes about his business with ruthless efficiency. In his eighteenth outing the heist involves a casino ship sailing the Hudson River in upstate New York and a fair amount of the book involves deciding whether the inside man is trustworthy, if the theft is viable, and the gathering of the crew once the decision to go ahead is made. Secrecy is compromised on several levels and Parker has a lot of cleaning up to do. Not among the best in the series but still 4 Stars b...

Opening sentence for Blackflash: "When the car stopped rolling, Parker kicked out the rest of the windshield and crawled through onto the wrinkled hood, Glock first." The other guy, Howell the driver, is trapped in the car, trapped but conscious. Parker can hear the trooper siren in the distance. Howell tells Parker he won't talk. Parker grabs the bag holding $140,000 in cash, says, "See you in twenty years," and heads downslope.So ends one caper where Parker and crew cut into a deal involving r...

Right after finishing this book I jumped right into the first book in the Parker series, The Hunter. I don't know if it is just the twenty year hiatus that came between Butcher's Moon and Comeback or if the change comes gradually in the first sixteen Parker novels, but the amoral criminal in the later books seems like an easy-going live-and-let-live type compared to the angry man in the rumbled suit that walks over the George Washington Bridge to exact revenge on the people who fucked him over i...

Among the best of the Parker entries.I was spurred to rush on and read this particular Parker entry by my Goodreads friend Christopher.He recognized that much of this book takes place in my part of the universe.As we know it.Parker goes pirate here... plots a heist on a riverboat with the help of a shifty lobbyist.So many twists and turns in this one the entire job almost goes into the crapper.If I've met his crew on this gig in previous jobs, I don't recall them.Part-timers, all of them. Like P...

Book #18, though #2 after a long hiatus. Parker is contacted by a man named Cathman, a retired government bureaucrat, who wants to rob a casino ship on the Hudson River between Albany and Poughkeepsie. As the inside man, Cathman has all the details, but Parker is worried about his motives and the limited escape routes from a riverboat casino, even one filled with cash. After completing his due diligence and developing a viable plan, he assembles a familiar crew of thieves to pull off the daring

Parker and the Riverboat CasinoReview of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (April 2013) of the Warner Books / Mysterious Press hardcover (October 1998)Richard Stark was one of the many pseudonyms of the prolific crime author Donald E. Westlake (1933-2008), who wrote over 100 books. The Stark pseudonym was used primarily for the Parker novels, an antihero criminal who is usually betrayed or ensnared in some manner and who spends each book getting revenge or escaping the circumstances.In...

This is the sort of Parker novel that I like best: it focuses fairly narrowly on Parker planning and executing a heist and then dealing with the aftermath. So why didn't I like it more? Why did I actually find it a wee bit tedious? The answer, I think, is that while Starklake ably executes the Parker formula, it feels like a formula this time out. Starklake doesn't play with his own conventions as he sometimes does--he just marches through them. Of course, this wouldn't be my reaction if this we...

This is the first great Parker novel of the second series. Better,crisper, more hardcore Parker than in The Comeback. Only Parker can satisfy me by thinking "do I kill that witness who might maybe be trouble with the law later "The eternal question in the series for me is the arrogance of desperate people. Usually they are lowlifes who are too stupid, too much of a coward to trick, double cross regular people but to go after Parker who is more dangerous than a hitman.... Its fun reading it thoug...

Another good addition to the Parker novels. He was at his best again. A fast, tangled adventure. Lawrence Block wrote the intro & it is specific to this book, different than the one he did for the last one. That's important to note since a block of earlier books all had the same intro & it contained spoilers for later books, which sucks. Block has a lot of good insights into the series.

With the shutdown, I've been reading whatever I can get and not be on the waiting list. That's why I read this Parker so far out of order. As someone else has noted, you can't call Parker a hero, he is a criminal after all. He is a very interesting protagonist. There has been a large gap in between Parker stories, and some things have changed that make it harder to be a crook. Cell phones, credit cards and stuff like that. One of the biggest changes was the type of car that they would steal to d...

You'd think that after a while these might sort of run together or become repetitive, but they don't. They even stand up well to re-reading. I suppose it has to do with the quality of the writing and how well we get to know Parker.I mean (generally) the books open with Parker being introduced to a "job" or coming up with a job himself. Then he plans said job and pulls together a crew. Then however things always (somehow) go off the rails and we get a suspenseful thriller ...yeah, there is actual...

Another "fun" Parker book from Richard Stark. 3.5 stars because I felt like the set up for the heist dragged on a little too long. Once we get to the actual heist, the pace picks up. Parker's gang is the best of the bad guys. The rest are double-crossing hooligans with no respect for Parker's hard work. Think they can just swoop in and take what's his. Just one look at Parker with those dead eyes should be warning enough. Stark doesn't disappoint. Parker may not be the nicest guy, but he has his...

PROTAGONIST: ParkerSETTING: Hudson River, NYSERIES: #18RATING: 4.0WHY: After a successful heist, Parker goes home and finds himself with another golden opportunity. Usually, there’s some space between jobs, but this one is very tempting. New York State has approved casino boat gambling on the Hudson River, and a politician named Cathcart would like Parker to rob it while it is still testing its operations. At the moment, everything is on a cash basis which means lots of money to be had. The job

Notes:Most of the series is on Audible +Great re-entry to the series. It doesn't feel like there was a gap between #17 and #18. =)

This one was good. It didn’t grab me like some of the others, but it was ok. I still want to read the whole series.This is about a heist from a riverboat gambling casino. The plans are a little more intricate than normal, including getting a guy to pretend to be a politician with body guards. A woman pretends to be wheelchair bound. The main suspense is after the heist when other parties make a play for the money. The best part was when a bad cop put Parker in handcuffs. I enjoyed the way Parker...

Another fun read while travelling to and from work.The book opens with a robbery gone bad, at least fro some but Parker gets away with his share. And goes home to Claire.He gets contacted by an individual who proposes a deal/robbery based upon the knowledge he got from the partner that died in Parkers last heist. Parker being suspicious does what he does best and sets forth to investigate the man and his deal/job.Parker and friends prepare the heist and then all goes according plan, were it not

In this masterful crime novel, Parker, Wycza, Sternberg, Carlow, and Noelle Braselle team up to rob a casino boat. The heist is daring and impeccably carried out, but would you know it, there's a few hitches right after and Parker has to tie up quite a number of loose ends. Terrific writing throughout, one of Richard Stark's best. Sad to think there are only six Parker books left.Up next: Flashfire.

“When the car stopped rolling, Parker kicked out the rest of the windshield and crawled through onto the wrinkled hood, Glock first.”

'Backflash' is my introduction to the work of Richard Stark, and I must say I'm impressed. This is a straightforward heist story starring Parker, the anti-hero of the very long series, and a group of career criminals. The economy of the writing is excellent and the description of the planning done by Parker and his team is wonderfully detailed. The story begins with master criminal Parker, escaping from a car wreck during a heist with $140K in his possession, being contacted out of the blue by a...

Parker has his eyes set on robbing a gambling ship. He gets a crew together, plans the caper, and attempts to pull it off. Some unanticipated complications arise which forces Parker to do some nasty business. In other words, Parker as usual. And there is nothing wrong with Parker as usual. It still scratches the itch.

Pretty meh for a Parker.

Audio narrated well First half so boring I almost stopped ONE STAR Second half got on-track with my expectations THREE STARSTHEREFORE, TWO STAR rating

“Backflash” is the eighteenth novel in the Parker world. It is wedged between “Comeback” and “Flashfire” and, as Lawrence Block points out in the introduction, this is Westlake (aka Stark) having fun with his titles and connecting them. It is part of the second set of Parker novels, published from 1997 to 2008 after a 23-year hiatus from the series. These are longer novels than most of the original sixteen. In some ways, they feel smoother, more professionally finished.This one involves what loo...

One of my favorites so far in the Parker series. I think because it's one of the few that shows a job from start to finish. Parker's partners are familiar because he is the recruiter for the job. There are complications of course. Great tension in this one.

I first read this when it came out; having re-read several of the hard-boiled Parker books lately, I'd put this as the best of that bunch. Here, Parker and pals rob a floating casino. The string of thieves is an interesting collection; the inevitable inside man and nefarious others who get in Parker's way are well-drawn, and (view spoiler)[there's quite a pile of bodies by the end (hide spoiler)], which is fun in a sick sort of way.I particularly enjoyed this because I'd just read two books that...

Another classic Parker from Richard Stark (aka Donald Westlake.) In this episode, Parker is approached by Cathman, a disgruntled ex-state employee who ostensibly has it in for gambling and the state wants to increase its revenue stream by allowing riverboat gambling. Cathman has blueprints of the boat and additional details, so Parker checks him out and decides it's possible to pull a heist.As with all the Parker stories, you know there will be a glitch, there always is, so the suspense and inte...

A criminal gets involved in a heist but little does he know that his every move is being watched.I thought the story was really good with a fast‎ pace and plenty of action. Some of writing was a bit clunky but overall it was a very entertaining read.