I also read one of Westlake’s books under the name Richard Stark, The Outfit (Westlake may be unique in doing the silly stuff under his own name and the dark stuff under a pseudonym). This is the third Parker book, which I read because Chad described how the middle section is a lovingly-detailed series of descriptions of organized crime rackets and the ways in which Parker’s acquaintances knock them over. That was good stuff, but the rest is too brutal for my taste. I know it’s silly and escapist, but I prefer not to read caper novels with actual, you know, hardened criminals (as Kelp says sometime or other, I prefer “crooks,” it’s jauntier).
So, if I want to read the Stark Parker books, where should I start?
cd: I don’t know where to start with the Parker books, sorry. They’re being reprinted in the US, I believe, so it never hurts to start at the beginning, but I get the impression that they’re fairly self-contained–certainly this third one had a quick what-has-gone-before in the text as appropriate.
Kate: that’s good to know.