Aug 20, 2022

Ask the Parrot by Richard Stark (2006) Mysterious Press

In which Parker, the professional thief, narrowly escapes the cops.  Which makes the money his crew stole worthless.  As he escapes, he runs into a hunter, who is more interested in partnering with Parker to get revenge on a racetrack.  Parker needs clean money.  So, they set it up.  But there are problems along the way and things never go the way they’re supposed to go.

Donald E. Westlake (the writer behind the pseudonym) said the name was inspired by Richard Widmark's performance in the film Kiss of Death (1947). "part of the character's fascination and danger is his unpredictability. He's fast and mean, and that's what I wanted the writing to be: crisp and lean, no fat, trimmed down ... stark." -Richard Stark (March 1, 1999). "Richard Stark: Introduced by Donald E. Westlake". Payback. Grand Central Publishing. pp. vii–x. ISBN 978-0-446-67464-5.

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