Customer Reviews

Breakout (Parker Novels)

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This is another quick and simple Parker adventure by Donald E Westlake writing under his pen name Richard Stark. Whilst there are certainly better Parker adventures where the reader gets to see Parker's skills in action, in Breakout the reader gets to see just how intelligent this criminal is. If you haven't checked out Westlake's novels under his own name definitely do so as well. His masterpiece The Ax as well as Corkscrew and the Scared Stiff are all great places to start. Short chapters make putting down Breakout when you have to a breeze.

In Breakout Parker is behind bars in the overcrowded Stoneveldt, a transit prison for those awaiting trial and the probable outcome of an even worse actual jail. Although the authorities can't work out who he actually is they do know one of his alter egos killed a prison guard and escaped from a California prison so it won't be long before he's extradited there. This is not a place Parker wants to go so he must escape Stoneveldt, where no one else has ever done so before. Stoneveldt isn't the only place he will have to escape from before leaving town.

If you like Westlake as Richard Stark or himself also check out James Pattinson (Pattinson not Patterson), a British author who writes very similar novels.

One of the other customer reviews made the point that the Stark / Parker and Westlake / Dortmunder books are in fact the same books. I think that's a little over simplified, but I have to admit that there's more than a little truth in that suggestion. Toward the end of BREAKOUT, I thought, "Good grief, this is THE HOT ROCK!" That's also over simplified, but you get the idea.

In THE HUNTER, Stark mentioned in passing that Parker was once arrested as a vagrant, and escaped from a work farm by killing a guard. This is the record, as Ronald Kasper, but with Parker's own prints, that dogs him, although it's by no means his last killing, on or off record.

This time out, Parker participates in a pharmaceutical heist that goes wrong. Unlike so many other times, he isn't allowed to disappear into the woods or down a convenient, unwatched alley. He goes, not strictly to jail, but to a "detention center", where suspected felons wait before and during trail. This is essentially the same kind of less-structured environment that Dortmunder wrestles with in THE HOT ROCK.

Parker is visited by a court-appointed lawyer, and manages to get a message to his long-time squeeze, Claire. Presto, a more clued-in attorney shows up, and things begin to roll. Ed Mackey, previously involved in Parker escapades, drops in to show his gratitude for past favors, and assists Parker in identifying fellow prisoners who might be useful in an escape.

They escape, and then Parker becomes involved with outsiders who assisted in the escape, who have a jewelry heist to pull. The heist goes down, and goes bad; Parker survives with his two fellow escapees, but must then break out of the converted armory that the jewels were stored in.

Are you getting the picture? This would be pretty ordinary stuff, but for Mr. Stark's masterful handling, plus a certain sense of humor. Told by one of his fellow cons that prison isn't a natural environment, Parker says, "It isn't an environment ... It's a body cast."

OK, the good lawyer is rather fortuitous (makes you wonder what happened to guys like Amos Klee), but the cops have been steadily getting less dumb, if still sparse. BREAKOUT's Inspector Turley reminds me a lot of the careful, smart cop from THE SEVENTH.

Bottom line: if you enjoy taking a ride with Stark, this one will be a pleasant trip.

Parker, the antihero thief of Richard Stark (AKA Donald Westlake) is one of my favorite creations. The books are always written with one caper or problem to be solved. This usually includes a set up of a robbery then problems develop. The fun is to see how Parker solves the problems and keeps out of jail.
BREAKOUT is a bit of a departure from this formula in that Parker is arrested and jailed in the first chapter. He must try to figure out a way out of, not only jail, but out of town. He is paired with the usual miscreants in which it is difficult to determine who is trustworthy.
The book is, as usual, relatively brief, yet always compelling. It can be read in one lengthy sitting. Parker is a cold-blooded thief and killer, yet, Stark breathes such life into him that the reader cannot fail to root for his success. A truly fun read.

It goes without saying that a Richard Stark "Parker" story is read at one sitting. Fortunately for the reader (or the sittee, if you will), the books are rarely longer than 300 pages. It's manageable. The writing is as spare and smooth as fine leather holster and concise as a Hemingway vignette.

Parker gets nailed in a pharmaceutical robbery gone south. He is detained by the law in a fortress like detention center situated in the flatlands. This is desperate times for Parker who has escaped from a prison in the distant past and killed a guard in the process. He must escape and does in most ingenious manner. He is coerced (against his better judgment) into a jewelry heist that involves tunneling into an impregnable armory. It is all in the finely engineered details that enchant us. How they get in. More important, how they get out. It isn't Parker's lucky day. He has to get another confederate out of jail. Surprising to me, Parker and crew take some hostages. (I'm surprised because I think of Parker as a "take no prisoners" type.) By this time, Parker has been trapped so many times through no fault of his own, all he wants is to get back to Jersey in one piece. Will he make it? Of course he will.

People always wonder why they have this fondness for Parker, a cold-blooded outlaw with no remorse and no friends, only "associates." For me it's easy. I feel safe with Parker. Wherever he goes, he has to take me, the reader, and he will think for both of us. "Breakout" is fine vintage Parker and even goes a tad beyond his usual high standards.
-sweetmolly-Amazon Reviewer

Through many twists and turns of a long and enviable career, Donald E. Westlake has always returned to two ongoing characters. Both are professional criminals, Dortmunder and Parker. As Westlake, his Dortmunder books are always hilarious. As Richard Stark, his Parker tales are always grim and filled with (cliche alert!) nail-biting suspense. What is amazing is that THEY ARE THE SAME BOOKS!!! Each tells of a crime caper that (usually) goes horribly wrong, leading to another caper necessary to straighten out the first, which leads to still another caper to straighten out what goes wrong with the second, etc.
One would think that this formula would get stale... fast. But it never does, because Westlake/Stark is such a pro that each book meets, and usually exceeds, the pleasure of the previous one.
So, too, with "Breakout". It never puts a foot wrong. It never delivers less than top of the line suspense. If you're a Westlake/Stark fan, you already know what I mean. If you haven't discovered him/them, what the heck are you waiting for?

Summary: Parker's wiles take center stage as he gets busted and thrown in jail when a job goes bad. A different character might spend the bulk of a novel in jail, but ultimate pragmatist Parker doesn't tarry in planning and executing a daring escape. Author Stark throws a series of breakout situations at Parker, as he struggles for the room to operate within the confines of an ever-shrinking police search. As always, there is a seedy citizenry to take advantage of, and a division between thieves with honor and those without.
The Good and the Bad:
This is only my third Parker novel, but I thought it was the best one of those I've read. There's something innately exciting about a prison break, and Stark treats it with a master's touch. The writing is lean and evocative, as always, and the relentless action keeps the pages turning. Stark has a way of throwing interesting problems at the characters, and then having them solve those problems in ingenious and yet believable ways. The combination of the fantastic elements of Parker's glamorous life and the realistic manner in which he moves through the world is one of the things that makes this series so enjoyable. The body count in this book was very low as compared to the other Parker novels I've read, which points to the variety of skills that he must employ to think his way out of trouble.
On the down side, Parker puts his faith in others far too often in this book. At least three times in the book, he relies entirely on the ability of others to navigate trouble, and in two of the instances, he's relying on non-criminals with whom he's had very little contact. This seems unlike the paranoid Parker, and I suppose I just didn't like seeing him so vulnerable.

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Breakout is a story of intense suspense. It tells of several "breakouts", some carefully planned and others impromptu. Each escape occurs in tough places in extreme circumstances.

First, The story begins with a failed robbery attempt. While Parker is selecting the articles to steal from a large warehouse, a member of his team ignores the plan and trips an alarm. Parker and several others, unable to escape, are arrested and go to jail.

While in jail Parker meets a poisoner who has a good idea for a robbery if he can just get out of jail. So Parker devises a brilliant escape plan and breaks out with a couple of fellow inmates he met in the compound. All three become involved in a new job.

The job is to steal jewelry from a wholesale firm that is located in a converted armory. The armory was originally built as part of the Grand Army of the Republic organization that grew out of the Civil War. Each armory was built to withstand attack from hostile forces with the military capabilities of the late 1800s. This building, a real fortress with four foot thick walls and only one entrance, was remodeled into three floors of luxury apartments above a first floor dance studio and wholesale outlet. The building is wired for security and employs a guard who is stationed at the only entrance.

Parker attempts to solve several problems: 1) escaping a jail which is located miles from civilization and surrounded by flat empty land; 2) breaking into the fortress armory and stealing the jewels without alerting the police; 3) escaping the armory and the town without being captured by a police force already alerted by the jail break.

This is a fast paced novel with a complex plot with many plot shifts. It is not the typical Parker story with Parker devising a brilliant plan to a nearly impossible job. Instead it is a story where Parker must rely on his wits, adjust to what is happening, and devise quick plans to accomplish what is needed.

Breakout is an excellent story with lots of suspense and thrilling action. It is well written in tight meaningful prose that keeps the reader interested. I recommend this to crime fiction fans.

The latest Parker book by Richard Stark (Donald Westlake) is a series of breakouts and breakins. A bumbled robbery lands Parker in custody, but not for long. Parker assembles a small crew of fellow inmates to break out of a holding facility while awaiting arraignment. They successfully breakout, but then the real trouble begins when an attempted breakin of an former armory housing a wholesale jewelry operation goes astray and they are trapped once again in a "prison" of their own making.

Parker is his usual tough and quiet self, not hesitant to kill, but still someone the reader roots for to pull off another heist, and make he getaway. Stark's writing is very straight forward, with minimal words wasted on secondary characters who are used to drive the plot.

When a hot-dogging associate causes Parker's arrest, things look bad for the old heister. He finds himself in prison with virtually no chance of release. Of course, there's always another way out, if you can manage it. And managing things is what Parker does best.

His breakout and subsequent jewelry job are the meat and potatoes of this excellent noir thriller. Stark renders the details of Parker's life and crimes in appropriately rapid-fire, austere, and even bleak prose. Stark makes this kind of writing look easy to do, but very few others can pull it off with nearly the skill that he does.

Despite the somewhat slim profile of this book, there is a lot of story here. Stark has the ability to craft prose that is concise and compact, but packs quite a punch. You won't feel cheated after having read Breakout. In fact, you might just break out in applause!

Reviewed by David Montgomery, Mystery Ink

For those who like their heroes to be above reproach, steer clear of Richard Stark. But for those who like some edge in their (anti)hero, check out Breakout. Stark's hero, Parker, is an amoral criminal mind who always seems to end up in nail-biting, fast-paced adventures.

In the newest installment in this series (40 years and counting), Parker is whiling away his time in the Stoneweldt Detention Centre after a botched heist. Knowing Parker as we do, of course he will not abide captivity for very long, and he plans his escape with two of his jailmates. The only hitch is that after they break out, they plan to knock over a jewelery store. Parker's typical mayhem ensues as he and his buddies leap through both figurative and literal hoops in their quest for freedom.

With each successive Parker book, Richard Stark gives his fans not just a good taste of the criminal mind, but a rollicking adventure as well. The Parker series are escapist fiction at its very best and BREAKOUT is no exception.

Definitely not to be missed.