Customer Reviews

The Handle

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
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I gotta disagree with the reviewer below-- this is one of the best Parkers. "The Handle" (otherwise known as "Run Lethal") is from the era of the real "classics" in the series, and it's terse and nasty and unpredictable. Yes, it features Grofield, an actor who moonlights as a heistman with Parker-- he's kind of the un-Parker, and some don't like him. He starred in four novels written by Stark/Westlake, and I agree that they're not quite up to the brutal standards of the early Parkers in the amorality stakes (but I still like them a lot).

Here, Grofield doesn't dominate the book, just takes a role as a part of the string Parker's assembling. He's a pro, and Parker can count on him. The book works well as a prelude to "Butcher's Moon," where Parker and Grofield find themselves in a similar situation.

Never read a Parker novel? Try this or any of the books from the Sixties: they're stripped-down, no-frills action novels, and Stark/Westlake does it better than almost anybody else.

Don't get me wrong-I love Richard Stark's (Donald E. Westlake's) Parker novels. It's just that I find his stories about actor/thief Alan Grofield to be lesser efforts-although still better than 99% of anybody else's suspense output. And this "Parker" novel seems to concentrate as much, if not more, on Grofield's adventures. Parker is hired by the Outfit to bust up an independent island casino. He's approached by federal agents who want the casino's owner brought in for arrest. All of which makes for a dynamite Parker novel with a little too much Grofield.

I enjoy Richard Stark's (a.k.a. Donald Westlake) Parker novels for several reasons. The Parker character is a strong "anti-hero" who the reader wants to succeed. Parker's plans for his capers are normally brilliant if executed well. Some unexpected interference always causes Parker to improvise during the operation. Parker tends to survive despite the serious complications, but never gets rich enough to retire.

In "The Handle", Parker gets an unusual new challenge. The mob wants to hire him to rob a competitor. This guy, who calls himself Baron, bought an island in the Gulf of Mexico more that forty miles off the coast of Texas. The Baron built a fancy casino and pleasure resort and, since he is out of all legal jurisdictions, he sets his own rules. The Baron rakes in the money and the mob is left out. If Parker can steal all the Baron's money and destroy the casino, it may put the Baron out of business.

The island is like a fortress with very little access. Boats can approach in two small areas, both easy to protect. There is no suitable place to land an aircraft. The Baron and several highly trained, experienced security personnel live on the island and keep it under constant surveillance. Security has the latest equipment and weapons.

How can Parker manage this tough job? Considering Parker's habit of having brilliant plans go awry, what will happen this time? "The Handle" is a suspenseful novel with multiple actions scenes, interpersonal conflicts, and intrigue. I recommend this novel to those who love action thrillers.

The eighth novel in the sensational Parker series isn't as believable as some of the others, especially the end chapters, but action and fast paced storyline wise, The Handle is right up there. Most Parker novels if you didn't know they written in the 60s (this one 1966) you'd never know, the Handle however involves a war criminal (The Baron) from World War II who recounts some of his experiences during that era, so you are constantly reminded this isn't a modern day or even recent adventure. Not that that's a bad thing, period piece fiction is great but it may be a factor for some people that may make them want to chose another Parker adventure instead. The Handle also gives away a fair bit of the plots from the previous seven books so it is best to read those first. You will still enjoy this one to its full extent without having read those books but once you've read one Parker novel you'll want to know the rest and if you've read this one you'll know what happens in some of those. The Handle does use the * and footnote factor that tells you which of those novels the spoiler is from if you do want to know.

In The Handle Parker is contacted by the Outfit (slang for the mob in the mid 1960s) who he has previously been to war with. They want him to rob, burn down and bankrupt a casino operating on an isolated island south of the USA that has been claimed by Cuba. It is run by a war criminal known as The Baron who refuses to give the Outfit a cut of his proceeds like they have bullied from mainland US ones. The American government also want to prosecute The Baron but can't touch him on Cuban soil. The island has its own heavily armed security and the island s isolation means it is an extremely hard caper to pull off.

This was my least favorite Parker novel so far. It felt very cookie-cutter, even as far as this series goes which relies upon the same simple formula in each book. It just felt very uninspired. Parker is still great character, but this book is really the low point before the introduction of Claire.

J.Ja

a unique parker entry in that he is working for the outfit! requested to rob a baron who owns a casino on an island in the gulf of mexico... sounds kind of james bond... but becomes original and more parker about half way through. anyway the plan gets laid out, grofield (the score) and salsa (the outfit) are in with him and then everything goes sour when a bunch more players are introduced and information gets out. things go over anyway and grofield ends up bleeding and stumbling across the mexican desert two days later and the money is lost! craziness! excellent book!

also, very refreshing if you've ever read a book in which the author disgustingly over describes everything; two pages to describe a room, three to describe someones feelings, a chapter to describe a single conversation about some unnessecary story, examples are anne rice (interview with the vampire, queen of the damned, etc.) and robert ludlum (the bourne identity, ultimatum, etc.). good writers, but five hundred pages of fluff make you want a more readable two hundred page story that you may even have the patience to re-read eventually. this is that kind of writing, constantly gripping, no boredom, and no non-sense. not to say that the parker novels are devoid of description but that you don't get bored wondering if the author was just trying to make his book bigger by cramming in more information about what a character was thinking, wearing, feeling, seeing, what he had for dinner the night before, what color hair his mother had, where he went to high school, rather than just what is pertinent to the immediate story. in the jacket of one of the books is a quote by someone that talks about how parker is the non hero. not the anti-hero (criminal with a good heart or something) and certainly not the hero, i thought this was very accurate, parker is just a bad guy. he is out to make money and anyone who gets in his way is so much chaff to be discarded.