The Jugger [Paperback]

Richard Stark (Author)

Book Description

Series: Parker Novels | Publication Date: October 2002

Not many men knew what Parker did for a living, because what he did was steal. But Joe Sheer, a retired safecracker-also known in the business as a jugger-knew. He knew Parker's alias, his whereabouts, his plans...and because he knew too much, he knew to keep his mouth shut. Or die. But Joe was more than ready to trade what he knew for a soft mattress, windows without bars on them, and what every man needs-his freedom. So Parker had come to Nebraska to find the old jugger...and probably murder him. But what Parker found was trouble: Joe was already six feet under; something very valuable was missing; and somebody was planning a funeral...Parker's. Too bad for somebody-that Parker wasn't an easy man to kill.

Editorial Reviews

Review

  “The UC Press mission, to reprint the 1960s Parker novels of Richard Stark (the late Donald Westlake), is wholly admirable. The books have been out of print for decades, and the fast-paced, hard-boiled thrillers featuring the thief Parker are brilliant.”—H. J. Kirchoff, Globe and Mail (Canada)
 
 
 
 
 

(H. J. Kirchoff Globe and Mail )

“Perhaps this, more than anything else, is what I admire about these novels: the consistent ruthlessness of an unapologetic bastard.  And so if you’re a fan of noir novels and haven’t yet read Richard Stark, you may want to give these books a try.  Who knows?  Parker may just be the son of a bitch you’ve been searching for.”—John McNally, Virginia Quarterly Review

 

 

 

 

(John McNally Virginia Quarterly Review ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Richard Stark lives in upstate New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Press (October 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446677744
• ISBN-13: 978-0446677745
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,013,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What's In A Name?, October 14, 2002

By 

sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Jugger (Paperback)

Joe Sheer, a fine old man, retired safecracker (jugger), has been Parker's contact man for years. Parker receives a disquieting letter from Joe and wonders if he is getting a little old for the job. Parker decides to pay him a visit, not to present a gold watch, but perhaps to help Joe along to his eternal rest. The usually overly careful Parker flies to Sagamore, Nebraska to have a hands-on visit with Joe using his clean-as-a whistle alias, Charles Willis.

Picture Smalltown U.S.A. Friendly folks, picket fences, nicely clipped lawns, tree shaded lots, porch swings, and you have Sagamore. Now picture deadly purposeful Parker strolling down the sidewalks. Neither one of them are quite ready for the other. Alas for Parker, there is no heist this time, Joe is already dead, and the local and state police are taking far too much interest in Charles Willis. Parker has to put his superb planning abilities in high gear to settle the natives, and solve the mystery of Joe's alleged buried fortune. Parker's sole interest in this is to get Charles Willis back to Miami unknown and uninvestigated.

This is a fine Parker outing where Parker is the only one in Sagamore with good sense, and with much exasperation has to lead the law to the truth. To get the job done, a few homicides happen, and a left over lady with "the eyes of a pickpocket and the mouth of a whore" helps him out. "The Jugger" is best read after you have read a couple other Parker novels for background. For all other Parker aficionados, this is choice.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ..., March 28, 2002

By 

Jim Shine (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Jugger (Paperback)

Talk about waking from a coma. The Jugger begins confusingly - good confusingly, that is - with Parker in a hotel room in a small town in Nebraska. There's a dead guy in the obituary column, an annoying guy hanging around Parker, a cop outside. Everyone knows more than the reader at this stage, but nobody really knows anything. Turns out after a few chapters that the dead guy is the titular Jugger - a locks man who knew too much about Parker. The annoying guy and the cop think the dead guy knew something else - like where his life's earnings are hidden. Parker needs to make sure no one else knows what the dead guy really knew.
The story unfolds piece by piece, and Parker responds in the only way imaginable for one of fiction's most amoral characters.
Tough, very tight.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Saving an Alias, February 22, 2011

By 

W. Easley "Opa" (Colorado Rocky Mountains) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Jugger: A Parker Novel (Parker Novels) (Paperback)

Parker is threatened. His long time friend, Joe Sheer, a retired safe cracker or jugger, wrote him a letter begging for his help. Joe Sheer is the only person alive that knows Parker's cover character Charles Willis. Parker spent many years and much money to build his cover and if it is exposed he would have nowhere to lay low with confidence.

Parker travels to Joe's retreat, a tiny town in Nebraska, and discovers that Joe is dead. Since he visited the town using his alias name, he realized that he was now exposed. But what happened to Joe? Why did Joe beg him to come? The Jugger is the story of how Parker survives this major threat.

Investigating Joe's death, Parker learns that several people are convinced that Joe had a large treasure stash and all of them want to find the money and get a large cut. Parker, who believes his old friend never had such a treasure, stays around to try to save his "safe" alias. This is the toughest job Parker has had. Can he save himself?

The Jugger is a violent, action packed thriller. Parker's clever and sometimes desperate actions lead to excitement and intrigue. I highly recommend The Jugger.