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The Hunter: A Parker Novel (Parker Novels) Paperback – September 1, 2008

by Richard Stark (Author)

194 customer reviews

Book 1 of 24 in the Parker Series

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You probably haven’t ever noticed them. But they’ve noticed you. They notice everything. That’s their job. Sitting quietly in a nondescript car outside a bank making note of the tellers’ work habits, the positions of the security guards. Lagging a few car lengths behind the Brinks truck on its daily rounds. Surreptitiously jiggling the handle of an unmarked service door at the racetrack.

They’re thieves. Heisters, to be precise. They’re pros, and Parker is far and away the best of them. If you’re planning a job, you want him in. Tough, smart, hardworking, and relentlessly focused on his trade, he is the heister’s heister, the robber’s robber, the heavy’s heavy. You don’t want to cross him, and you don’t want to get in his way, because he’ll stop at nothing to get what he’s after.

Parker, the ruthless antihero of Richard Stark’s eponymous mystery novels, is one of the most unforgettable characters in hardboiled noir. Lauded by critics for his taut realism, unapologetic amorality, and razor-sharp prose-style—and adored by fans who turn each intoxicating page with increasing urgency—Stark is a master of crime writing, his books as influential as any in the genre. The University of Chicago Press has embarked on a project to return the early volumes of this series to print for a new generation of readers to discover—and become addicted to.

In The Hunter, the first volume in the series, Parker roars into New York City, seeking revenge on the woman who betrayed him and on the man who took his money, stealing and scamming his way to redemption.

“Westlake knows precisely how to grab a reader, draw him or her into the story, and then slowly tighten his grip until escape is impossible.”—Washington Post Book World

“Elmore Leonard wouldn’t write what he does if Stark hadn’t been there before. And Quentin Tarantino wouldn’t write what he does without Leonard. . . . Old master that he is, Stark does all of them one better.”—Los Angeles Times

“Donald Westlake’s Parker novels are among the small number of books I read over and over. Forget all that crap you’ve been telling yourself about War and Peace and Proust—these are the books you’ll want on that desert island.”—Lawrence Block

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* It’s been 50 years since the first, furious appearance of Parker as he walked across the George Washington Bridge into Manhattan—after trudging all the way across the country, hell-bent on revenge. Written pseudonymously by Donald E. Westlake, a pro’s pro well known for his later, lighter fare, this series about a tough, pent-up professional thief, a “bastard” who slaps women and makes them like it, is, on the one hand, unreconstructed, unrepentant, hard-boiled tough-guy pulp. On the other hand, it’s terrific. It may be a period piece to some, but it’s also been hugely influential, impressing writers from Elmore Leonard to John Banville, and Max Allan Collins to Dan Simmons. Hollywood has taken note, too: filmed versions include Point Blank (1967) and Payback (1999). And Darwyn Cooke’s magnificent graphic-novel adaptations (beginning with Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter, 2009) have brought the series to a whole new audience. But whether you find Parker’s approach to relationships infuriating or amusing, the author’s way with words is always powerful. As Parker relentlessly slaps, punches, glowers, and kills his way to the mobster who betrayed him and stole his woman, the prose hits as hard as two huge, bare-knuckled fists. And the structure throws a left hook, too. Halfway through the book, with Parker closing the room on his prey, Stark detours back to the beginning of the story. Still, when revenge has finally been served, it’s not enough. Not satisfied with killing one mobster, Parker declares war on the entire Mob, setting the stage for two dozen novels over the next four decades. (Westlake died in 2008, at the age of 75.) University of Chicago Press, an unlikely publisher, has done crime-fiction fans a great service by returning the first 20 Parker novels to print. The covers should be better, but it’s the pages inside that count. --Keir Graff

Review

“Parker represents the antihero with dubious morals. Stark’s clever plot structure, moving back and forth in time, is totally engrossing.”--Library Journal

(Library Journal 2008-10-05)

“Writing a couple of years ago . . . John Banville reckoned the Parker novels to be 'among the most poised and polished fictions of their time and, in fact, any time.' That's high praise from an impeccable source, and Banville is right to single out the technical excellence of these books. The Parkers read with the speed of pulp while unfolding with an almost Nabokovian wit and flair. . . . Original editions of these books, and even later reprints, change hands for scores or hundreds of dollars on the Net, and it’s excellent to have them readily available again—not so much masterpieces of the genre, just masterpieces, period. . . . . The Hunter glitters with seemingly effortless intricacy, being aimed at one episode—a stunner, the kind of moment in fiction that really does have you leaping from your chair and exclaiming in surprise and glee.”

(Richard Rayner Los Angeles Times 2008-09-14)

“Parker is refreshingly amoral, a thief who always gets away with the swag.”

(Stephen King Entertainment Weekly 2008-09-12)

“Parker . . . lumbers through the pages of Richard Stark’s noir novels scattering dead bodies like peanut shells. . . . In a complex world [he] makes things simple.”

(William Grimes New York Times 2008-08-28)

“Whatever Stark writes, I read. He’s a stylist, a pro, and I thoroughly enjoy his attitude.”

(Elmore Leonard)

“Richard Stark’s Parker novels . . . are among the most poised and polished fictions of their time and, in fact, of any time.”

(John Banville Bookforum)

“Parker is a true treasure. . . . The master thief is back, along with Richard Stark.”

(Marilyn Stasio New York Times Book Review)

“Westlake knows precisely how to grab a reader, draw him or her into the story, and then slowly tighten his grip until escape is impossible.”

(Washington Post Book World)

“Elmore Leonard wouldn’t write what he does if Stark hadn’t been there before. And Quentin Tarantino wouldn’t write what he does without Leonard. . . . Old master that he is, Stark does all of them one better.”

(Los Angeles Times)

“Donald Westlake’s Parker novels are among the small number of books I read over and over. Forget all that crap you’ve been telling yourself about War and Peace and Proust—these are the books you’ll want on that desert island.”

(Lawrence Block)

“If you’re looking for crime novels with a lot of punch, try the very, very tough novels featuring Parker. . . . The Hunter, The Outfit, The Mourner, and The Man with the Getaway Face are all beautifully paced, tautly composed, and originally published in the early 1960s."

(Christian Science Monitor)

“Richard Stark writes a harsh and frightening story of criminal warfare and vengeance with economy, understatement and a deadly amoral objectivity—a remarkable addition to the list of the shockers that the French call romans noirs.”

(Anthony Boucher New York Times Book Review)

"Parker is a brilliant invention. . . . What chiefly distinguishes Westlake, under whatever name, is his passion for process and mechanics. . . . Parker appears to have eliminated everything from his program but machine logic, but this is merely protective coloration. He is a romantic vestige, a free-market anarchist whose independent status is becoming a thing of the past."

(Luc Sante New York Review of Books)

"I wouldn't care to speculate about what it is in Westlake's psyche that makes him so good at writing about Parker, much less what it is that makes me like the Parker novels so much. Suffice it to say that Stark/Westlake is the cleanest of all noir novelists, a styleless stylist who gets to the point with stupendous economy, hustling you down the path of plot so briskly that you have to read his books a second time to appreciate the elegance and sober wit with which they are written."

(Terry Teachout Commentary)

"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)

"The University of Chicago Press has recently undertaken a campaign to get Parker back in print in affordable and handsome editions, and I dove in. And now I get it."

(Josef Braun Vue Weekly)

"Whether early or late, the Parker novels are all superlative literary entertainments."

(Terry Teachout Weekly Standard)

“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)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product details

Series: Parker Novels
Paperback: 198 pages
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; Reprint edition (September 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0226770990
ISBN-13: 978-0226770994
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 194 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #92,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #634 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Movements & Periods
- #691 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery > Hard-Boiled
- #2851 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

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Top customer reviews

Call it "noir" or call it "hardboiled"; Parker stories are not for sissies!

Byhank the crankon June 30, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Richard Stark was an alter ego if you will for the late Donald Westlake. Where DW always wrote with at least a dash of good humor and fun, his Richard Stark novels are no laughing matter! Stark wrote the "Parker" series of hardboiled crime novels. The Hunter is book one of about two dozen books which chronicle the adventures of Parker as he wreaks mayhem on society and especially anyone foolish enough to double cross him. This first story was the basis for several films, some good, some not so good. The novel is excellent! Stark's spare and no-nonsense prose gets the blood churning and the pages turning. This is really good writing and the world is worse for the loss of Donald Westlake/Richard Stark.
The good news is that this is the first book and there are plenty more to keep you up way too late once you're hooked on them.

0Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Mean Streets Superman is boring

ByJohn C. Craveyon September 16, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I was enjoying this. It has a great literary style with the color of Raymond Chandler, the economy of Ernest Hemingway and the naturalism of Frank Norris. Parker, though he seems more mythic than a naturalistic character, is grim, basic and detailed. At first he reminded me of the ronin from YOJIMBO.

At the end of part 3 I saw that I’d been had. Parker, the clumsy oaf who gets jobs from taxi drivers, decides to do something by himself that would have required an army. That startled me into realizing that I hadn’t noticed any other character but Parker. Except for his poor girlfriend, all of them are basically cartoon characters, even the mobsters.

Then I knew why so much of the action had seemed ugly. Like cartoon characters, Parker’s opponents are cute. Stark tries to mix tones, but naturalism can’t be mixed with light comedy. It creates dissonance that has to be resolved. The resolution of this in THE HUNTER is something closer to fantasy, but not quite fantasy. Parker is no longer a driven, resourceful mortal, he’s criminal Superman. That’s a bad choice. There’s a reason that the comic book Superman does best in pure fantasy settings. In the mean streets setting, no one can defeat him. Mean streets Superman is boring.

I gave it 3.5 stars for the first 75% of the book and then knocked off a star for making me read the last 25% of the book.
1.6 stars

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

First Novel in a Very Good Mystery/Criminal Series

ByGary SeveranceVINE VOICEon April 1, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

With The Hunter, I started reading the Parker series by Robert Stark (nom de plume of Mystery and Science Fiction writer Donald E. Westlake). The 24 novel series began in 1962 and ended with Westlake's death in 2008. The very good crime series is being revived by Amazon Kindle. The new Kindle Apps are nicely integrated with dictionary, translation, and Wikipedia.

I remember reading Westlake’s stories in Ellery Queen’s Magazine years ago and liking his simple and direct writing. His characters defined themselves by action and real time introspection. The epitome of this living and thinking in the present time is Parker, the main character of the first novel in the series, The Hunter. He is a large man with a personality founded on solitude and emotional reticence and a mostly single-minded approach to getting what he wants.

Parker is committed to a life of often violent criminal activity, felonious robberies, rewarded by months of leisure between crimes at luxury hotels. In The Hunter, Parker is married to the one person in the world he cannot live without. He knows the marriage leaves him vulnerable in the criminal world, but he cannot help himself. Parker and Lynn get involved in a heist and their plans and actions among thieves are good on the surface but treacherous behind the scenes.

Westlake’s writing is so good that the reader roots for the success of Parker but realizes from the beginning of the novel that something has gone very wrong with the “job.” I kept looking for more information about the history and motivation of Parker, hard to do when the character is constantly focused on the present criminal activity. He makes decisions and frequently acts out violently but without displays of angry emotions. After his acts, he shows no remorse, attending only to the present challenge.

The biggest challenge for Parker in The Hunter is dealing with “the syndicate,” a crime organization that becomes interested in his activities. He does not want anything to do with the criminals in the far-flung group based in New York. But, Parker realizes that you can’t always get what you want in a life based on illegal gains and functional mayhem. He has revenge on his mind for a double cross by a syndicate member.

I have already read the next 3 novels in the Parker Kindle series. Each book is short (The Hunter is 208 pages) and fast reading. The payoff for the reader is an understanding of an increasingly complex character with few if any socially redeeming qualities. He does show situational compassion to losers now and again.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Return of a Classic

ByJohn J. Pocsikon June 24, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I discovered Parker when I was in Vietnam, courtesy of book donations from the folks back home. Small, fragile Pocket Book paperbacks,
they took me away - for a time - from dread and unease. Dread and unease, of course, do not exist in Parker's world. His relentless tred carries you down
shadowy corridors and silent littered alleyways of the mind. You didn't know where he was leading you; but you couldn't turn away.

Happily I followed Parker - last name? first? Stark never told us - up through the mid-seventies, when it appeared Parker found himself jammed into a world
he might not prefer to "operate" in. Which, of course, changed further on down the road into 2000. Long live prose-noir!

I love this new volume. I love its heft. its weight, its solidity. IDW and Parker's illustrative champion Darwyn Cooke have revived an old classic and made it somethng
new to treasure again. I hope this project spins out to fruition; and I hope I live long enough to see its completion. In the meantime, for all you Parker fanatics out there, PICK THIS VOLUME UP! Savor its stiletto-sharp prose - and wonder what your world might be like had you never met a guy like
Parker.

11 comment 8 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Good read

ByApril Helmuthon June 30, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This is the book the movies, Parker and Payback are based on. It's a period story, late 1095s. It is a good book. Parker is tough, hard, mean and thorough. For me he's just a bit too mean. I get that he's an antihero. Still... at any rate, the story is good, well written and moves at a good pace. I might get the next one, I might not.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

Most recent customer reviews

Unpolished but intriguing

Unpolished but intriguing - as his first of the series it works to draw in the reader for more.

Published 1 month ago by J. Sutterfield

Parker Anti-Hero

You might like this book if you don't mind the main character being a cold blooded killer with no morals. He only kills other bad guys, or other innocents as collateral damage.Read more

Published 2 months ago by CliffAnderson

Slam bang crime writing

The first Parker book. Slam bang, unfolds like clockwork. Couldn't put it down. Hooked on the series. This is not great literature. But it is great entertainment.

Published 3 months ago by Jonathan Woods

Five Stars

Awesome!!!

Published 3 months ago by K. ward

Crime novels by Donald Westlake or Richard Stark by any other name would be as sweet

Donald E. Westlake died I 2008, as I remember, much, much too soon. Another reviewer offers the thought that Westlake's mentors may have been Flaubert and Hemingway.Read more

Published 3 months ago by Chris Urago

"Old-School" stuff. I like it.

Very interesting. "Old-school" stuff in my opinion. Wish i had more time to read.

Published 3 months ago by gary

Anti-Hero Nirvana

This story is a punch in the gut from the first page to the last. If you like anti-heroes it's a fast short read, but worth the time.

Published 5 months ago by Michael D. Scheffel

The original Payback.

Essential reading if you're a fan of the Mel Gibson movie PAYBACK. This is the book the movie is based on.

Published 5 months ago by TechGuy

Movie is better

I couldn't get the money amount of things out of my head. 32 dollars for a four room hotel. Form that and the driver's license thing I'm guessing it was base in the pass.Read more

Published 5 months ago by Kindle Customer

Anti-hero agitates corporate crime

This is a fun pulp style book that centers on a simple freelance criminal goon that gets double crossed by a woman.Read more

Published 6 months ago by Brett Thomas Payne

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