Flashfire: A Parker Novel (Parker Novels)

Richard Stark (pseudonym of Donald Westlake) wrote a series of novels concerning the anti-hero Parker. Unlike the typical anti-hero, Parker not only doesn't play by society's rules, he consciously breaks them. He is a professional criminal - a heister in his parlance. He plans and executes complex robberies: banks, jewelry stores, armored cars, and such. Parker is tough, ruthless but professional. He follows very few rules: never let anyone double cross you, kill only if you have to, but when you have to kill do it quickly and move on. The series is notable for the gritty realism, clever schemes and explanations of heists and of course, why they go wrong.The novels are in two bunches. The group started in the USA of the late 1950's and early 1960's (The Hunter)and ended with Butcher's Moon in 1974. Stark returned to the character with Comeback in 1997. This novel was first published in 2000 and is the third in the second bunch.Parker is now older and where once he could create a fake identity literally with a ballpoint pen and a few pieces of paper (see The Hunter) he now has to get professional help. In this case, he needs a new ID after a caper goes sour and like his very first adventure, he goes seeking his money from those who took it, ultimately this trail leads to Palm Beach.The description of Palm Beach suggests Westlake has some familiarity with the area, and the bits of gossipy asides help give the book local color. The plot is clever and well thought through, although the denouement where Parker escapes the bad guys depends a bit on luck and supernatural forethought and planning.A good book in the series; not too hard for new comers to get into. Worth comparing with The Hunter, The Man with the Getaway Face and The Outfit.

This Parker novel, in which Richard Stark's professional thief seeks revenge on three crime partners who do him out of his share of the score in a garden variety heist, is a good stand-alone thriller on its own, but surprisingly enough, the movie version with Jason Statham (called simply "Parker") is better.In "Flashfire," Parker's accomplices in a stick up that takes place in the first chapter want him to join them and kick in the lion's share of his end as "seed money" for a truly once-in-a-lifetime score, a multi-million-dollar jewel robbery in Palm Beach, Florida. Parker, partly due to native stubbornness but also because he thinks the job can't be done, resists. His now ex-partners take his share anyway and tell him they will be in touch.Instead, Parker gets in touch with them -- in a violent way. As anybody knows who has followed this series by Donald Westlake (writing as Richard Stark), Parker is not someone you want to cheat. He immediately sets out to even the score, pulling several stylish robberies in a row to raise the cash he needs to go to Florida, get his revenge and screw up his former colleagues' plans.Once he arrives there, he joins forces with Leslie, a real estate broker on the make who pushes her way in to his revenge scheme in the hope of making enough money to put a bad marriage and divorce behind her. The rest of the novel focuses on how our protagonist gets back at his former colleagues in truly Parker-esque fashion.This is a solid four-star novel, a perfect quick read with plenty of action and a minimum of extraneous business. The characterization is sharp and believable, the dialog works and the plot makes sense, given Parker's twisted code of ethics. But, as I said in the first paragraph of this review, the folks who made the Jason Statham film "Parker" from it have actually managed to improve on the original.(A DVD of the film, incidentally, will be available on May 21. It is available for pre-order from Amazon now at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=parker.)For one thing, they eliminate a couple of characters who really don't move the story forward very effectively, including Leslie's semi-retarded sister (who figures in a subplot that sets up the book's ending in a way that isn't nearly as satisfying as the one in the film).Second, they dump a couple of subplots overboard that are simply weak and seem to waste the reader's time. The action unfolds in pretty much the same way, the key scenes are all there and the conclusion is virtually identical to that in the book. All that has been changed is a little bit of streamlining in the narrative which actually gives the story greater impact.In short, I give the novel four stars, but the film made from it a full compliment of five. Sometimes even a good writer can use some edits, and the ones that were made in the film version greatly improve the story.

.Like a few earlier Parker novels, Flashfire begins with a successful robbery. This time Parker is teemed with all new people (recommended by his friend Hurley). But instead of splitting the loot the others all insisted that the proceeds be "invested" in a much more ambitious scheme, the robbery of jewels in Palm Beach.Parker opts out, but his partners insist that his cut remain in the "investment" and that he will be paid later. Parker does not work that way. Parker plots his revenge.Parker's main objection was that Palm Springs is an island with only limited entry and a huge police force specifically trained to protect the wealthy inhabitants of this Florida community. How can Parker get his revenge in the midst of all that security? Will he purposely cause them to fail in the robbery or instead tip off the police to their plan? Should Parker quietly kill his former partners, or assuming the robbery is a success, could he rob them after they score? Considering that Parker is a professional who would never interfere with another pro, how can he expect to succeed in getting revenge when he is one man against three?This novel carefully narrates Parker conducting several profitable robberies to build his resources for his intended scheme. Since his adversaries know him, he builds and new identify complete with legitimate ID cards, legitimate addresses and legitimate financial records, and a startling disguise. Finally Parker moves into Palm Beach and prepares his revenge.Flashfire is non stop action novel full of suspense and intrigue. If you like crime novels, you will love this Richard Stark story. I highly recommend this book.

This is a good book with a good story,I am now getting addicted to the author.Be aware that this book is also published as Parker, after the film that was made of it.

Any one who has not discovered this author is missing out. Flashfire had everything you want -a taut plot, good characterisation and even humour especially near the end.

As always good story ,well told.

A good read.

Just a fantastic writer and as good as ever