The Green Eagle Score: A Parker Novel (Parker Novels)

Fusco went back into the kitchen and Devers said to Parker "Is this weird? I'm shacked up with a broad, she's got a kid, her ex-husband is around the place as much as I am, I'm in on a goddam robbery with him, I'm paying for the broad's analysis. I swear to God I never thought I'd get involved in anything this complicated in my life.""The robbery part is simple " Parker told him. "We look it over, we see if it can be done, we work out the method, we do it, we split. We don't let other things come in and make complications."Every Parker novel is a quartet: four parts, with three from Parker's point of view, and one part (in this book, part two) from other characters' points of view. But the Parker series is also divisible into four groups of four novels each- a quartet of quartets- with Green Eagle as the second novel in the third quartet. I had been one of those who felt that this group of Parker novels was somewhat lacking, a third season slump or plateau. Re-reading The Green Eagle Score, however, has convinced me that Stark/Westlake is an absolute master, and that the only thing better than one Parker novel is another Parker novel.There is a short chapter in part two, for example, told from the point of view of a funeral director, a very tangential character, who finances heists because it is an investment which offers 100 percent tax free return. It is a master-stroke of a chapter because Berridge, the funeral director, is a perfect foil for Parker, vain, pompous, ordinary. In other words, just like the hypocrite reader:"Berridge felt good behind the wheel of his Toronado, young and vital. He had noticed that just about every other Toronado driver he had ever seen was, like himself, middle-aged and portly, but this didn't interfere with the illusion of youth the car gave him. He was as capable of doublethink as anyone."Two other things I will mention: 1. Ellen Fusco, the source of the "soap opera," is a well-drawn, admirably intelligent female character, a more subtle foil for Parker himself. 2. The humor is so suitably restrained that when it comes, it's almost startling:"Next he got out and handed around sets of rubber gloves, the kind women use when they wash dishes. These were pale blue, which were less bright in the dark than either the yellow or the pink that were the only other choices. It was advertised that with these gloves on you could pick up a dime. You could also hold a gun and pick up four hundred thousand dollars."

A slower moving, more complex plot. New characters, secondary players well developed. A bit far fetched in terms of how the plot played out, but interesting twists & turns

Another great Parker novel by Richard Stark. Some are a little better, some aren't as great as others, but they all have one thing in common: all Parker novels are very good and worth reading.

Fusco went back into the kitchen and Devers said to Parker "Is this weird? I'm shacked up with a broad, she's got a kid, her ex-husband is around the place as much as I am, I'm in on a goddam robbery with him, I'm paying for the broad's analysis. I swear to God I never thought I'd get involved in anything this complicated in my life.""The robbery part is simple " Parker told him. "We look it over, we see if it can be done, we work out the method, we do it, we split. We don't let other things come in and make complications."Every Parker novel is a quartet: four parts, with three from Parker's point of view, and one part (in this book, part two) from other characters' points of view. But the Parker series is also divisible into four groups of four novels each- a quartet of quartets- with Green Eagle as the second novel in the third quartet. I had been one of those who felt that this group of Parker novels was somewhat lacking, a third season slump or plateau. Re-reading The Green Eagle Score, however, has convinced me that Stark/Westlake is an absolute master, and that the only thing better than one Parker novel is another Parker novel.There is a short chapter in part two, for example, told from the point of view of a funeral director, a very tangential character, who finances heists because it is an investment which offers 100 percent tax free return. It is a master-stroke of a chapter because Berridge, the funeral director, is a perfect foil for Parker, vain, pompous, ordinary. In other words, just like the hypocrite reader:"Berridge felt good behind the wheel of his Toronado, young and vital. He had noticed that just about every other Toronado driver he had ever seen was, like himself, middle-aged and portly, but this didn't interfere with the illusion of youth the car gave him. He was as capable of doublethink as anyone."Two other things I will mention: 1. Ellen Fusco, the source of the "soap opera," is a well-drawn, admirably intelligent female character, a more subtle foil for Parker himself. 2. The humor is so suitably restrained that when it comes, it's almost startling:"Next he got out and handed around sets of rubber gloves, the kind women use when they wash dishes. These were pale blue, which were less bright in the dark than either the yellow or the pink that were the only other choices. It was advertised that with these gloves on you could pick up a dime. You could also hold a gun and pick up four hundred thousand dollars."

Nobody comes close to matching Donald Westlake's skill when writing as Richard Stark. The series of novels about Parker, a career criminal, are unmatched in crime fiction. Simply the best, if what you are looking for is hard boiled, ingenious, pared down, thrilling writing. Get all of them.

Another by Westlake/Stark, such fun in his dry way.This is not to say that those that like to read about the weakness of criminals and other weaker characters, but the Parker character is definitely not everyone's taste, though he suits me.What he does and how he accomplishes it is interesting; something always goes wrong though, and much of the pleasure is gained by how he fixes things up for himself. Having a more permanent lady friend makes him a little more human and adds to the interest.As usual with these books, the reader will definitely not be disappointed.