Breakout

Rating:
Summary: Another winner from the King of Noir
Review: When a hot-dogging associate causes Parker's arrest, things look bad for the old heister. He finds himself in prison with virtually no chance of release. Of course, there's always another way out, if you can manage it. And managing things is what Parker does best.

His breakout and subsequent jewelry job are the meat and potatoes of this excellent noir thriller. Stark renders the details of Parker's life and crimes in appropriately rapid-fire, austere, and even bleak prose. Stark makes this kind of writing look easy to do, but very few others can pull it off with nearly the skill that he does.

Despite the somewhat slim profile of this book, there is a lot of story here. Stark has the ability to craft prose that is concise and compact, but packs quite a punch. You won't feel cheated after having read Breakout. In fact, you might just break out in applause!

Reviewed by David Montgomery, Mystery Ink

Rating:
Summary: Stark, at the top of his game.
Review: While I have enjoyed Flashfire and Firebreak, I felt they were some of the weaker Parker novels, and was wondering when Richard Stark was going to put out another great caper, and this book was it. When Parker lands in jail, he has to get out before his violent past catches up with him. On the outside, he manages another heist that goes awry. The book's title follows throughout, breakout after breakout. Not as good as The Man with the Getaway Face, but still damn good.