The Hunter (Parker Series #1)

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More About This Book

Overview

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

 

Editorial Reviews

Bookforum

“Richard Stark’s Parker novels . . . are
— John Banville

Christian Science Monitor

“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


More Reviews (9) Fewer Reviews
Commentary

"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

Entertainment Weekly

“Parker is refreshingly amoral, a thief who always gets away with the swag.”—Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly



— Stephen King

Los Angeles Times

“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

New York Review of Books

"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

— Luc Sante

New York Times

“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

— William Grimes

New York Times Book Review

“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



— Anthony Boucher

Virginia Quarterly Review

"If you're a fan of noir novels and haven't yet read Ricahrd 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

Vue Weekly

"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

Washington Post Book World

“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

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780226770994
  • Publisher: University of Chicago Press
  • Publication date: 8/28/2008
  • Edition description: Reprint
  • Pages: 208
  • Sales rank: 142,098
  • Series: Parker Series , #1
  • Product dimensions: 5.20 (w) x 7.90 (h) x 0.60 (d)

Meet the Author

Richard Stark was one of the many pseudonyms of Donald E. Westlake (1933-2008), a prolific author of noir crime fiction. In 1993 the Mystery Writers of America bestowed the society’s highest honor on Westlake, naming him a Grand Master.

Table of Contents

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 24 )

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 24 Customer Reviews

  • Posted May 17, 2012

    Although there is considerable charm to this noirest of noir cri

    Although there is considerable charm to this noirest of noir crime books, and the furious pace and stylistic dialogue notwithstanding, the problem I have with it is that the protagonist is written as a psychopath. I quite like anti-heroes, and have a soft spot for hard men (you'll pardon the pun), but I like my anti-heroes with a modicum of morality, a soupcon of sentiment, a hint of humor and heart. Parker's indifference to the women in the book is unsettling, to say the least, including the woman he "accidentally" kills. Vengeance is all well and good, I suppose, and retribution has its place, but not to be even slightly ambivalent about the suicide of his wife (even if she did shoot him and leave him for dead) leaves this reader with no choice but to conclude he has no emotions whatsoever, and such a soul-dead protagonist is of limited interest. Anti-heros are at their best when they are complicated, conflicted and are capable of deep feeling. A quick afternoon read. No more.

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  • Posted October 5, 2011

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    9780446618120 9780446602624 9780446610742 9780547791098 12569674141

    The Hunter

    Parker is a lot like actors such as Clint Eastwood, Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, etc. The only difference is that all of these actors look like pussycats next to Parker. Parker is mean, violent, has few redeeming qualities morally, and he's one of the greatest characters in all of fiction. The Hunter, by Richard Parker (alias for Donald Westlake) is the novel to introduce Parker, a professional thief. As far as plot goes, all you must know is that Parker is out on revenge. Just follow along and enjoy the ride. This has turned out to be one of my favorite novels ever. Stark is an amazing writer, great prose, dialogue, and generally, he's just an amazing story-teller. There are 24 books in the Parker series and I cannot wait to read all of them.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 1, 2011

    Highly Recommended

    A Must Read

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted December 24, 2010

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted August 8, 2010

    A Wonderful Discovery

    I loved this book, my first Parker read. What a great character Parker is, totally tough, pretty smart and mostly amoral. A solo criminal sets out to settle scores and does so, just like that. No hand wringing, no tears, not a surplus word. If Elmore Leonard's heroes were bad guys instead of good guys, it would have been something like this. I can't wait to read the next in the series.

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  • Posted January 2, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    The Hunter

    With two movie adaptations, a person would think I'd have heard of the Parker series sooner. I'm ashamed to say I had not. This is vintage crime writing at its best: from the criminal's p.o.v. Parker is not a nice man. He's not even a remotely decent human being and yet somehow we still end up cheering for him. If you're a fan of raw-knuckled, woman slapping (but not in the domestic abuse way, I just wanted to clarify), cop kicking old fashioned crime fiction, then pick up a Parker novel.

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  • Posted April 6, 2009

    A brilliant intoduction into the dark world of parker

    Originally published many years ago the first of the parker series is a brilliant introduction to the amoral and violent world of a profesional criminal.Donald westlake writing as starck is a revelation and an original

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