The Jugger (Parker Series #6)

by Richard Stark, John Banville (Foreword by)

Overview

An action-packed crime novel starring Parker, the heister starring in the forthcoming Shane Black film Play Dirty!

Richard Stark's Parker novels are the hardest of hard-boiled, classic crime novels where the heists are huge, the body counts are high, and the bad guys usually win. 

The Parker novels have been a huge influence on countless writers and filmmakers, including Quentin Tarantino, Stephen King, George Pelecanos, Colson Whitehead, Lucy Sante, John Banville, and many more. Their stripped-down language and hard-as-nails amorality create an unforgettable world where the next score could be the big one, but your next mistake could also be your last. There's nothing else like them.

They say the past always catches up to you—but if he can help it, Parker won’t let his. In The Jugger, an old contact who could blow Parker’s cover tells Parker he’s in trouble — then turns up dead. With Parker’s skeletons on the verge of escaping from their closet, he must put the pieces together—at any cost—before it’s too late.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780226771021
Publisher:	University of Chicago Press
Publication date:	04/15/2009
Series:	Parker Series , #6
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About 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.

Editorial Reviews

Fiercely distracting . . . . Westlake is an expert plotter; and while Parker is a blunt instrument of a human being depicted in rudimentary short grunts of sentences, his take on other characters reveals a writer of great humor and human understanding.

"Parade" - John Hodgman

"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."

Commentary - Terry Teachout

The Parker novels were very influential to [Reservoir Dogs].

Quentin Tarantino

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

Marilyn Stasio

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

Entertainment Weekly - Stephen King

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.

Bookforum - John Banville

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

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.”

New York Times - William Grimes

"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."

Vue Weekly - Josef Braun

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.”

Globe and Mail - H. J. Kirchoff

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 roman noirs.”

Anthony Boucher

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

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

"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."

New York Review of Books - Luc Sante

Perhaps this, more than anything else, is what I admire about these novels: the consistent ruthlessness of an unapologetic bastard.  And so 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.

Virginia Quarterly Review - John McNally

"Fiercely distracting . . . . Westlake is an expert plotter; and while Parker is a blunt instrument of a human being depicted in rudimentary short grunts of sentences, his take on other characters reveals a writer of great humor and human understanding."--John Hodgman ""Parade""

"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

"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"

"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"

"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"

"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"

"Parker is a true treasure. . . . The master thief is back, along with Richard Stark."
--Marilyn Stasio "New York Times Book Review"

"Parker is refreshingly amoral, a thief who always gets away with the swag."
--Stephen King "Entertainment Weekly"

"Perhaps this, more than anything else, is what I admire about these novels: the consistent ruthlessness of an unapologetic bastard. And so 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"

"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 roman noirs."
--Anthony Boucher "New York Times Book Review"

"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"

"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"

"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"

"Whatever Stark writes, I read. He's a stylist, a pro, and I thoroughly enjoy his attitude."
--Elmore Leonard

"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" (4/17/2009 12:00:00 AM)

From the Publisher

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

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

"Perhaps this, more than anything else, is what I admire about these novels: the consistent ruthlessness of an unapologetic bastard. And so 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

— John McNally

Virginia Quarterly Review

"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 (Canada)

— H. J. Kirchoff

Globe and Mail