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 Brink's 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 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. This season's offerings include volumes 4-6 in the series: "The Mourner", "The Score", and "The Jugger". "The Mourner" is a story of convergence - of cultures and of guys with guns. Hot on the trail of a statue stolen from a fifteenth-century French tomb, Parker enters a world of eccentric art collectors, greedy foreign officials, and shady KGB agents.

About the Author
Richard Stark is one of the many pseudonyms of Donald E. Westlake, 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.

Reviews
"The Parkers read with the speed of pulp while unfolding with an almost Nabokovian wit and flair.... Original editions of these books, and even later reprints, change hands for scores or hundreds of dollars on the Net, and it's excellent to have them readily available again - not so much masterpieces of the genre, just masterpieces, period." - Richard Rayner, Los Angeles Times "Parker is refreshingly amoral, a thief who always gets away with the swag." - Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly "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 "Whatever Stark writes, I read. He's a stylist, a pro, and I thoroughly enjoy his attitude." - Elmore Leonard "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 "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"



Book Information
ISBN 9780226771038
Author Richard Stark
Format Paperback
Page Count 232
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 284g
Dimensions(mm) 21mm * 13mm * 1mm