When a fresh faced guy in a Chevy offered him a lift, Parker told him to go to hell.  The guy said, "Screw you, buddy," yanked his Chevy back into the stream of traffic, and roared on down to the tollbooths.  Parker spat in the right-hand lane, lit his last cigarette, and walked across the George Washington Bridge.

You've heard of the hero and the anti-hero...how about the non-hero?   That's how Parker, the main character in a series of novels by Richard Stark (AKA Donald E. Westlake) has been described, and it's a perfect description.  Parker is a thief, but he's no charming cat burglar who playfully eludes the silly authorities.  He's a ruthless thug who does whatever it takes to get what he wants (usually money), and he doesn't care about a living soul other than himself.  Some of the things he does will be repellant (I hope) to readers. 

So why read the stuff?  Because Stark is an excellent writer and the Parker books are exciting and thought provoking.  Like all great crime fiction, the Parker novels give readers not just the story of a crime, but also a detailed look at the inner workings of a fascinating and original character.  These novels are very hard to put down--don't read them before bed or you may find yourself staying up later than intended.

For further remarks on who Parker is and why so many normal and stable human beings love to read his exploits, see my remarks on the first book of the series, The Hunter.

The Parker Novels:

The table below lists all of the Parker novels published to date.  Each page contains cover scans as well as a brief write-up on the novel and its place within the series.  I am also (very) slowly adding detailed synopses of the novels.      

Not Quite Parker--Pictures:  Films that bear a striking resemblance, but no official relationship, to the Parker novels.

Not Quite Parker--Print: Pastiches, homages, references, and rip-offs.

Disclaimer:  As is usual for fan sites, I don't have permission for much of this material, which is copyright whoever owns the copyright.  No one will lose any money over the stuff posted on this site (for example, I have posted introductions to out-of-print Gregg Press editions, but not the in-print Warner edition of The Hunter because someone might theoretically buy the book just to get the introduction).  In fact, I am doing my best to promote the sale of all in-print Parker-related items.  If you are a copyright holder and object to anything you see here, please contact me and I will remove the offending material.