Backflash

Notes

Donald Westlake wrote Backflash under the name Richard Stark.

His professional thief Parker is ruthless and efficient.  Clear, sharp, emotionless and straight to the point, Parker is the man the rest of us wish to be. He is the ultimate antihero and a far cry from Westlake’s other protagonist, Dortmunder.

Richard Stark is Westlake writing at his best.

Publisher’s Synopsis

Steel-nerved master thief Parker has his eyes on a fat prize. The prize, a slow stuffed with money – a gambling casino on the Hudson River. It is not in Parker’s nature to gamble, so he leaves nothing to chance. From the phony politician to the getaway boat, from bringing guns on board to getting the money off, Parker has it all planned. There are only a few problems…

The guy who tipped off Parker is a bureaucrat with a moral streak; the guy who’s steering the getaway boat has unsavory friends with plenty of guns; and a reporter on the casino has enough sense to know that something isn’t quite right. Suddenly, Parker’s surefire plan is blowing up like fireworks on the Fourth-only these blow-ups kill people. With his luck going south, and no one left to trust but himself, Parkers must do what he does best: punch, claw, and kill his way out of the night.

Read a full review of Backflash by Richard Stark at Mystery People