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A review by saareman
Butcher's Moon by Richard Stark
4.0
Parker and the Crime Spree
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (January, 2013) of the Random House hardcover (1974)
Richard Stark was one of the many pseudonyms of the prolific crime author [a:Donald E. Westlake|30953|Donald E. Westlake|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1336863543p2/30953.jpg] (1933-2008), who wrote over 100 books. The Stark pseudonym was used primarily for the Parker novels, an antihero criminal who is usually betrayed or ensnared in some manner and who spends each book getting revenge or escaping the circumstances.
Butcher's Moon finds Parker returning to the town of the scene of the crime in [b:Slayground|447175|Slayground (Parker, #14)|Richard Stark|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1174855051l/447175._SY75_.jpg|3854] (Parker #14 - 1971) in order to retrieve the lost loot from that heist which he had to abandon in his escape. He believes that it is the local mob that has collected his score. They in turn are understandably reluctant to reimburse Parker for his losses. The master heister then proceeds to unleash a horde of his cronies to rob all of the mob's front operations while insisting those scores are just interest on the outstanding debt. The truth of the original lost score is gradually revealed.
Butcher's Moon was the culmination of the first arc of Parker stories from 1962 to 1974, after which Richard Stark retired the character for 25 years until [b:Comeback|619717|Comeback (Parker, #17)|Richard Stark|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392091190l/619717._SY75_.jpg|3846] (Parker #17 - 1997).
Narrator Joe Barrett does a good job in all voices in this audiobook edition.
I had never previously read the Stark/Parker novels but became curious when they came up in my recent reading of [b:The Writer's Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives|49203398|The Writer's Library The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives|Nancy Pearl|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1588038545l/49203398._SX50_.jpg|73236167] (Sept. 2020) by Nancy Pearl & Jeff Schwager. Here is a (perhaps surprising) excerpt from their discussion with [a:Amor Towles|4536964|Amor Towles|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1472937967p2/4536964.jpg]:
The 24 Parker books are almost all available for free on Audible Plus, except for #21 & #22 which aren't available at all.
Trivia and Links
There is a brief plot summary of Butcher's Moon and of all the Parker books and adaptations at The Violent World of Parker website.
Unlike many of the 2010-2013 Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook editions which share the same cover art as the University of Chicago Press 2009-2011 reprints, this audiobook DOES include the Foreword by author [a:Lawrence Block|17613|Lawrence Block|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1498734428p2/17613.jpg].
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (January, 2013) of the Random House hardcover (1974)
Richard Stark was one of the many pseudonyms of the prolific crime author [a:Donald E. Westlake|30953|Donald E. Westlake|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1336863543p2/30953.jpg] (1933-2008), who wrote over 100 books. The Stark pseudonym was used primarily for the Parker novels, an antihero criminal who is usually betrayed or ensnared in some manner and who spends each book getting revenge or escaping the circumstances.
Butcher's Moon finds Parker returning to the town of the scene of the crime in [b:Slayground|447175|Slayground (Parker, #14)|Richard Stark|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1174855051l/447175._SY75_.jpg|3854] (Parker #14 - 1971) in order to retrieve the lost loot from that heist which he had to abandon in his escape. He believes that it is the local mob that has collected his score. They in turn are understandably reluctant to reimburse Parker for his losses. The master heister then proceeds to unleash a horde of his cronies to rob all of the mob's front operations while insisting those scores are just interest on the outstanding debt. The truth of the original lost score is gradually revealed.
Butcher's Moon was the culmination of the first arc of Parker stories from 1962 to 1974, after which Richard Stark retired the character for 25 years until [b:Comeback|619717|Comeback (Parker, #17)|Richard Stark|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392091190l/619717._SY75_.jpg|3846] (Parker #17 - 1997).
Narrator Joe Barrett does a good job in all voices in this audiobook edition.
I had never previously read the Stark/Parker novels but became curious when they came up in my recent reading of [b:The Writer's Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives|49203398|The Writer's Library The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives|Nancy Pearl|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1588038545l/49203398._SX50_.jpg|73236167] (Sept. 2020) by Nancy Pearl & Jeff Schwager. Here is a (perhaps surprising) excerpt from their discussion with [a:Amor Towles|4536964|Amor Towles|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1472937967p2/4536964.jpg]:
Nancy: Do you read Lee Child?
Amor: I know Lee. I had never read his books until I met him, but now I read them whenever they come out. I think some of the decisions he makes are ingenious.
Jeff: Have you read the Parker books by Donald Westlake [writing as Richard Stark]?
Amor: I think the Parker books are an extraordinary series.
Jeff: They feel like a big influence on Reacher, right down to the name. Both Reacher and Parker have a singular focus on the task in front of them.
Amor: But Parker is amoral. Reacher is just dangerous.
Jeff: Right. Reacher doesn't have a conventional morality, but he has his own morality. Parker will do anything he has to do to achieve his goal.
Amor: But to your point, Westlake's staccato style with its great twists at the end of the paragraphs, and his mesmerizing central character - these attributes are clearly shared by the Reacher books.
The 24 Parker books are almost all available for free on Audible Plus, except for #21 & #22 which aren't available at all.
Trivia and Links
There is a brief plot summary of Butcher's Moon and of all the Parker books and adaptations at The Violent World of Parker website.
Unlike many of the 2010-2013 Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook editions which share the same cover art as the University of Chicago Press 2009-2011 reprints, this audiobook DOES include the Foreword by author [a:Lawrence Block|17613|Lawrence Block|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1498734428p2/17613.jpg].