The Hunter: A Parker Novel
Sep 2009 · University of Chicago Press
4.1star
46 reviewsreport
Ebook
208
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About this ebook
Where it all begins: The first book in the action-packed classic crime series that's the basis for the forthcoming 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.
The Hunter is where it all begin. It opens with Parker's woman shooting him just above the belt and leaving him for dead. She and his partner torch the house, with Parker in it, and take the money he had helped them steal. It all went down just the way they'd planned, except for one thing: Parker didn't die.
From there, our ruthless antihero roars into New York City, seeking revenge on the woman who betrayed him and on the man who took his money, stealing and scamming his way to redemption. The volume that kickstarted Parker's half-century career of larceny—and inspired the classic 1967 motion picture Point Blank, starring Lee Marvin—The Hunter is as thrilling today as it was when it was first published. Pick up your first Parker novel and you won't stop until you're read them all.
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.
The Hunter is where it all begin. It opens with Parker's woman shooting him just above the belt and leaving him for dead. She and his partner torch the house, with Parker in it, and take the money he had helped them steal. It all went down just the way they'd planned, except for one thing: Parker didn't die.
From there, our ruthless antihero roars into New York City, seeking revenge on the woman who betrayed him and on the man who took his money, stealing and scamming his way to redemption. The volume that kickstarted Parker's half-century career of larceny—and inspired the classic 1967 motion picture Point Blank, starring Lee Marvin—The Hunter is as thrilling today as it was when it was first published. Pick up your first Parker novel and you won't stop until you're read them all.
Ratings and reviews
4.1
46 reviews
Erik Rynberg
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June 26, 2017
Very tight writing with good time changes.nasty amoral but like tarrantino you pick the least worst character and at the end you're glad he/she survived and won. What does that say about oneself
1 person found this review helpful
Paul Kielty
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October 14, 2018
It's easy to see how the film got such flare and panache from but this book is, amazingly, cooler, tougher, smoother and far, far darker all at once whilst still remaining almost dangerously stylish... A fantastic and thrilling read, I read this one faster than any book I've read in years.
3 people found this review helpful
Brian Bishop
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March 24, 2016
Nothing about this book was gripping. The main character doesn't give any reason to root for him.
1 person found this review helpful
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.
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