Ask the Parrot, A Parker Novel by Richard Stark

Review by Theodore Feit 

 

Master criminal Parker encounters  more troubles in this follow-up to Nobody Runs Forever by Richard Stark, better known as Donald Westlake.  It seems that if anything can go wrong, it will.   The story opens with Parker trying to evade a wide search for him and two confederates following a bank heist in Massachusetts that went wrong.  Just as the dogs are about to find him, he is rescued by a man pointing a rifle at him, who takes Parker back to his house.

 

Then the fun begins.  Right off, his rescuer is visited by a neighbor to inform him that the State Troopers are asking everyone to join in the hunt for the fugitives.  So he and Parker join the posse.  One of their team members mistakenly shoots a harmless bum in the belief that he is one of the bank robbers, and Parker has to talk him out of giving himself up to the troopers (since Parker obviously would be exposed).

 

Later, Parker's rescuer tells him he is a whistleblower to whom nobody listened, was fired from his job at a local racetrack and knows how to get his hands on the weekend's take—a couple of hundred thousand dollars, if Parker would help him (the reason he rescued Parker).  Meanwhile twin brothers have come to the conclusion Parker is one of the bank robbers and would like him to share his ill-gotten wealth.  The only problems are that the loot was abandoned and the .serial numbers are known, even if the money were available.

 

The plot progresses and Parker and his rescuer, who is more interested in revenge than the money, undertake the caper—but not without several more mishaps.  The story is a lot of fun, and is a fast read.  Parker certainly is a different type of character than the usual protagonist.  After all, he is one of the bad guys.   Nevertheless, you can't help but liking him—he has principles.