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Richard Stark
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Ask the Parrot: A Parker Novel (The Parker Novels) Kindle Edition

by Richard Stark (Author), Duane Swierczynski (Foreword) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars 251 ratings
The coldblooded criminal known as Parker tries, and fails, to stay under the radar in rural New England: “Nobody does the noir thriller better than Stark.” —San Diego Union-Tribune

In Ask the Parrot, the followup to Nobody Runs Forever, ruthless thief Parker is back on the run, dodging dogs, cops, and even a helicopter. His escape brings him to rural Massachusetts, where he is forced to work with a small-town recluse nursing a grudge against the racetrack that fired him. Even in hiding, Parker manages to get up to no good. It’ll be a deadly day at the races . . .

“Richard Stark’s Parker crime novels are the ultimate page-turners.” —Jonathan Ames, The Boston Globe

“Parker is a blunt instrument of a human being.” —John Hodgman, Parade

“Often funny, laced with Stark’s brutally morbid humor . . . fast-moving, tense scenes that drip with potential violence before, inevitably, exploding into actual violence.” —Christopher Bahn, AV Club
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  1. Book 23 of 24
    Parker Novels
  2. Print length
    290 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    The University of Chicago Press
  5. Publication date
    September 8, 2017
  6. File size
    704 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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There are 24 books in this series.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Nobody does the noir thriller better than Stark. His lean style and hard-edged characters . . . provide a welcome return to the hard-bitten days of yore.” ― San Diego Union-Tribune

“Read Ask the Parrot and find out why Stark is the kind of writer who, whatever else you’re reading, you stop dead and read his latest.” ― Independent on Sunday

"Richard Stark’s Parker crime novels are the ultimate page-turners." -- Jonathan Ames ― The Boston Globe

“Stark will paste grins on the faces of readers who dared give the hardcase heist man up for caught.” ― Booklist

“Do you like your crime fiction pared to the bone, with never a wasted word? Are you addicted to narratives that move with bullet-speed velocity, in which every action is fraught with reined in menace? Then Stark is undoubtedly your man.” ― Daily Express

Classic Stark, the grandmaster of crime fiction. . . . As lean, hungry, and tightly plotted as ever. . . . Superior entertainment.” ― Daily Mirror

“Fiercely distracting . . . . Westlake is an expert plotter; and while Parker is a blunt instrument of a human being depicted in rudimentary short grunts of sentences, his take on other characters reveals a writer of great humor and human understanding.” -- John Hodgman ― "Parade"

“One of the darkest and best-loved names in all of noir. . . . Parker is truly frightening because he is so horribly familiar: callous, unable to feel guilt for his actions, completely lacking in empathy, and incapable of learning from his own bitter experience, he is a kind of degenerate Everyman, the pulp-fiction counterpart of Philip Roth’s morally crippled and contaminated heroes. . . . The plot is classic Westlake deadpan rhapsody, a vision of endless roads and featureless towns, landscapes and people unravelling. . . . My guess is that Westlake won’t be remembered for his good humour—who is? He may not be remembered as Donald Westlake at all. My guess is he’ll be remembered for the deep blankness of Richard Stark.” -- Ian Sansom ― Guardian

“Parker is one sniff ahead of the bloodhounds. . . . Stark, Westlake’s more menacing alter ego, flaunts his usual wizardry as unobtrusively as if he were ordering from a fast-food menu. The plot is minimalist, the technique superb.” ― Kirkus Reviews

“Like a great white shark that leaves a trail of blood which excites smaller sharks, Parker inspires criminal behavior in the average citizens around him. . . . Parrot is well up to the usual Stark standard. Unusually for the series, it’s often funny, laced with Stark’s brutally morbid humor rather than Westlake’s wry ironies. And as always, Westlake is a master of lean, hardboiled prose and fast-moving, tense scenes that drip with potential violence before, inevitably, exploding into actual violence.” ― AV Club

“Why do readers love this heartless bad guy? Because he's so damn good at what he does.” ― Publishers Weekly

“Involving. . . . The closest Parker’s come to an act of mercy in his entire bullet-ridden career. As for what happens to the parrot—don’t ask. Our beak is sealed.” -- James Wolcott ― New York Times

About the Author

Richard Stark was one of the many pseudonyms of Donald E. Westlake (1933–2008), a prolific author of crime fiction. In 1993, the Mystery Writers of America bestowed the society’s highest honor on Westlake, naming him a Grand Master. For a Parker character guide and infographics, visit Fifty Years of Parker, http://parkerseries.uchicago.edu/.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B074L1QGN9
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The University of Chicago Press; Reprint edition (September 8, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 8, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 704 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 290 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 251 ratings

About the author

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Richard Stark

Richard Stark

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Donald Edwin Westlake (July 12, 1933 – December 31, 2008) was an American writer, with over a hundred novels and non-fiction books to his credit. He specialized in crime fiction, especially comic capers, with an occasional foray into science fiction or other genres. He was a three-time Edgar Award winner, one of only three writers (the others are Joe Gores and William L. DeAndrea) to win Edgars in three different categories (1968, Best Novel, God Save the Mark; 1990, Best Short Story, "Too Many Crooks"; 1991, Best Motion Picture Screenplay, The Grifters). In 1993, the Mystery Writers of America named Westlake a Grand Master, the highest honor bestowed by the society.

Richard Stark: Westlake's best-known continuing pseudonym was that of Richard Stark. Stark debuted in 1959, with a story in Mystery Digest. Four other Stark short stories followed through 1961, including "The Curious Facts Preceding My Execution", later the title story in Westlake's first short-story collection. Then, from 1962 to 1974, sixteen novels about the relentless and remorseless professional thief Parker and his accomplices (including larcenous actor Alan Grofield) appeared and were credited to Richard Stark. "Stark" was then inactive until 1997, when Westlake once again began writing and publishing Parker novels under Stark's name. The University of Chicago began republishing the Richard Stark novels in 2008. When Stephen King wrote the novel The Dark Half in 1989, he named the central villain George Stark as an homage to Westlake.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Jean-Marie David [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
251 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Cosimo de Medici
    5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Parker!!!!
    Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    Unlike many of the earlier Parker novels the author develops the taciturn protagonist Parker's supporting characters to a depth not usually seen in this series. I have rated Stark's "Butcher's Moon" very highly, describing it as "the best", but that was before reading "Ask the Parrot".
    This is of course a Parker "heist caper", but the author takes us into the psychology of the greedy fools who hope to glom onto Parker's skills as a thief, and who, not surprisingly, fall on their faces in making the effort, while Parker, cool and aloof, surpasses a minefield of risk and snafus to skate with his money.
    More than any other Parker novel, this one has a thoroughly developed and extended (but completely plausible) plot that will keep you laughing. This novel begs development as a Joel and Ethan Coen screenplay and movie - it is that good.
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  • Lloyd McDaniel
    4.0 out of 5 stars My first 'Parker' book but not my last.
    Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2018
    My first 'Parker' book but not my last.
    I loved the pacing the simplicity without being simple and the casual but professional way that Westlake run his man.
    These were recommended by a friend, I owe her one!
    2 people found this helpful
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  • S. Simp
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great.
    Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    All of the Parker series books are great!
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  • S. Kaplan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Parker is always a Great Read!
    Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2023
    As always Stark(Westlake) writes a terrific book where the Caper is secondary to the story. Parker’s morals, or lack of them,are second to what he needs. Always a great read!!
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  • MIke
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2020
    Not boring.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Kindle Customer
    3.0 out of 5 stars Parker's looking for a way out
    Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    I didn't enjoy this book as much as the previous one, because of the other characters and dialogue. This is a continuation of the last book so if you're a Parker fan you'll want to read it to see if Parker gets away with his pockets full or empty.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Kindle Customer
    1.0 out of 5 stars One Star
    Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Boring.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • t macdonald
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 16, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    An other great Parker novel leads on from Breakout, sad just one more to read.
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  • Moe Sasseville
    4.0 out of 5 stars Parker's the same...it's the world that's changed
    Reviewed in Canada on May 21, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This is the middle part of a trilogy feature a character that's essentially unchanged in a world that's very different than the one he was "born into". Parker has been a juggernaut of crime since the early 1960's, pulling off phenomenal heists and murdering anyone who gets in his way.

    Parker's life is a lot more complicated now...while the character hasn't aged physically or slowed down at all...the world is a significantly more complicated place. Modern surveillance and instant communication makes getting away more difficult, and even if he does get away; he's likely to get scooped up without valid ID.

    In short, it's a tough time for Parker, and while he's still as mercilessly competent as ever...he's also a little desperate for good jobs...which also made him a little sloppy. The story starts with Parker in a new situation...the law is on his trail and he's hours away from life in prison...It's an unusual setting for the ever composed and professional Parker...even in his debut novel where he's shot, left for dead and a penniless drifter by the time the novel starts, he's never been so vulnerable.

    It's an interesting twist on the Parker stories, which reflects an interesting evolution for the character...who is grappling with a world that's left professional criminals like him behind. It's among the most interesting character studies of the series...even though among my least favorites in terms of the heist and Parker's own particular place in the world.

    This book is not in any way a standalone adventure, previous Parker novels, even those who were part of greater narratives could be read independently, but this novel doesn't stand up on its own.

    As a mid-point in the series, it suffers from the typical issues of mid-points in planned triologies...it feels like it spends so much time wrapping up the first part, and setting up the next one that it lacks relevance on its own.

    A 2* on its own, but a solid 4* as a part of the whole. In a lot of ways this is a masterpiece of writing by Westlake that explores how the world changes around those it leaves behind...even when those people are the best at what they do. Parker and his methods have no place in today's world...and this book book is a great exploration of how the world can leave anyone behind.

    Highly recommended for Parker fans...
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