my third post-hiatus parker book. and it's good. a tightly plotted story involving three breakouts:1. parker assembles a string in prison to break the hell out before they're transferred to high-security. 2. parker and crew have gotta break out of an armory once their entry/exit tunnel has collapsed. 3. parker and mackay have gotta use legal maneuvering and intimidation to break brenda out of a police holding tank. and i particularly love the final few pages as parker hitches a ride with a middle-aged truck-driving couple. but i don't love any of these books the way i love the original sixteen pre-hiatus parker books. i suppose part of it's gotta do with the times. parker just ain't a man of the 90's or 00's, y'know? imagine don draper on the view? cary grant on twitter? naw, can't happen. so there's a part of me that was kinda hoping that the post-hiatus books would touch on exactly that: what happens to a 'man of his time' as time passes him by?well, in a sense, stark answers the question by not answering it: some people change and others just wither up and blow away... but parker. parker does what he's always done: he proceeds as the lone-wolf, existential anti-hero regardless if the prez is JFK or bush, the drug is LSD or X, or the enemy is the USSR or al-qaeda. parker is always and only parker and i guess that's the point... but my gut tells me there's a bit of a missed opportunity here. of course, the fault could lie in me. it's easy as hell to romanticize a time before one lived, all that bullshit hopped-up nostalgia is powerful stuff. consider this image of parker by darwyn cooke from his graphic novelization of the outfit:yeah, the danish mid-century furniture is cooler than its contemporary equivalent, the miami beach setting out the window conjures thoughts of hyman roth and tiki cocktails as opposed to drunk-on-red-bull-and-grey-goose ed-hardy-wearing douchebags, the very design of the image itself carries the whiff of noir and mystery and the threat of violence, and maybe a chiseled sociopath with a gun is easier to swallow if i know he's part of an older era... but, ah... what the shit do i know? lemme stop trying to understand why i love this stuff and just love it. (yeah, well, we know i can't really ever do that...)well, i've read 19 of these things. 5 more to go. what happens after that?
3 ½ stars. This book is more about Parker reacting to things instead of planning.A couple parts were slow, but several parts had good tension. Parker has to breakout of two different places: he’s in jail and then he can’t get out of an armory. Then he has to break someone else out of jail. I liked his mental process, what he does, what he plans, and his actions when on the run. It’s fun being in Parker’s mind.THE SERIES:This is book 21 in the 24 book series. These stories are about bad guys. They rob. They kill. They’re smart. Most don’t go to jail. Parker is the main bad guy, a brilliant strategist. He partners with different guys for different jobs in each book.If you are new to the series, I suggest reading the first three and then choose among the rest. A few should be read in order since characters continue in a sequel fashion. Those are listed below (with my star ratings). The rest can be read as stand alones.The first three books in order:tttttttt4 stars. The Hunter (Point Blank movie with Lee Marvin 1967) (Payback movie with Mel Gibson)3 ½ stars. The Man with the Getaway Face (The Steel Hit)4 stars. The Outfit.Read these two in order:5 stars. Slayground (Bk #14)5 stars. Butcher’s Moon (Bk #16)Read these four in order:4 ½ stars. The Sour Lemon Score (Bk #12)2 ½ stars. Firebreak (Bk #20)(not read) Nobody Runs Forever (Bk #22)2 ½ stars. Dirty Money (Bk #24)Others that I gave 4 or more stars to:The Jugger (Bk #6), The Seventh (Bk#7), The Handle (Bk #8), Deadly Edge (Bk#13), Flashfire (Bk#19)DATA:Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 298 pages. Swearing language: strong including religious swear words but rarely used. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: one. Setting: around 2002 midwest U.S. Copyright: 2002. Genre: noir crime fiction.
What do You think about Breakout (2002)?
No matter what he uses as the author's name/persona, Westlake always delivers a delightful reading experience. His plots are tight, coherent, fast-paced and interesting. The prose flows along so smoothly that you don't even notice the craftsmanship. There are always interesting characters. Parker is fascinating, of course. Logical, decisive, understands how people think and act just a little better than others do. Never kills if it can be avoided, never hesitates if it can't. Most of the way through, there is A Major Occurrence as they are leaving a place. Parker's reaction to it is perfect for explaining his utterly pragmatic character.For a really great Westlake experience, read a Stark/Parker novel then try one of the Dortmunder series he wrote as Westlake.
—Tim Hicks
I was surprised at how quickly things happened. Parker is arrested in the first chapter. Wow! That was quick! So now the whole book is going to be about him escaping. But no! He was already out by the end of part one. Part two is about the job, the planning and breaking in. I found it hard to believe that security would miss such a big hole in the back, but I went along with it. Obviously they were going to breakout of the armory as well. That was part three, which I had a hard time visualizing, and honestly it felt a bit boring, almost as if I were reading about construction workers. The seeds were planted for Brenda's arrest, so that's what part four is about. I liked this part because it didn't involve violence and they managed to break Brenda out peacefully, almost like diplomats just reasoning with the cheating couple. I also liked Det Turley, he seemed smart enough to not look like a fool against Parker. But after Parker dumped Turley, I thought the book should have ended. I didn't see the point of the truck drivers. Overall it's another good Parker book, but not great. No matter what, I just love the structure of these books: four distinct parts, each divided into further chapters representing scenes. It feels like it should be easy to adapt into a screenplay.
—John
I first heard about this book during an Ed Brubaker interview. The premise is pretty awesome... Parker is in heist that goes wrong and then ends up getting caught by the cops. Now he has to break out, of prison!Anyway... despite the awesome premise, this book ended up being a bit lackluster. This is the first time I have read a Stark book that seemed to, lack any suspense. Obviously once you've read a few Parker books you stop worrying about what is going to happen to Parker, and the story ends up either being about some crazy heist or about the people who are effected by his job. This book seemed more character driven, except all the characters were boring. I can't even remember them.
—Brian
