This is the second Parker novel that I have read. The first was “The Man with the Getaway Face” (the second in the series) and now I have read on of the last (written in 2001). Apparently a lot has gone on in Mr. Parker’s life since that prior book.As I began reading this one I thought that the author had completely worked over the concept of the character, not just “adjusted” him over the decades. After all, the book starts out in a thoroughly domestic scene: Parker is at home, on a quiet lake (in a “resort” town), with his wife. Wife? WIFE?? WIFE??? This is the man who unhesitatingly kills those who double-cross him or may be just thinking of doing so? Talk about “culture shock”.But in the next few pages, the action ramps up: Parker finds and eliminates an assassin. That begins one major plot twist. Then we begin to enter the main plot (begun by having the phone ring while Parker is performing his assassin-removal magic). From that point on the novel reads like it belongs to the same series as the earlier one, but things have changed. There is a slower “feel” to this story.While the pacing is still crisp and the action plentiful, there are more details and material that occurs in the story. I don’t want to use the word, nor do I think of it as “filler”. It isn’t (although I won't argue the point if someone who has read more of the series feels passionately about his.) Instead think of it as a maturation of the way we interact with Parker and his associates. The edges are a little less rough-hewn. There are occasional touches of domestication and civility.For example, he visits his wife in the story in a very reasonable and useful way (she has gone to New York while there is till danger at home). Later on, he treats fallible characters with a degree of equanimity that I did not see in the previous book. I’m not saying that Parker trusts anyone more. Nor could it be called “compassion”. Rather, he has a certain understanding of human nature and when possible gives people an even break. When I read “The Man with the Getaway Face” I believed that Parker would have just eliminated any of these characters in order to prevent his own potential capture or death.I will say that the book takes a long time to arrive at the actual heist. It didn't feel that wrong to me (again I only have two books to compare so far) as the intervening pages develop the second plot and characters associated with both.While the writing and Parker’s personality have grown or evolved, he does not seem to have aged much, if at all. He had sufficient experience in the second book that he had to have been in his thirties and here he is still in excellent physical shape. Perhaps he has aged in the manner of Jack Palance or Jack LaLanne? Jack Palance could have pulled off Parker’s dark and menacing presence with ease even in his 70s. (Jack LaLanne never menaced anyone in his life that I am aware of, but he could tow freighters in a harbor by holding a rope in his teeth!) But we never know as there are no hard facts about this.I’m not sure why I chose to read at almost the extreme ends of this series. I know how it happened, though. I got the first because of good reviews and comments about the Parker books here on goodreads. I grabbed this book on impulse from a shelf in the library (obviously not checking the date of publication). So, now I have a few questions about how, when & where he met Claire. And what capers has he been involved in over the 30-odd years that I've missed. But that’s a good thing because this book, like the other, is a quick and rewarding read. Now I have a ready-made list of things I want to read and if you like American-style crime/mystery/action books, then this series is for you, too.
Parker hooks up with some other criminals to steal art from an internet millionaire's hunting lodge. But can Parker and the gang complete the heist with someone sending hitmen to kill Parker?I loved the beginning of Firebreak. Parker's in the process of killing a man sent to kill him and makes Claire answer the phone. As for the rest of it...?Like most of the Parker books released after Butcher's Moon, Firebreak seemed really padded. While I liked the idea of some people Parker shouldn't have left alive gunning for him, the whole art heist part of the plot seemed excessively complex and not like something Parker would have gotten involved with or stayed involved with as complication after complication arose. It took forever to get to the actual heist.Another thing I don't like is that Parker didn't do away with Larry Lloyd at the first sign of trouble. The Parker of the first ten or fifteen books would have put a bullet in Lloyd at the first sign of trouble. Is it just me or does Parker seem a little soft in the post Butcher's Moon books?That being said, Parker still does what he does best in Firebreak. If you liked the rest of the Parker books, you'll like this one. Just don't expect the magic of the pre-Butcher's Moon era.
What do You think about Firebreak (2002)?
#20 in the Parker series. This is a caper novel that enjoyably moves along in an unstoppable roller coaster towards what could be a disastrous crash.Parker gets a call from associates who have a line on a billionaire's illegally obtained art collection. Before Parker can join them to case the hunting lodge in the Pacific Northwest, he needs to dispose of the body in his garage, an assassin hired by one of Parker's many enemies. The art job requires a technogeek to crack the sophisticated security system, and Parker starts hearing warning bells when he learns that Larry Lloyd, under electronic surveillance after serving time, has agreed to do the job. A federal agent specializing in art theft also becomes suspicious of the billionaire.
—Ed
This book starts with the protagonist, Parker, strangling a man in a garage when he gets a telephone call. That's the first line and it's a good one. Unfortunately, the rest of the book isn't as great. The writing is delightfully spare, but probably too much so. I didn't care a jot about any of the characters. Parker is a pretty cardboard crook. The plotting also leads a lot to be desired. The beginning has far too many telephone calls designed purely to maintain reader tension. There's lots of 'I've got a job for you, but I won't tell you about it until the first Friday in March when you need to stand in a telephone box facing east at which point I'll give you some more vague instructions so you can wander about for another chapter looking suspicious'. Once Parker gets hired to rob a millionaire of paintings, the plot takes off, but swiftly hits rocky ground again. Towards the end, the book switches point-of-view rapidly and gets very confusing.
—Vivienne
Parker and his crew have quite a few job-related fires to put out in the twentieth Parker novel. One of those metaphorical fires are two ex-heistmates who may or may not have something to do with a hit that's been put out on Parker (mayhem- and rape-inclined Matt Rosenstein and his partner Paul Brock, from The Sour Lemon Score). Then there's the uncertainty surrounding one of Parker's heistmates, an amateur and socially awkward hacker named Larry Lloyd. Add to this volatile situation a lot of cops and a high-pressure time window that's been placed on this Montana job, and you have another thrilling, fast-paced, cut-to-it and briefly disturbing book in this influential, lean-prosed and often edgy crime series.Of course, it wouldn't be a Parker novel without at least one Parker confederate in the mix. This time, his confederates are Frank Elkins and Ralph Wiss, last seen in Butcher's Moon.Like all the Parker novels I have read thus far, Firebreak is worth owning. Followed by Breakout.(This review originally appeared on the Reading & Writing By Pub Light site.)
—Steve Isaak
