DONALD WESTLAKE'S LAST NOVEL IMMINENT

Here's Charles Ardai, editor of Hard Case Crime with the low down:

In six weeks, we're going to publish Donald E. Westlake's unpublished novel, MEMORY.

Both Publishers Weekly and Booklist have given it starred reviews, calling it "a significant final work from a master" and "absolutely a must-read." MEMORY is one of the most important books we've ever had the privilege to publish.

Other news: We've added another forthcoming title to our Web site, QUARRY'S EX by Max Allan Collins -- you can see the cover art by Greg Manchess at www.HardCaseCrime.com. This will be our fourth novel about the enigmatic hitman and we're thrilled to bring him back.

On the "high adventure" side of the house, we're bringing two-fisted adventurer Gabriel Hunt back as well, for three more adventures, and the first of these -- HUNT BEYOND THE FROZEN FIRE, co-written by Christa Faust (author of the Edgar-nominated MONEY SHOT) -- will arrive in stores on the same day as MEMORY. In this one, Gabriel assembles a crack team to go down to Antarctica and bring back a scientist who's gone missing near the South Pole. Only what they find when they get there isn't nearly what they expect... For more info (and a glimpse at Glen Orbik's delicious cover painting), visit www.HuntForAdventure.com.

And as long as we're mixing genres, here's one more reading suggestion, and it's not even a book we published. When you're next in your favorite local bookstore, why not pick up a copy of WARRIORS, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois? It's a hefty collection featuring new novellas by 20 major authors, ranging from crime stories to epic fantasy to science fiction, all on the theme of warfare, broadly defined. The authors include Hard Case Crime's own Lawrence Block, as well as hardboiled masters Joe Lansdale and David Morrell. But my personal favorite author of the bunch is Naomi Novik, who is not only the New York Times-bestselling author of the TEMERAIRE series but also...my wife. The story she wrote for the book is a heart-stopping account of warfare on a distant planet, between a technologically advanced invading force and the desperate natives who use their connection to the biological world around them to fight back. If this premise sounds a wee bit familiar, I can only assure you that the story was written well over a year ago, before she (or I) had ever heard of AVATAR, never mind seen it. And having seen AVATAR since...I can also tell you that her story's better. (Yes, I'm biased.)

One last tidbit of news before I vanish for another month: We just bought our first title for 2011, and though I can't tell you the title yet, I can tell you this: it's by Christa Faust, it stars Angel Dare.

And if you don't know who Angel Dare is, all I can say is: Why haven't you read MONEY SHOT yet?

THE MAN WITH THE GETAWAY FACE - RICHARD STARK

The Man with the Getaway Face
Richard Stark
University of Chicago Press
$14.00

This is actually the second in Richard Stark AKA Donald Westlake's Parker series and starts off immediately after the first novel Hunter AKA Point Blank AKA Payback. I'd read The Hunter and several of the later novels, those written following Comeback which saw the return of Parker after a 20 year gap.

Stark's later stuff and versions of The Hunter, usually under the title of Point Blank, are readily available in the UK but anything between Hunter and Comeback is difficult to find. But fear not, it's over to the book buyers best friend, Amazon and a day after ordering the book comes through my letter box.

These are handsome editions from the Chicago University Press who have undertaken a programme that will see the return of all of the first run of Parker/Stark novels.

Here is a press release from the Chicago University

Press Release: Three Parker Novels by RICHARD STARK

According to the New York Times, Donald Westlake was “one of the most successful and versatile mystery writers in the United States,” with over 100 books to his name. The University of Chicago Press has embarked on a project to return the early volumes of his Parker series, written under the pseudonym Richard Stark, to print for a new generation of readers to discover—and become addicted to. These reprints will feature volumes 1-16 of the incredible series, through Butcher’s Moon.

Stark’s ruthless antihero is one of the most unforgettable characters in hardboiled noir. Lauded by critics for his taut realism, unapologetic amorality, and razor-sharp prose-style—and adored by fans who turn each intoxicating page with increasing urgency—Richard Stark is a master of crime writing, his books as influential as any in the genre.

Read the press release, and read this interview with the author.

Also see our complete list of books currently available in the series.

Pictured left is the original paperback edition of The Man with the Getaway Face and below that The Hunter, renamed Payback for a movie tie-in version of the Mel Gibson movie. The novel was also filmed as Payback with Lee Marvin in the title role. The name Parker was not used in either film though and in Payback Gibson was Porter and Lee Marvin was Walker in Point Blank. This was a proviso by the author - who didn't want the Parker name used unless films makers would remain faithful to the books. Not on the Payback novel the author is credited to Donald Westlake - a further attempt to distinguish the film from its source novels as all the Parkers are credited to Richard Stark.

Both are good films - Point Blank the better of the two - but neither come close to the sheer seductive brutality of the original novels.

The Man with the Getaway Face is, like The Hunter, an awesome book. Man, I'm addicted to the character and have to track down the other titles. I've already order the next two books in the series and will probably buy two a month till I've got the lot.

OK - so what did I think of TMWTGF? It was awesome - brilliant and every bit as good as The Hunter. Course I was more familiar with the character this time so I knew what to expect. But the story moved so well, Parker's seedy underworld so vividly drawn that I defy anyone to not keep turning the pages. Once started the reader is hooked.

Parker, after the problems with The Outfit, in Payback undertakes plastic surgery - carried out by a quality doctor called Ardler. After the operation Parker is handed a note that has come for him while he has been convalescing and immediately he's off on another job - this time to rob a pay truck. Problem is Parker's not happy with the way the job 's been worked out and he suspects a double cross from the woman who fingered the job in the first place.

I don't want to give too much detail away for fear of spoiling a tightly planned story with several twists but I will say that the character of Stubbs is so well realised that the man comes living and breathing from the page. But then Parker's entire world is vividly drawn and it feels just like the world outside your window only with an imperceptible tweak. It all seems so real and Parker, immoral, cold, has no endearing qualities, but all the same you'll love every second you spend with the old bastard.

If you've read any of the Parker books then you'll know what I am raving about but if you haven't and you enjoy hard-boiled crime fiction then you really need to try one of these books.

WHAT'S SO FUNNY - DONALD WESTLAKE

Donald Westlake
Quercus £7.99


This is the first Dortmunder I've ever read - you see the trouble with American writers who are not household names, not in the mega bestseller lists, is that a lot of us in other countries never get to hear of them. We certainly don't see them in most of our bookshops - the Internet is changing all that and genre specific sites can reach readers all over the Wild West Web. That's how I discovered Donald Westlake's other half - Richard Stark. When I read Point Blank (originally The Hunter) I was hooked. The character of Parker was an eye-opener for me, I'd never met anyone quite like this man in all fiction. I was then on a mission, I still am, to get all the Stark/Parker books.

I still avoided Dortmunder, though. I'd never seen the Robert Redford movie based on the character, nor in fact was I even aware of it. Shame on me.

I'd learned that Richard Stark was a name used by writer, Donald Westlake for a series of brutal crime novels, primarily about Parker but that the author also wrote equally entertaining crime novels under his real name, Donald Westlake. I read Hard Case Crime's Somebody Owes Me Money and enjoyed it but it was hardly in the same league as the brilliantly brutal, Parker. I became aware of Westlake' s Dortmunder series through various Internet sites and forums but for some reason I got the impression that the books, although highly praised, were out and out comedy crime novels.

Maybe it's the way they are marketed - look at the first cover image, this is a cool, subdued almost moody picture from the UK edition I finally picked up. But in contrast the original American cover looks like a tame crime caper, the type of thing you see in daytime detective series on the television. Not that there's anything wrong with daytime crime capers - hey, we've all got our thing.

However it was discovering that the first Dortmunder novel had actually started out as a Parker story led me to finally take the plunge. Dortmunder's first appearance was in 1970's, The Hot Rock. The story about the theft and loss and recovery and loss again of a precious gem wasn't working. The author realised the problem was Parker, then the main character, and that the story didn't suit his persona. And so Parker was rewritten into John Dortmunder. The character is like Parker in many ways but not so brutal. You could never imagine Dortmunder coldly killing someone who gets in his way and yet the universe he inhabits is very much the Parkerverse.

What's so Funny is actually the penultimate Dortmunder novel. It wasn't planned like that but the author, Donald Westlake sadly passed away after completing a further Dortmunder, Get Real. According to the WIKI there were a total of 14 Dortmunder novels - so one down, thirteen to go.

You see there's this ex-cop turned PI who holds some pretty incriminating evidence on Dortmunder and together with all his contacts still in the force, all linked together by this new internet thing, he makes it pretty clear that he has the power to send our hero, career thief John Dortmunder away for a very long time. That doesn't really appeal to Dortmunder but then nor does the alternative - a seemingly impossible scheme to steal a solid gold chess set from a vault beneath a Manhattan Bank.

Like the Parker books the dialogue is straight forward and direct - often hilarious it leaps from the page, each character having a distinct cadence. You instantly know which character is speaking from what they are saying and the way they are saying it. It's a talent that leaves me in awe of Mr. Westlake.

Dortmunder decides he has no choice but to play along with the ex-cop, knowing that the scheme is impossible. but figuring that the ex-cop will realise this in the end and, with no hard feelings, walk away from the plan. Hey, they tried right. However as the story goes on and more and more characters are sucked into the scheme it begins to look like they are going to try after all. However at about the half way point, the author pulls the rug out from under us and we realise that the scheme was, as initially thought, impossible. And that the Macguffin has no further use in the story, it's done its job, introduced us to characters and conflict - but wait a minute there are loose ends to tie up. And just when you think you've got the handle on the way things are going to go the author once again uses slight of hand to throw the reader into a quandary. The theft is going to happen after all, ...isn't it?

To say anything else about this book would be to risk spoilers and I'm not going to do that - if you haven't read it you are in for a treat - it is comical but the comedy comes naturally out of the characters and situations and above all it's suspenseful and John Dortmunder himself is a brilliant creation. I still prefer Parker but Dortmunder comes close and I'll certainly be reading the rest of the titles in the series. Maybe I'll alternate between Parker and Dortmunder and get the best of both worlds.

Donald Westlake WEBSITE

PAYBACK

I saw this movie a few years back and remember enjoying it but, in those days, I never knew anything about the Richard Stark/Parker book on which it was based. And then recently I read my first Parker - The Hunter and was so impressed that I wanted to see the movie again.

And so one Amazon order later the disc is spinning in my DVD player.

Okay it's still an enjoyable enough movie but after reading the book the flaws become visible. Firstly in this movie the Parker character is called Porter - I don't understand the reasoning behind the name change. And secondly although the character goes against Mel Gibson's "NICE GUY" image (or at least the image he used to have) it's still a watered down version of the remarkable character Richard Stark/Donald Westlake invented.

There are a few major plot changes too - although the reasoning for Porter/Parker's wife double crossing and shooting him is stronger than the book, the rest of the film, particularly the Hollywood ending, is much weaker.

Mel Gibson is fine in the role and does come across, for the most part, as the nasty lowlife of the books but as always the book is far inferior to the source material.

A good film then, very good in fact, but not exactly Richard Stark's Parker. In fact I think I liked it a lot more when I didn't have the book to compare it with.

The other film based on the book was Point Blank which again I haven't seen for years but I've got that movie on the way so expect a review here soon.

THE HUNTER AKA POINT BLANK AKA PAYBACK BY RICHARD STARK

Richard (Donald Westlake) Stark's Parker is a character I know by reputation and until now I had never read any of the books that people so rave about. Anyway I recently purchased the new Alison&Busby edition (which is not the one pictured) of Point Blank, originally titled The Hunter.

Now I kinda' knew what to expect from the book - I'd seen the both the Mel Gibson and Lee Marvin movies based on the book. I started reading it last night and I finished it after a second sitting about ten minutes ago.

All I can say is, wow!

"The funnies call it the syndicate. The goons and hustlers call it the Outfit. You call it the Organization..But I don't care if you call yourselves the Red Cross, you owe me forty-five thousand dollars and you'll pay me back whether you like it or not."

To say the character of Parker is relentless is something of an understatement - is there a nastier, more cruel anti-hero in all of fiction?

The Parker books are widely considered classics and any thoughts I have on the character are redundant but I will say I bloody loved the book and have just ordered two more Stark/Parkers.

Excellent stuff