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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780446178587
ISBN number: 0446178586
Label: Grand Central Publishing
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 288
Printing Date: April 23, 2008
Publishing house: Grand Central Publishing
Sale Popularity Level: 105287
Studio: Grand Central Publishing
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'[One] of the greatest writers of the twentieth century...Richard Stark, real name Donald Westlake...His Parker books form a genre all their own.'
--John Banville, Booker Prize-winning author of The Sea
Master criminal Parker takes another turn for the worse as he tries to recover loot from a heist gone terribly wrong. In Nobody Runs Forever, Parker and two cohorts stole the assets of a bank in transit, but the police heat was so great they could only escape if they left the money behind. In this follow-up novel, Parker and his associates plot to reclaim the loot, which they hid in the choir loft of an unused country church. As they implement the plan, people on both sides of the law use the forces at their command to stop Parker and grab the goods for themselves. Though Parker's new getaway van is an old Ford Econoline with 'Holy Redeemer Choir' on its doors, his gang is anything but holy, and Parker will do whatever it takes to redeem his prize, no matter who gets hurt in the process.
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Rated by buyers 
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"Dirty Money" is a continuation of "Nobody Runs Forever" with "Ask The Parrot" occurring between them. While it can be read as a stand-alone, there is at least one crucial scene that makes sense only if you know what happened in "Ask The Parrot."
"Dirty Money" refers to the marked or "poisoned money" that Parker and his associates stole in an armored car robbery in "Nobody Runs Forever." As that book concluded, the heat was getting so intense after the robbery that Parker and company were forced to hide the 2.2 million dollars in the loft of a rural abandoned church and escape as best they could. Now, barely a week later, Parker feels compelled to grab his partner, McWhitney, and try to recover the money before the cops find it or his other associate, Nick (who is now a cop killer) gets to it very first or uses its location as trade bait with the feds.
Add to this combustible mix Sandra Loscalzo, a bounty hunter, who has partially figured out Parker's dilemma and wants a cut of the dough, and several cops from the previously mentioned novels who are still nosing around. Even Parker's long time squeeze, Claire, is prominently featured in this installment.
The plot simply focuses on Parker's plan to surreptiously get the money out of the church in a community still teeming with cops, get it back home, and arrange for money laundering to trade dirty money for clean money--at a large discount. Along the way, he and his partners have to contend with confrontations with police, negotiations with a past adversary for money laundering, and bad guys out to steal their haul before they can launder it. Of course tension is ratcheted up by accidental run ins with police patrols, a desperate Nick, and a double cross or two.
I rated this book lower than I usually do for a Parker novel for several reasons. I thought the pacing and action was noticeably slower than usual in "Dirty Money." Although there was tension at times, I sensed that Parker was less malevolent, dare I say, more mellow in this installment than I have come to expect. It is a very quick read with Stark's (Donald E. Westlake) usual spare and efficient styling and I recommend it as very good entertainment.
Rated by buyers 
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Detailed yet fast-moving crime tale delivers the goods, satisfyingly and often violently wrapping up the loose ends from the last two "Parker" books, "Nobody Runs Forever" (which ends in a great cliff hanger) and "Ask the Parrot".
The "Parker" novels only reveal characters' traits and personalities through their responses to plot developments (there are no breaks in the plot to show what characters do during a quiet night at home, for instance), and this novel is no exception. Having said that, we do get a few new chords in the song this time out, to keep things interesting. For one thing, we get to see a lot more of Parker's girlfriend (or possibly wife, for all we know) Claire, who actually helps out with the caper in progress. And there's also an entertaining female bounty hunter, Sandra Loscalzo, who's part of the gang this time. Sandra's amusing banter (which even makes the stoic Parker crack a small smile from time to time) adds another layer to the book, but not to the point of softening the hardboiled nature of the proceedings (thankfully).
I did like the fact that Parker is actually allowed an outright laugh line this time out, positioned as the last line in the book, no less. But don't worry; though very funny, it's an edgy, noir-ish bit of humour very much in tone with the dark flavor of this excellent crime series.
Note to fellow Amazon Kindle users: The book reads excellently on the Kindle, which is also offering the previously mentioned "Nobody Runs Forever" and "Ask the Parrot". So you're all set to enjoy the entire three-book epic. And by the time you're finished, maybe a few other "Parker" novels will make their way onto Kindle (right now, "Firebreak" is the only other one available). But, really, you don't need to read these books in order. Even among the closely-related entries (like the ones covered in this review), you can just pick up any "Parker" book and start reading. It's just more fun to experience things as the main character does. If fun is the right word for a series where a happy ending is the crooks evading the cops and getting away with the cash.
Rated by buyers -
Parker--he of one name--spends his time in this novel correcting one snafu after another. If something can go wrong, it does, in keeping with his (and his partners') experience in the earlier novel, Nobody Runs Forever. In that adventure, they stole $2.5 million from a Massachusetts bank. There were only two problems: (1) They couldn't take the money with them and had to hide it nearby; and (2) the serial numbers were recorded and the money can't be spent--thus the title of this follow-up.
The plot is simple: how to escape capture, recover the money from the hiding place and convert it somehow to spendable cash. Each step along the way another impediment crops up for Parker to overcome. And he is inventive in each instance.
Fast reading and amusing, the novel progresses effortlessly. Like its predecessor, the writing is excellent and the tale smoothly told and underplayed. Highly recommended.
Rated by buyers -
This is the third in a series after Nobody Runs Forever and Ask the Parrot. Vintage Stark: lots of violence, clever moves and counter-moves. Always a pleasure to read.
Rated by buyers -
Westlake writing under his most successful pseudonym Richard Stark, wraps up the robbery readers have been left hanging out for closure for since they got to the last page in his novel Nobody Runs Forever. Ask the Parrot took up with Parker on the run from that previous novel but took readers on a good, but sidetrack storyline. We haven't gotten back to wrap up the story from Nobody Runs Forever until story timeline wise two years later and one novel later here with Dirty Money. I strongly recommend you purchase and read before at the very least Nobody Runs Forever to truly enjoy this adventure and more importantly not ruin the full enjoyment of this or that one by knowing what happens. Parts of Ask the Parrot's storyline are also mentioned so it is best to get that one as well and finish reading it before starting on Dirty Money. All other novels in the post Comeback novel modern era Parker adventures can be read in any order as standalone reads.
In Dirty Money, Parker learns that Nick, one of his partners from the armoured car robbery has been captured and subsequently escaped, killed a cop and is on the run. Parker knows how hard it will be to survive with an intense man hunt and having to use cash to keep from being tracked down so knows Nick will be tempted to take the stash they had all hidden away. He also knows if Nick is captured, the money is his only playing card so decides to recruit one of his former partners from that robbery, bar owner McWhitney to retrieve the loot. With a freshly killed cop though the remote area is once again a hot zone of roadblocks and police activity so Parker is going to need the help of Claire his girlfriend who's the only person he can truly trust. He's also going to need all his intelligence and criminal knowledge to pull this off and come out alive, especially since there are others who also want a cut of the bounty.
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