Review by Booklist Review
In Nobody Runs Forever (2004), Stark's intrepid thief Parker and two accomplices waylay a caravan of armored cars carrying a bank's entire cash assets. But a fast police response forces them to hide the money and hope to recover it later, when the heat dies down. The problems that plagued the heist continue in Dirty Money. One of the crooks is captured but escapes by killing a federal marshal, and Parker and his remaining accomplice, abetted by a female bounty hunter who deals herself in, must return to the scene of a crime crawling with local, state, and federal cops to recover the money before their former ally is recaptured and rats them out. Even worse, every serial number on the stolen bills is recorded, and if they succeed, they might net a dollar for every 10. Stark, aka Donald Westlake, seems to be drawing from his delightful criminal-caper-gone-wrong Dortmunder novels here, but the hard-edged Parker is as resolute and dangerous as ever, and the faithful will stand beside him through every step of this typically involved and entertaining novel.--Gaughan, Thomas Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Master thief Parker wraps up some unfinished business in this entertaining if relatively lackluster entry in this long-running crime series from the pseudonymous Stark (aka MWA Grand Master Donald Westlake). Lots went wrong after Parker and two partners robbed an armored car in rural Massachusetts of $2.2 million in 2004's Nobody Runs Forever. The money was "poisoned" (i.e., marked); one of his partners was captured before killing a marshal and escaping; and bounty-hunter Sandra Loscalzo wants to cut herself in on the take. The pragmatic, quick-thinking Parker must find a way to retrieve the stashed haul he and his confederates left in Massachusetts without getting caught by the law or nibbled to death by other crooks. Stark handles the criminal aspects of his tale with his usual panache, but some fans will find Parker's trademark sharp edge less in evidence this outing. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Parker, the world's most ruthless noir anti-hero, engineers a bank withdrawal. Parker is determined to collect the millions he transferred from an armored bank car into an abandoned Massachusetts church in Ask the Parrot (2006). The problem now? One of his cronies, Dalesia, wants the swag all for himself. Another, McWhitney, has made his own deal with a middleman to launder the money. And PI Sandra Loscalzo demands either a cut or the reward money offered on the gang. As usual, Parker tackles the problem by putting some serious mileage on his car, driving this time from Long Island to New England to New Jersey with a few spins on an auto ferry to boot. Forced to keep his friends close and his enemies closer, and to involve his gal pal Claire more than she'd like, Parker manages to outwit most everybody--and the ones he can't outwit, he kills. Stark, Donald E. Westlake's more bad-tempered alter ego, breaks his usual rule and gives women--ballsy Sandra and dispassionate Claire--major roles. Not that Parker takes a back seat for a minute. The man is fiercely conceived, one mean piece of work. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
