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9th out of 12 books
—
2 voters
The Seventh (Parker #7)
The robbery was a piece of cake. The getaway was clean. And seven men were safely holed up in different places while Parker held all the cash - until the heat was off and each could collect his seventh to spend on booze or broads or dreams. Except this sweet heist turned sour. Somebody stole Parker's stash. Killed Parker's girl. And made Parker murderously mad. Now Parker'...more
Mass Market Paperback
Published
1966
by Pocket Books
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this one starts just after the heist: parker's stashed the boodle in his closet until the heat cools down and then he'll distribute it evenly amongst his six partners. day three in hiding, parker heads out for coffee, and upon his return, discovers that someone has plunged a sword through his naked girlfriend's chest and the bed she was lying on (no biggie), and has taken all the loot (way biggie) -- parker's gotta figure out if it was one of his team or an outsider. and then catch the thieving...more
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When Parker goes out for beer and cigs after being shacked up with a woman for a couple of days, he’s only gone for ten minutes. But when he gets back, he finds her dead with a sword (Yes, a freaking sword.) rammed through her. Even worse, the money Parker was holding after the robbery of the ticket offices of a football game is gone, and the cops show up minutes later.
Parker was responsible for holding the cash for his six partners, and he’s not sure if one of them has double-crossed him, or if...more
Parker was responsible for holding the cash for his six partners, and he’s not sure if one of them has double-crossed him, or if...more
Apr 21, 2013
Jane Stewart
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
noir-crime-fiction,
5-star-other
4 ½ stars. Entertaining. Surprising things. I laughed several times. It starts slow but good later.
Authors: Here’s a great example of how to create a stupid (but smart) character who does wacko things. This guy really made the story. Had me laughing with surprise. I liked being in his head when he was thinking why he had to follow Parker. Because if he wasn’t always behind Parker, Parker might get behind him. He would have been smarter just to leave town, but he doesn’t - for weird reasons, and...more
Authors: Here’s a great example of how to create a stupid (but smart) character who does wacko things. This guy really made the story. Had me laughing with surprise. I liked being in his head when he was thinking why he had to follow Parker. Because if he wasn’t always behind Parker, Parker might get behind him. He would have been smarter just to leave town, but he doesn’t - for weird reasons, and...more
Parker and six other rob a football stadium for a pretty impressive haul, entrusting Parker with the take. Days later, Parker leaves his apartment to get beer and cigarettes and returns to find his girl murdered and the money missing. Can Parker get back the money before the cops get him?
Over the past seven books, I've found that the best stories are the ones that stray from the usual Parker formula. This one is no exception. Instead of pulling off a heist, Parker is primarily occupied with figu...more
Over the past seven books, I've found that the best stories are the ones that stray from the usual Parker formula. This one is no exception. Instead of pulling off a heist, Parker is primarily occupied with figu...more
11 likes · like · see review
Tied for my favorite of the Parker novels thus far, 'The Seventh' is more of the novel I've been waiting for. Unlike the other novels, the job is done about halfway through, and the rest of the book is the tangling and unwinding of the mess that follows the heist. Jumping from narrator to narrator through the climax, the narrative pushes relentlessly forward, bullets firing and bodies falling.
A scene at the end involves one character chasing another into the woods, the trees slowly but steadily...more
A scene at the end involves one character chasing another into the woods, the trees slowly but steadily...more
Donald Westlake, a.k.a. Richard Stark, is having more fun, even with the title, as this has several meanings in the context of the book: seventh in the series, it’s the seventh split of the take, etc. Anyone familiar with the Parker series will certainly enjoy this book, as did I, with a couple of caveats. Unlike most of his other Parker novels, this one has multiple points-of-view, that of the killer as well as the detective on the case. I don’t remember that in the other Parker novels I have r...more
The heist went perfectly. Parker, the master thief and ultimate anti-hero, led a group of men on a daring daylight robbery of a college football stadium on the day of the big game. After making off with over $100,000, the group splits, leaving the cash with Parker to be divided later after the heat is off. A jealous boyfriend of the woman Parker is holing up with queers the deal by breaking into her apartment, killing her and stealing the money. This leads to a mad scramble between the crooks, t...more
One of the things I find enjoyable about the Parker novels, as opposed to some other pulp-like series novels I've read, is the way Stark mixes up the manner he tells the story. Yes, there is a predictability to the novels. The reader (contemporary reader, the reader reading this series when the books first came out might have had some doubts about the resolution, the flippant way that Stark allows characters to be killed off made it possibly possible that someone might think that any one of the...more
14 likes · like · see review
A very fast, relentless read, but also a very short book. More of a novella, really.
The story and the writing are as action-packed as ever, but this time the plot turns on an odd ex-boyfriend who stumbles in on Parker and steals his money almost by accident.
The way Parker deals with the problem is his usual single-minded M.O. and the dealings with the police and with the other members of the gang are very entertaining.
My only reservation was that the cause of all the problems was a fairly clue...more
The story and the writing are as action-packed as ever, but this time the plot turns on an odd ex-boyfriend who stumbles in on Parker and steals his money almost by accident.
The way Parker deals with the problem is his usual single-minded M.O. and the dealings with the police and with the other members of the gang are very entertaining.
My only reservation was that the cause of all the problems was a fairly clue...more
The heist itself is an afterthought in the seventh Parker novel because all the problems come after the fact. After the robbery goes flawlessly, Parker is in charge of guarding the loot until time comes to divvy up with his partners, but when he steps out for ten minutes to buy beer and cigarettes, he steps back in to find the money gone. And his girl dead, too. What follows is typical Parker as problem solver--up until the point when Parker's judgment fails him and makes a colossally brazen and...more
This is the original hard boiled tough guy. Stark (Westlake writing as Stark) boils the essence of a smart no-nonsense tough guy down from the work of the greats that wrote detective and crime fiction before him, and created Parker. Forget the movies you may have seen - be they timeless classics or modern dreck - and do yourself a favor and read these. If you like crime fiction you have to check these books out. The Chicago Press has re-released them in sharp stylish new paperbacks that are inex...more
Short and to the point. Like going to see a movie. Total entertainment. Tough guy stuff. What's not to like?
3 likes · like · see review
In that neat style, "The Seventh" is not only No 7 in the Parker series, but also deals with 7 crooks sharing loot 7 ways and when someone outside the system screws up - how that seven becomes meaningless...well, till the end because nothing screws up for Parker on a permanent level.
And that is the beauty of the Parker series. It reads like oatmeal every morning and you are always happy after the meal. It is sort of the perfect airplane read but without the guilt - because these books are super...more
And that is the beauty of the Parker series. It reads like oatmeal every morning and you are always happy after the meal. It is sort of the perfect airplane read but without the guilt - because these books are super...more
Parker had only left the apartment for ten minutes to get cigarettes and beer. He'd been there for three days with the loot and guns from his latest job waiting for the heat to die down. Then he was to meet with the other six to split the proceeds.
Now Ellen wasn't answering the door, When he kicked it open, he found Ellen dead, run through with one of the swords from the wall and pinned to the bed's headboard. The two suitcases of cash were gone as well.
Then the two cops came in behind him. Once...more
Now Ellen wasn't answering the door, When he kicked it open, he found Ellen dead, run through with one of the swords from the wall and pinned to the bed's headboard. The two suitcases of cash were gone as well.
Then the two cops came in behind him. Once...more
Wow, that's a lot of mayhem for a crime novel. Higher body count than I expected, even from a Parker novel. Altogether, it's a mixed bag. The thing moves a bit too slow and is a little too goofy at times for my preference; what's more, an important plot point just seems utterly boneheaded to me. But the action sequences in the last third of the book are totally amazing -- textbook case on how to write thrilling action for crime novels. It totally redeems itself, and overall it's a great read. I...more
This is the seventh in the celebrated Parker series. This one is interesting in the way Stark has structured it -- starting "in media res" then filling in the backstory, then almost becoming a detective novel for a bit, then a bit of a revenge story. The writing is strong, and the narrative keeps up a good pace for the entire run of the book. A fairly high bodycount, and some great descriptions make this one of the stronger Parker books since the initial trilogy.
I love the Parker books and haven't found one I just like or hate yet, they're all a blast and quick reads. The loot from the robbery gets stolen from Parker and a murder complicates his life but that won't keep Parker down. I do like how the author plays with time a little bit in this book, jumping around to different points in time to explain what happened before and then smoothly moving back to the present.
Parker is not a man to be messed with. When it comes to setting the record straight, Parker does it. That is pretty much the plot and action from this great book. Also, this may be the earliest mention I have noted of gay characters in a novel. I'm sure I've read earlier examples, but I couldn't bring any to mind. So despite the criticisms of Eastlake's Parker series for misogyny, he may have actually been ahead of the times with some issues.
This Parker novel is the seventh in the series, hence the title. However, Stark worked 'Seventh' into the plot as well. There are seven robbers in the gang and each one refers to his portion of the take as his 'seventh'.
An interesting note: This novel was written in 1966 and Stark (Westbrook) made one pair of the gang a homosexual couple. Bold for that era and way ahead of his author peers.
An interesting note: This novel was written in 1966 and Stark (Westbrook) made one pair of the gang a homosexual couple. Bold for that era and way ahead of his author peers.
Through no fault of his own, Parker is on the run. He needs a quick score and finds an improbable opportunity that actually works out. The job was so clean that they didn't even need all the equipment that they picked up for the set-up. Unfortunately, getting away with it turns into a bloody mess. (view spoiler)
I'd rate The Seventh up there with The Hunter as the best reads in the Parker the Thief series from Richard Stark (a/k/a Donald Westlake). I was taken with his descriptions, pace, and gang's characters. Reading The Seventh is like watching a smart, tense action movie. Enjoyed over several nights.
AKA: Alan Marshall, Alan Marsh, James Blue, Ben Christopher, Edwin West, John B. Allan, Curt Clark, Tucker Coe, P.N. Castor, Timothy J. Culver, J. Morgan Cunningham, Samuel Holt, Judson Jack Carmichael, Richard Stark, Donald E. Westlake
After teetering dangerously on that borderline where noir fiction sometimes
approaches the sensibility of harlequin romances, it was a welcome refreshment to re-visit Parker and his pragmatics of crime.
approaches the sensibility of harlequin romances, it was a welcome refreshment to re-visit Parker and his pragmatics of crime.
Parker lets down his guard, and finds himself trying to track the scammer who scammed his scam. The effort Parker puts in trying to make a wrong a right is noble, and an interesting read.
Another action laced high octane Stark addition to the series. We cannot help but root for Parker even though we know he is, well, shall I say flawed? Hell no. Bring them on.
I always enjoy the books in this series and this audio was no exception. Quick and violent with no excess fat. Narration was done by Stephen R. Thorne who did a very serviceable job.
I just finished The Mourner and now this book. I enjoy this Parker series so much. The only downside to me is that they are so short and they go too fast.
Loved the ending to this one. Parker's pursuit of his outmatched quarry is like experiencing a nightmare from the nightmare's point of view.
this is possibly a minor Parker novel, but I love how it works. Pretty sure they made movie based on it, but I'd love to do the remake.
I think I've only got two Parker books left to read. Then I will be sad. Or maybe fully instructed and motivated to do a little heisting.
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| Pulp Fiction: The Split (1968) | 6 | 15 | Nov 29, 2012 09:34am |
