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Flashfire (Parker #19)
Melander likes to do things flashy. When Parker finds himself working with Melander on a bank heist in a mid-sized midwestern city, his job is throwing a Molotov cocktail into a gas station. The resulting explosion sends the cops and fire trucks to the east side of town, while Melander and his gang plunder the bank on the west side.Parker doesn't care for flashy, himself....more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
November 21st 2000
by Mysterious Press
(first published November 1st 2000)
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This is the book the upcoming Parker movie starring Jason Statham is based on.
Parker helps a crew on a bank job and then they take off with his money. Parker goes after them like a bloodhound, gathering money and planning to take their next heist out from under them. Only the man who furnished Parker with a new identity is gunned down and the killer is coming for Parker! Can Parker get his money and avoid getting dead?
Flashfire is one of the non-standard Parker books. Parker is out to steal back...more
Parker helps a crew on a bank job and then they take off with his money. Parker goes after them like a bloodhound, gathering money and planning to take their next heist out from under them. Only the man who furnished Parker with a new identity is gunned down and the killer is coming for Parker! Can Parker get his money and avoid getting dead?
Flashfire is one of the non-standard Parker books. Parker is out to steal back...more
May 17, 2013
Jane Stewart
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
noir-crime-fiction
This was pretty good, not the best Parker, but above average. The ending was very feel good.
This was different in that Parker needed help when he was shot and in the hospital. He had to trust and rely on a woman he recently met. I love the way Parker gets revenge on people who cross him which he does here. I liked what Parker did to the bad guys’ hideout home and guns.
I especially liked one line. Parker is describing to Leslie how the bad guys are going to rob a charity auction - coming in or le...more
This was different in that Parker needed help when he was shot and in the hospital. He had to trust and rely on a woman he recently met. I love the way Parker gets revenge on people who cross him which he does here. I liked what Parker did to the bad guys’ hideout home and guns.
I especially liked one line. Parker is describing to Leslie how the bad guys are going to rob a charity auction - coming in or le...more
After the Great Parker Hiatus, Ronald Starlake restarted the series with a sequence of linked titles: Comeback, Backflash, Flashfire, Firebreak, and Breakout. Of these five, only Breakout (one of my favorite Parker novels) is distinct in my mind; the others blur together, much as Starklake’s titles suggest that he intended. Thus, when the movie Parker was announced as an adaptation of Flashfire, I couldn’t exactly remember which novel that was, but I chose not to worry about it. I wanted to see...more
2 likes · like · see review
I know that “Flashfire” was published in 2000, but this book feels like it was written three or four decades earlier. In this book I experienced the same rush that I felt when reading “The Man with the Getaway Face”. I can see why some lament the change in tone of the later Parker novels. I think that I am in that camp, too. Maybe not stringently, but I definitely like the punch and pacing of this book.
Like all Parker novels, the action comes in right at the start. In this one, Parker & asso...more
Like all Parker novels, the action comes in right at the start. In this one, Parker & asso...more
Another in the long-running PARKER series about a tough career criminal and his attempts to keep from getting caught, or worse. This is actually a very atypical novel in the series, mostly due to the fact that Parker just can't seem to catch a break. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but Parker spends most of the book trying to get back some money he feels is owed him, which leads to more problems down the road.
I really liked the atypical interplay between Parker and the real-estat...more
I really liked the atypical interplay between Parker and the real-estat...more
I especially liked this Parker novel as Stark (aka Donald Westlake) uses his acerbic sense of humor to take on Palm Beach, FL. Even though the Parker series is not funny per se, Stark cannot keep his humor stifled during the whole narrative. No matter how grim and brutal it gets, there's always something very wryly observed to make the reader smile a little. In this story, Parker feels slighted by his partners in crime at the beginning of the narrative. He spends the rest of the time planning hi...more
#19 in the Parker series.
Parker series - Parker has joined three other pros in robbing a midwestern bank. They make their getaway and the trio invites Parker to join them in a really big score--$12 million in diamonds from a Palm Beach mansion. Parker opts out, even after they explain that they need his share of the bank robbery as seed money .Angry at being stiffed, Parker resolves to steal the Palm Beach haul from them. Needing his own seed money, Parker stages a series of carefully wrought bu...more
Parker series - Parker has joined three other pros in robbing a midwestern bank. They make their getaway and the trio invites Parker to join them in a really big score--$12 million in diamonds from a Palm Beach mansion. Parker opts out, even after they explain that they need his share of the bank robbery as seed money .Angry at being stiffed, Parker resolves to steal the Palm Beach haul from them. Needing his own seed money, Parker stages a series of carefully wrought bu...more
Except for the fact that this is the last Westlake book I get to read, which makes me want to kill myself a tiny bit, reading this was an enjoyable two-hour experience.
Parker gets stiffed by fellow bank robbers and hunts them down to steal their next haul from them. As always, at the edges of the plot, Westlake is the working man's advocate, making fun of rich people in Palm Beach to good effect. Clever plotting, crystal clean prose, well drawn secondary characters: Westlake. I miss him more tha...more
Parker gets stiffed by fellow bank robbers and hunts them down to steal their next haul from them. As always, at the edges of the plot, Westlake is the working man's advocate, making fun of rich people in Palm Beach to good effect. Clever plotting, crystal clean prose, well drawn secondary characters: Westlake. I miss him more tha...more
The Parker character was getting way too close to a Superman complex in the previous books. You know he's always going to win out, but at least there's some thrill in finding out HOW he does it. It's easy for a seemingly invulnerable character to become boring if he's never in any real danger. Then we get Flashfire. What happens when Superman isn't invulnerable and Murphy's law about everything going wrong kicks in? Instead of rolling with the punches and dodging bullets, Parker leans into them...more
Number 19 in the Parker series by Richard Stark aka Donald E. Westlake. I hadn't read this series before and got this one only because of the upcoming movie. it was a quick read, full of action and clever plotting. The only was I can describe the character of Parker is think Jack Reacher gone to the dark side. Parker is a criminal and always gets his revenge, but also has a strict honor code which why he reminds me of Jack Reacher. I only hope the don't overdo the movie.
Jun 18, 2012
Jeff
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
hardboiled_crime_fiction_read
Someone stole Parker's money and he wants it back and he wants the man, actually three men, who stole it dead. Okay, if you've read enough Parker books you know that if Parker wants someone dead, they're gonna get dead and, of course, Parker always gets his money back with interest.
You know all this when you start the book, but you still enjoy reading about how it all unfolds. I don't think I've read a series of books as well written and overall as consistent as Stark's (Westlake's) Parker seri...more
You know all this when you start the book, but you still enjoy reading about how it all unfolds. I don't think I've read a series of books as well written and overall as consistent as Stark's (Westlake's) Parker seri...more
3 likes · like · see review
Lesson #1: Never cross Parker. But that is exactly what his new partners do and so Parker methodically, mercilessly, relentlessly stalks them to their new heist letting the readers see Parker 's methods and personas as he plans to heist the heisters in revenge for being stiffed. This book might prove Parker's a sociopath or just that he has a very different set of values. In any case, he's a chick magnet and near impossible to kill. Whatta man.
"Flashfire" by Richard Stark was just positively delightful to read. The Boo bought this for me as a birthday gift as he had just seen the movie "Parker" which is based on the story in the Parker series.
I don't really know how to describe how awesome this book is without giving away any spoilers. If you enjoy heists, dry wit, and great writing give this a shot.
Plus, it was an incredibly fast read. I have a feeling I'll be picking up a few more of the Parker novels in the future.
I don't really know how to describe how awesome this book is without giving away any spoilers. If you enjoy heists, dry wit, and great writing give this a shot.
Plus, it was an incredibly fast read. I have a feeling I'll be picking up a few more of the Parker novels in the future.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Jun 12, 2007
Adam
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fans of the Parker series
Shelves:
crime-fiction
Like nearly every other Richard Stark book, this could just as easily have been entitled The Wrong Guy to Mess With. And I mean that as praise. Part of the pleasure of reading a Parker novel is knowing what you're going to get; a heist, a double-cross, a clockwork plot, and a satisfying conclusion in which Parker kills his betrayers and recovers his money. Unfortunately, Flashfire is too long and its story is unnecessarily convoluted. Perhaps the changing demands of the publishing industry are t...more
Stark is also Donald Westlake. He wrote point blank which was made into a movie with Lee Marvin and was the basis of Mel Gibson’s Payback.
The story starts with a crime and one member of group is asked to join the gang on their next crime. He doesn’t like the set up and says no. They give him a portion of his share, but take most for the stake money on the next crime.
Our hero takes exception and seeks revenge.
The story starts with a crime and one member of group is asked to join the gang on their next crime. He doesn’t like the set up and says no. They give him a portion of his share, but take most for the stake money on the next crime.
Our hero takes exception and seeks revenge.
Fun stuff! I picked this up because of the movie forthcoming next year, and of course because of Levi Stahl’s infectious enjoyment of the author’s work. Enjoyed this more than the earlier Parker book I read, and made me want to read more of these. The pseudo love triangle that never happened stuck with me afterward for some reason. When we actually were in the vicinity of Palm Beach visiting Scott’s grandparents before American Thanksgiving, I kept thinking back to this book. That's the best kin...more
Here's my review of the film they made from it: PARKER, starring jason Staham. Not too good, I'm afraid:
"When the fresh-faced kid behind the box-office window offered him the matinee senior discount, Burchfield told him to go to hell."
http://tbdeluxe.blogspot.com/2013/02/...
"When the fresh-faced kid behind the box-office window offered him the matinee senior discount, Burchfield told him to go to hell."
http://tbdeluxe.blogspot.com/2013/02/...
For some reason, I thought that the Parker series wouldn't be as good after the twenty year hiatus. I really have no idea why I thought that. In fact, Backflash and Flashfire have been among the very best volumes. Also exciting to realize that Flashfire will be the basis of the in development Parker movie.
A fun, light read. Perhaps not as good as Comeback, which is the first Parker book I read. There's a little too much use of coincidence to save Parker's skin at the last moment - I know it isn't meant to be believable, realistic fiction, but there was a lot to accept.
This and the other four Parker novels I just added are what was available at the library. I read them all in one three-day blast so I don't quite remember which is which, just that they are all very entertaining and bleak, not an ordinary combination.
A quick read that is put together with the same skill that Elmore Leonard brings to pacing and dialogue. Westlake writing as Stark has created a world that is face paced and a character in Parker that outthinks his challenges. Enjoyed this one.
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
You just can't keep a good man down. Parker gets crossed, and he crosses back to get the guys, and get himself out of the sights of law-enforcement, to move on to the next caper.
Richard Stark. Gritty. Well written. Flows beautifully and always leaves you wanting more. I've just recently bought a box set of his books to keep me going.
A savory introduction to the Parker crime fiction series -- just an easy distraction! A terrific book for easing back into pleasure reading after a most lamentable law school lapse.
Good book. I zipped through most of it like I was watching a movie. It's an easy read, and I would definitely categorize it as "guilty pleasure" reading. A good old-fashioned crime caper.
First read 7/13/2001; second read 11/16/2012
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This is a highlight of the Parker series overall, but especially the post-Butcher's Moon books. (view spoiler)
A few of the side characters feel like Westla...more
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This is a highlight of the Parker series overall, but especially the post-Butcher's Moon books. (view spoiler)
A few of the side characters feel like Westla...more
Gripping crime / suspense tale with a "so that was the ending, huh?" conclusion. Overall enjoyable though! The first non-comical book I've read cover-to-cover in under 48 hours in years.
I prefer protagonists with at least some admirable qualities. I think I'm done with this guy.
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Oct 09, 2012 04:13pm
Oct 21, 2012 08:23pm