The first movie version of The Hunter was Point Blank (1967) starring Steve McQueen, later remade as Payback (1999) with Mel Gibson. Since the first appearance of his criminal protagonist Stark has written twenty-two follow-up novels in the series.
Parker, with no first name, never ages nor does his moral character change. He began as a professional thief and in this latest title, is still a thief. He seldom gets away completely with the crime but always manages to stay free, typical losing one or more confederates in the process. He does maintain a cadre of equally capable criminals who surface from time to time in the books.
Parker’s Latest Crime
Ask the Parrot picks up directly where the previous title, Nobody Runs Forever left off, with Parker fleeing for his life from a botched armored car robbery. He is in the woods—definitely not a natural environment for him—and being tracked by police and dogs. He is saved by a would-be amateur thief named Tom Lindahl, who wants revenge on a former employer, a local racetrack.
Against his better judgment, Parker finally agrees to help Lindahl rob the cash room at the racetrack while it is closed. As in all the series books, Parker recruits a crew, typically consisting of one or two men with whom he has worked in the past, and one or two newcomers, who usually cause problems later. The robbery is meticulously planned, but mostly due to the frailties of human nature, all does not go smoothly.
Women and Parker
Romance is very lightly treated in Stark’s titles. Parker does have a long term romantic companion, Claire, although the word love is almost never mentioned in the books nor is any real attention paid to any kind of sexual relationship. Claire clearly understands and supports Parker and provides a haven for him when he is not working. She never takes part in any of his crimes though. Since Claire’s involvement, not present in every title, is relatively light, the reader is never really sure how deep his affection for the woman in his life goes. Other female characters tend to be either amateur accomplices or on the right side of the law.
Style and Development
Stark’s writing, which some might consider to be becoming a bit formulaic, is always clean, sparse, and active. Even his minor characters are fully-fleshed out, although usually not very likeable. The pace of each chapter drives the reader forward at a page-turning speed matching Parker’s character, which is all business, criminal though it may be. Unlike other long-running mystery series characters, Parker never changes. He will never hesitate to take decisive action to save him even if it involves killing a confederate. He does prefer not to kill civilians, although his reason for this is the additional heat the action causes. From the first novel to the latest, he remains the consummate professional thief.
As with any anti-hero protagonist if well-delineated as Stark’s hero is, the reader always is left half-hoping that this time, he will get away with the money.
Charles Anderson - Charles Anderson has been a freelance indexer, reference librarian, and library administrator for thirty years. He holds a Master’s ...
