- Paperback: 299 pages
- Publisher: Mysterious Press; Reprint edition (Nov 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0446678252
- ISBN-13: 978-0446678254
- Product Dimensions: 13.3 x 1.9 x 20.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,335,550 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Breakout: A Parker Novel
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Product Description
Review
Do you like your crime fiction pared to the bone? Are you addicted to narratives that move with bullet-speed velocity, in which every action is fraught with reined-in menace? Then Richard Stark is undoubtedly your man - Daily Express
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Review
Do you like your crime fiction pared to the bone? Are you addicted to narratives that move with bullet-speed velocity, in which every action is fraught with reined-in menace? Then Richard Stark is undoubtedly your man - Daily Express
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
When the alarm went off, Parker and Armiston were far to the rear of the warehouse, Armiston with the clipboard, checking off the boxes they'd want. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
When the alarm went off, Parker and Armiston were far to the rear of the warehouse, Armiston with the clipboard, checking off the boxes they'd want. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is another of the more recent Parker novels, which seem a lot cheaper to pick up than the originals. Part 1 sees Parker in prison (proving that he isn't immortal after all!) and a breakout that is fairly mediocre it has to be said. Maybe I have been watching too much Prison Break. The book then tends to lose itself in sideplots which is unusual as the Parker books are generally about fast paced hardboiled action and dialogue, short and to the point. However, about halfway through a heist is pulled off and I have to say it becomes an excellent read. 3 blokes trying to remove a concrete block shouldn't be exciting, but in Stark's hands it is, and this event takes place over several pages and believe me it is gripping stuff. Thankfully the book continues at this rate until the end and becomes classic Stark, classic Parker. I love the Parker novels but wouldn't recommend all of the more recent entries, but this is certainly one to add to the collection.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Another terrific Parker novel where things seem to go from bad to worse with Parker's luck being the usual mix of good and bad. The story moves at a very brisk pace never letting you become bored and Parker is a terrific antihero. Filled with hardboiled dialogue and a good mix of violence this is another very good read.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
27 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Breakout of that Boredom and Pick Up a Parker Novel
25 Feb 2006
Format:Paperback
This is another quick and simple Parker adventure by Donald E Westlake writing under his pen name Richard Stark. Whilst there are certainly better Parker adventures where the reader gets to see Parker's skills in action, in Breakout the reader gets to see just how intelligent this criminal is. If you haven't checked out Westlake's novels under his own name definitely do so as well. His masterpiece The Ax as well as Corkscrew and the Scared Stiff are all great places to start. Short chapters make putting down Breakout when you have to a breeze.
In Breakout Parker is behind bars in the overcrowded Stoneveldt, a transit prison for those awaiting trial and the probable outcome of an even worse actual jail. Although the authorities can't work out who he actually is they do know one of his alter egos killed a prison guard and escaped from a California prison so it won't be long before he's extradited there. This is not a place Parker wants to go so he must escape Stoneveldt, where no one else has ever done so before. Stoneveldt isn't the only place he will have to escape from before leaving town.
If you like Westlake as Richard Stark or himself also check out James Pattinson (Pattinson not Patterson), a British author who writes very similar novels.
In Breakout Parker is behind bars in the overcrowded Stoneveldt, a transit prison for those awaiting trial and the probable outcome of an even worse actual jail. Although the authorities can't work out who he actually is they do know one of his alter egos killed a prison guard and escaped from a California prison so it won't be long before he's extradited there. This is not a place Parker wants to go so he must escape Stoneveldt, where no one else has ever done so before. Stoneveldt isn't the only place he will have to escape from before leaving town.
If you like Westlake as Richard Stark or himself also check out James Pattinson (Pattinson not Patterson), a British author who writes very similar novels.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
A First Class Richard Stark / Parker Outing
30 Nov 2002
Format:Hardcover
One of the other customer reviews made the point that the Stark / Parker and Westlake / Dortmunder books are in fact the same books. I think that's a little over simplified, but I have to admit that there's more than a little truth in that suggestion. Toward the end of BREAKOUT, I thought, "Good grief, this is THE HOT ROCK!" That's also over simplified, but you get the idea.
In THE HUNTER, Stark mentioned in passing that Parker was once arrested as a vagrant, and escaped from a work farm by killing a guard. This is the record, as Ronald Kasper, but with Parker's own prints, that dogs him, although it's by no means his last killing, on or off record.
This time out, Parker participates in a pharmaceutical heist that goes wrong. Unlike so many other times, he isn't allowed to disappear into the woods or down a convenient, unwatched alley. He goes, not strictly to jail, but to a "detention center", where suspected felons wait before and during trail. This is essentially the same kind of less-structured environment that Dortmunder wrestles with in THE HOT ROCK.
Parker is visited by a court-appointed lawyer, and manages to get a message to his long-time squeeze, Claire. Presto, a more clued-in attorney shows up, and things begin to roll. Ed Mackey, previously involved in Parker escapades, drops in to show his gratitude for past favors, and assists Parker in identifying fellow prisoners who might be useful in an escape.
They escape, and then Parker becomes involved with outsiders who assisted in the escape, who have a jewelry heist to pull. The heist goes down, and goes bad; Parker survives with his two fellow escapees, but must then break out of the converted armory that the jewels were stored in.
Are you getting the picture? This would be pretty ordinary stuff, but for Mr. Stark's masterful handling, plus a certain sense of humor. Told by one of his fellow cons that prison isn't a natural environment, Parker says, "It isn't an environment ... It's a body cast."
OK, the good lawyer is rather fortuitous (makes you wonder what happened to guys like Amos Klee), but the cops have been steadily getting less dumb, if still sparse. BREAKOUT's Inspector Turley reminds me a lot of the careful, smart cop from THE SEVENTH.
Bottom line: if you enjoy taking a ride with Stark, this one will be a pleasant trip.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Brief but compelling. Great fun.
2 Mar 2004
Format:Paperback
Parker, the antihero thief of Richard Stark (AKA Donald Westlake) is one of my favorite creations. The books are always written with one caper or problem to be solved. This usually includes a set up of a robbery then problems develop. The fun is to see how Parker solves the problems and keeps out of jail.
BREAKOUT is a bit of a departure from this formula in that Parker is arrested and jailed in the first chapter. He must try to figure out a way out of, not only jail, but out of town. He is paired with the usual miscreants in which it is difficult to determine who is trustworthy.
The book is, as usual, relatively brief, yet always compelling. It can be read in one lengthy sitting. Parker is a cold-blooded thief and killer, yet, Stark breathes such life into him that the reader cannot fail to root for his success. A truly fun read.
BREAKOUT is a bit of a departure from this formula in that Parker is arrested and jailed in the first chapter. He must try to figure out a way out of, not only jail, but out of town. He is paired with the usual miscreants in which it is difficult to determine who is trustworthy.
The book is, as usual, relatively brief, yet always compelling. It can be read in one lengthy sitting. Parker is a cold-blooded thief and killer, yet, Stark breathes such life into him that the reader cannot fail to root for his success. A truly fun read.
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