Larry Carr's Reviews > The Mourner

The Mourner by Richard Stark is book 4 in Parker series. While theft, as always, is involved, this one involves international intrigue-think Soviet Union caper in the good old USA. Most different is that Parker disappears from the story, takes a powder, is snuffed, but do not mourn - he’s as inevitable, as turning the page…

Not to dwell on the story, you can read it… but may I interest you in some writing, Starkly put.

How to open. Action & set… “When the guy with asthma finally came in from the fire escape, Parker rabbit-punched him and took his gun away.” — “The nice thing about a hotel. Nobody questions any noise that lasts less than ten minutes.”

Cityscape. “The courtyard was just concrete, but pink coloring had been added before it set. It was bounded on three sides by the building, rising eight stories and sprouting air conditioners here and there like acne.” — “Beyond, dark cars slept at the curb, hoods mutely reflecting the street light from down the block. A car purred by, without pausing.”

You don’t have to like the job. “He hated this kind of thing, hurting people to make them talk. It was messy and time-consuming and there ought to be a better way. But there wasn’” — “ He left her right hand free and put paper and pencil on the table. “Write the address when you’re ready,” he said. Then he reached for the kitchen matches.”

Bucking the establishment. “You ought to know better. You can’t buck the Outfit.” — “And when it came to operating without Outfit permission, Parker and Handy and most of the people they knew had been doing it for years.” — “Ambridge looked at Handy the way a patriot looks at somebody who forgets to take off his hat when the flag goes by. “You’ll get yours,”

Too much yak. “Parker shook his head, got to his feet, and went over to lie down on the bed. The world was full of people who never did anything but talk. “Any time you feel like it”

Want to get away? “See what I mean? Right after the job is when they do their looking on the roads, and later is when they do their looking in town. So right after the job is when we stay in town, and later on is when we’re on the roads. It’s a feint, like in basketball. You go, but you don’t go, and then you go.”

So 1/2 way through, and nothing spoiled. Don’t mourn for Parker… read it.