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Alan Grofield #3
The Blackbird
Donald E. Westlake is one of the greats of crime fiction. Under the pseudonym Richard Stark, he wrote twenty-four fast-paced, hardboiled novels featuring Parker, a shrewd career criminal with a talent for heists. Using the same nom de plume, Westlake also completed a separate series in the Parker universe, starring Alan Grofield, an occasional colleague of Parker. While he shares events and characters with several Parker novels, Grofield is less calculating and more hot-blooded than Parker; think fewer guns, more dames.
Not that there isn’t violence and adventure aplenty. The third Grofield novel, The Blackbird shares its first chapter with Slayground : after a traumatic car crash, Parker eludes the police, but Grofield gets caught. Lying injured in the hospital, Grofield is visited by G-Men who offer him an alternative to jail, and he finds himself forced into a deadly situation involving international criminals and a political conspiracy.
With a new foreword by Sarah Weinman that situates the Grofield series within Westlake’s work as a whole, this novel is an exciting addition to any crime fiction fan’s library.
Not that there isn’t violence and adventure aplenty. The third Grofield novel, The Blackbird shares its first chapter with Slayground : after a traumatic car crash, Parker eludes the police, but Grofield gets caught. Lying injured in the hospital, Grofield is visited by G-Men who offer him an alternative to jail, and he finds himself forced into a deadly situation involving international criminals and a political conspiracy.
With a new foreword by Sarah Weinman that situates the Grofield series within Westlake’s work as a whole, this novel is an exciting addition to any crime fiction fan’s library.
184 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
February 6, 2021
Donald E. Westlake, writing under the pseudonym of Richard Stark, wrote 24 novels with the tight-lipped tough guy Parker as his main character. The challenge for a fiction writer in having a main character who doesn’t like to talk is that stories can get a bit too much stripped down to action. So what do you do? Create other characters for Parker to work with who talk a lot, and well, and humorously, and Alan Grofield is one of those characters. Grofield is an actor who supports his ill-paid trade by doing heists, sometimes with Parker. He is handsome, clever, and jokes too much for Parker’s taste, but Parker puts up with him because he is also a very accomplished and serious professional thief.
Grofield became such a popular character that Stark wrote four novels focused on him. The third Grofield novel, The Blackbird, shares its first chapter with Slayground, one of the best Parker novels, where an escape after an armored car heist turns into a car crash, and Parker eludes the police. In Slayground we follow what happens to Parker, but in Blackbird we follow Grofield after the crash. Fitting the intense Parker, the tone of Slayground is intense and dark; following the comic Grofield, Blackbird is fast and light.
Recovering in a hospital, Grofield is visited by G-Men who offer him an alternative to jail, and he takes the job that involves an international political conspiracy. Like Rick Blaine in Casablanca, Grofield is no patriot. And yet, like Rick, Alan finally serves the American (and international!) cause, in a way, possibly saving the planet.
Yeah, it’s not a great plot, it’s convoluted, which includes Grofield’s problematic killing of four American soldiers. But the overall feel of it is a romantic comedy thriller, involving planes and snowmobiles and grenades, and Grofield gets the girl! If it were a film, Grofield would probably be played by Cary Grant.
Here’s a bit of a feel of it:
Grofield meets a woman in a bar and buys her a drink; she asks him how it is he came to be in Quebec City.
“I came here for the waters.”
“What?”
“I was mistaken.”
“What?”
“It’s a line Humphrey Bogart delivers in Casablanca.”
“What? What?”
Grofield decides conversation might not be the way to go with this woman. ☺
It’s a good book, with a few laughs, showing off some comedic chops Stark couldn’t use in his Parker books. Ones he uses when he writes as Donald Westlake.
Grofield became such a popular character that Stark wrote four novels focused on him. The third Grofield novel, The Blackbird, shares its first chapter with Slayground, one of the best Parker novels, where an escape after an armored car heist turns into a car crash, and Parker eludes the police. In Slayground we follow what happens to Parker, but in Blackbird we follow Grofield after the crash. Fitting the intense Parker, the tone of Slayground is intense and dark; following the comic Grofield, Blackbird is fast and light.
Recovering in a hospital, Grofield is visited by G-Men who offer him an alternative to jail, and he takes the job that involves an international political conspiracy. Like Rick Blaine in Casablanca, Grofield is no patriot. And yet, like Rick, Alan finally serves the American (and international!) cause, in a way, possibly saving the planet.
Yeah, it’s not a great plot, it’s convoluted, which includes Grofield’s problematic killing of four American soldiers. But the overall feel of it is a romantic comedy thriller, involving planes and snowmobiles and grenades, and Grofield gets the girl! If it were a film, Grofield would probably be played by Cary Grant.
Here’s a bit of a feel of it:
Grofield meets a woman in a bar and buys her a drink; she asks him how it is he came to be in Quebec City.
“I came here for the waters.”
“What?”
“I was mistaken.”
“What?”
“It’s a line Humphrey Bogart delivers in Casablanca.”
“What? What?”
Grofield decides conversation might not be the way to go with this woman. ☺
It’s a good book, with a few laughs, showing off some comedic chops Stark couldn’t use in his Parker books. Ones he uses when he writes as Donald Westlake.
December 23, 2024
As virtually all crime fiction fans know, "Richard Stark" was one of the several pseudonyms used by the prolific author, Donald Westlake. Writing as Stark, he was best known for his series featuring the amoral criminal known as Parker which ultimately ran to twenty-four novels. As Stark, Westlake also wrote four novels featuring Alan Grofield who appeared in several of the Parker novels as Parker's sidekick.
The Blackbird is the third of the Grofield novels and, in an interesting move, shares a first chapter with the Parker novel Slayground. In the chapter, Parker, Grofield and a third man are racing away from an armored car robbery when their car flips over with the cops in hot pursuit. In Slayground, Parker manages to get away and we watch what happens with him in the aftermath of his escape.
Grofield is not so lucky, and in this book we see what happens to him. He's captured by the police and is in the hospital recovering from the minor injuries he suffered in the crash. He's been caught red-handed and is staring at a long prison sentence. But then some mysterious government agents appear and offer him a way out.
A group of third-world leaders has gathered for a mysterious meeting and the G-men would like to know what they're up to. As it happens, Grofield is acquainted with two of the men who will be at the meeting and the agents want him to infiltrate the meeting and report back. This is a highly dangerous task, but if he completes it, the government will give him a pass on the armored car robbery.
Grofield is not remotely attracted by the idea of becoming a spy, but he's also not very enthused about spending the next several years in prison. So he agrees to go along, figuring that he'll devise a way to escape and worm his way out of the situation. The story that follows strains credulity beyond any reasonable or even unreasonable limits, but that doesn't really matter. Grofield is a much lighter and more amusing character than Parker, and it's a lot of fun just watching him maneuver his way through this mess. This is a light and very entertaining read that should appeal to anyone who has met Alan Grofield through the Parker novels and would like to see him working on his own.
James L. Thane
wwww.jameslthane.com
The Blackbird is the third of the Grofield novels and, in an interesting move, shares a first chapter with the Parker novel Slayground. In the chapter, Parker, Grofield and a third man are racing away from an armored car robbery when their car flips over with the cops in hot pursuit. In Slayground, Parker manages to get away and we watch what happens with him in the aftermath of his escape.
Grofield is not so lucky, and in this book we see what happens to him. He's captured by the police and is in the hospital recovering from the minor injuries he suffered in the crash. He's been caught red-handed and is staring at a long prison sentence. But then some mysterious government agents appear and offer him a way out.
A group of third-world leaders has gathered for a mysterious meeting and the G-men would like to know what they're up to. As it happens, Grofield is acquainted with two of the men who will be at the meeting and the agents want him to infiltrate the meeting and report back. This is a highly dangerous task, but if he completes it, the government will give him a pass on the armored car robbery.
Grofield is not remotely attracted by the idea of becoming a spy, but he's also not very enthused about spending the next several years in prison. So he agrees to go along, figuring that he'll devise a way to escape and worm his way out of the situation. The story that follows strains credulity beyond any reasonable or even unreasonable limits, but that doesn't really matter. Grofield is a much lighter and more amusing character than Parker, and it's a lot of fun just watching him maneuver his way through this mess. This is a light and very entertaining read that should appeal to anyone who has met Alan Grofield through the Parker novels and would like to see him working on his own.
James L. Thane
wwww.jameslthane.com
March 12, 2025
From 1969
The third of four Alan Grofield novels, adjacent to the Parker heists, which he’s involved with. Grofield is a thief to support his career as a stage actor.
This one takes place after the car crash in the beginning of Slayground. Parker himself, with the loot, climbs over a wall into an amusement park in winter (seen by some crooked cops and a mobster, so Parker spends that book fighting them in the “slayground”).
But Alan, also in the car accident, wakes up in the hospital. He is let off the thievery charge if he goes to Quebec as a spy. Characters from the previous two Grofield books are here, Colonel Marba and General Pozos.
The third of four Alan Grofield novels, adjacent to the Parker heists, which he’s involved with. Grofield is a thief to support his career as a stage actor.
This one takes place after the car crash in the beginning of Slayground. Parker himself, with the loot, climbs over a wall into an amusement park in winter (seen by some crooked cops and a mobster, so Parker spends that book fighting them in the “slayground”).
But Alan, also in the car accident, wakes up in the hospital. He is let off the thievery charge if he goes to Quebec as a spy. Characters from the previous two Grofield books are here, Colonel Marba and General Pozos.
October 30, 2016
This starts with the same incident as Slayground, the 14th Parker book. Parker gets away & deals with his issues. Grofield winds up dealing with his own in this book & damn, but he deals. It was neat the way Stark worked him into international espionage since that's about the last situation anyone would ever expect Grofield to show up. His practicality rivals Parker's & he is much more likable & witty about it. It's the best of the 4 Grofield novels, IMO. It does rely on the first 2 for its setup, so read in order.
August 24, 2017
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter substance that influences our sensation of pleasure, among other things. The Blackbird, by Richard Stark (a pseudonym used by Donald Westlake), offers up its literary equivalent-- generating sensations of pleasure with each fast-moving chapter.
Featuring Alan Grofield, a witty, and for the most part, non-violent thief who is included in several "Parker" novels by the same author, this story is a fun romp that is a bit of a stretch in terms of credulity. Nevertheless, it's really the writing genius of Stark (Westlake) that one reads such a book to access. Grofield is superb on his own (apart from the opening chapter where he's with Parker and a driver on a botched armored car heist) and finds himself neck-deep in things that can and do go wrong! But his wit, sarcasm, and surprisingly broad array of skills will see him through. Along the way, he might just win your heart (as he often does a female lead); if not, just relax and enjoy this all too brief ride-- better than an amusement park any day!
Featuring Alan Grofield, a witty, and for the most part, non-violent thief who is included in several "Parker" novels by the same author, this story is a fun romp that is a bit of a stretch in terms of credulity. Nevertheless, it's really the writing genius of Stark (Westlake) that one reads such a book to access. Grofield is superb on his own (apart from the opening chapter where he's with Parker and a driver on a botched armored car heist) and finds himself neck-deep in things that can and do go wrong! But his wit, sarcasm, and surprisingly broad array of skills will see him through. Along the way, he might just win your heart (as he often does a female lead); if not, just relax and enjoy this all too brief ride-- better than an amusement park any day!
April 23, 2018
Apparently, Richard Stark used the Grofield novels to experiment with different types of stories. Whereas his justly famous Parker novels all follow exactly the same brutal format, these spin-offs were looser and more playful. A way for Stark to try new things and have fun doing it.
Sharing pretty much the same opening chapter as the Parker novel, SLAYGROUND, this whacks his cohort, Grofield (an actor who moonlights as an armed robber) swiftly into over-the-top international espionage which aims for James Bond, but misses a lot more than it succeeds.
Part of the problem is the apathetic leading man. By having someone who is so flippant and uncaring at the centre, it immediately lowers the stakes. If he doesn’t really care, why should us readers? Furthermore, the fact that he doesn’t want to be there, just lets the plot happen around him. He’s a passive, and more than a little irritating, leading man.
The globe-trotting gets no further than Canada and the equivalent of the Bond girl is all over the place characterisation wise. I can appreciate it as an experiment, and it holds the attention well enough to not be a waste of time. But when I was reading it, I couldn’t help wishing I was reading real James Bond or actual Parker, either of which would be preferable.
Sharing pretty much the same opening chapter as the Parker novel, SLAYGROUND, this whacks his cohort, Grofield (an actor who moonlights as an armed robber) swiftly into over-the-top international espionage which aims for James Bond, but misses a lot more than it succeeds.
Part of the problem is the apathetic leading man. By having someone who is so flippant and uncaring at the centre, it immediately lowers the stakes. If he doesn’t really care, why should us readers? Furthermore, the fact that he doesn’t want to be there, just lets the plot happen around him. He’s a passive, and more than a little irritating, leading man.
The globe-trotting gets no further than Canada and the equivalent of the Bond girl is all over the place characterisation wise. I can appreciate it as an experiment, and it holds the attention well enough to not be a waste of time. But when I was reading it, I couldn’t help wishing I was reading real James Bond or actual Parker, either of which would be preferable.
January 12, 2022
Grofield is a partner of the uber thief, Parker, who garnered enough interest to earn his own series. Grofield is an actor, who supports his career through robbery. He's funnier than the hard boiled Parker.
In this entry, Grofield and Parker are performing an armored car heist, but their getaway car crashes. Parker escapes, and goes on to have his adventure in the book Slayground. Grofield is captured by an alphabet soup agency and recruited for some spy-jinks.
Because he is an acquaintance of an African Big Man, he is sent to Canada to find out why the Big Man is meeting the heads of a bunch of other Third World countries. Soon enough, he is in all kinds of problems.
Good stuff. I remember reading where Donald Westlake said the character Parker stopped talking to him, and that's why the series took a long break. I wish Grofield had spoken up a bit, too.
In this entry, Grofield and Parker are performing an armored car heist, but their getaway car crashes. Parker escapes, and goes on to have his adventure in the book Slayground. Grofield is captured by an alphabet soup agency and recruited for some spy-jinks.
Because he is an acquaintance of an African Big Man, he is sent to Canada to find out why the Big Man is meeting the heads of a bunch of other Third World countries. Soon enough, he is in all kinds of problems.
Good stuff. I remember reading where Donald Westlake said the character Parker stopped talking to him, and that's why the series took a long break. I wish Grofield had spoken up a bit, too.
September 16, 2021
Grofield stops a WMD Conspiracy
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (June 2013) of the Macmillan paperback original (1969)
Richard Stark was one of the many pseudonyms of the prolific crime author Donald E. Westlake (1933-2008), who wrote over 100 books. The Stark pseudonym was used primarily for the Parker novels and their spinoff series, the Grofield novels. The Parkers are a hardboiled noir series but the Grofields have more of a lighter touch, often with humorous banter.
In The Blackbird, occasional actor and sometime heist man Alan Grofield is recruited by a secret U.S. Government agency after he is captured during a heist scene which is shared with the opening chapter of the Parker novel Slayground (1971). Grofield agrees to work undercover in order to avoid being prosecuted for the heist. He is sent to Quebec City, Canada where there is a meeting of various Third World dictators, some of whom are acquaintances of Grofield from his earlier adventures. Grofield is viewed with suspicion by Vivian Kamdela, an agent of the dictator Marba, but eventually they will work together to stop the conspiracy which they discover involves the underground sale of chemical weapons.
The book is more of a light espionage thriller with a lot of banter between Grofield and the various agents of either the government or the dictators. The only mystery element is the discovery of the WMD sale.
Narrator R.C. Bray does a good job in all voices in this audiobook edition.
The 4 Grofield books are all available for free on Audible Plus.
Other Reviews
There is an extensive review with a detailed plot description (spoilers obviously) at The Westlake Review, February 21, 2015.
Trivia and Links
There is a brief plot summary of The Blackbird and of all the Parker & Grofield books and adaptations at The Violent World of Parker website.
Although The Blackbird's 2013 Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition shares the same cover art as the University of Chicago Press 2012 reprint, it does not include the Foreword by author Sarah Weinman.
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (June 2013) of the Macmillan paperback original (1969)
Richard Stark was one of the many pseudonyms of the prolific crime author Donald E. Westlake (1933-2008), who wrote over 100 books. The Stark pseudonym was used primarily for the Parker novels and their spinoff series, the Grofield novels. The Parkers are a hardboiled noir series but the Grofields have more of a lighter touch, often with humorous banter.
In The Blackbird, occasional actor and sometime heist man Alan Grofield is recruited by a secret U.S. Government agency after he is captured during a heist scene which is shared with the opening chapter of the Parker novel Slayground (1971). Grofield agrees to work undercover in order to avoid being prosecuted for the heist. He is sent to Quebec City, Canada where there is a meeting of various Third World dictators, some of whom are acquaintances of Grofield from his earlier adventures. Grofield is viewed with suspicion by Vivian Kamdela, an agent of the dictator Marba, but eventually they will work together to stop the conspiracy which they discover involves the underground sale of chemical weapons.
The book is more of a light espionage thriller with a lot of banter between Grofield and the various agents of either the government or the dictators. The only mystery element is the discovery of the WMD sale.
Narrator R.C. Bray does a good job in all voices in this audiobook edition.
The 4 Grofield books are all available for free on Audible Plus.
Other Reviews
There is an extensive review with a detailed plot description (spoilers obviously) at The Westlake Review, February 21, 2015.
Trivia and Links
There is a brief plot summary of The Blackbird and of all the Parker & Grofield books and adaptations at The Violent World of Parker website.
Although The Blackbird's 2013 Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition shares the same cover art as the University of Chicago Press 2012 reprint, it does not include the Foreword by author Sarah Weinman.
September 28, 2011
One reason that the Parker novels are superior to the Grofield novels is that, over the long haul, it's more pleasant to spend time with a sullen sociopath than a smartass. In The Blackbird, Grofield's schtick begins to wear thin around page 100, but the book has more than enough action and intelligence to keep you going.
June 25, 2016
Alan Grofield, who supports his life as theatre actor with scores made as a professional thief, is captured during the same getaway that opens the Parker novel Slayground. “Thankfully” Grofield is offered a way out by a federal agency due to acquaintanceships established in his previous adventures. A meeting of nefarious people representing nefarious nations is taking place in Quebec, and no one seems to know why. Grofield becomes our government’s last ditch attempt at discovering what it is. This seems to be the least liked of the Grofield novels but I enjoyed it the most. Oh, well.
July 18, 2023
The was the best of the first three Grofield books in my opinion. Concise, terse and a little humor to keep it moving along.
My rating isn’t exactly a modern day 4-stars (it was published in 1969) but more of a respectful nod to a 1960’s novel on the cutting edge of technology. Considering this was a time when transmitters and germ warfare were the “next big thing”, Westlake was most likely on top of his game.
Interesting characters, not too many, and a clear plot not bogged down by unnecessary detail.
My rating isn’t exactly a modern day 4-stars (it was published in 1969) but more of a respectful nod to a 1960’s novel on the cutting edge of technology. Considering this was a time when transmitters and germ warfare were the “next big thing”, Westlake was most likely on top of his game.
Interesting characters, not too many, and a clear plot not bogged down by unnecessary detail.
July 18, 2016
What is it with these Alan Grofield novels and their far-fetched, unlikely plots? This is a character that seemed great in the Parker novels, and him having his own adventures seemed like a good idea, but so far I must say I'm disappointed. About the only interesting thing about this book is the very beginning, where Grofield is pulling a heist with Parker. Stark used the same chapter to open Slayground, only this time it's told from Grofield's point of view, and not Parker.
The book is an easy read, but the main character (Grofield) seems miscast. It feels as though Westlake/Stark is using this series to experiment with different genres: preventing an assassination (The Damsel), a whodunit (The Dame), and a spy thriller The Blackbird). I hope the next (and last) Grofield novel, Lemons Never Lie, is more of a straight-up crime story and redeems the character, if not the series.
The book is an easy read, but the main character (Grofield) seems miscast. It feels as though Westlake/Stark is using this series to experiment with different genres: preventing an assassination (The Damsel), a whodunit (The Dame), and a spy thriller The Blackbird). I hope the next (and last) Grofield novel, Lemons Never Lie, is more of a straight-up crime story and redeems the character, if not the series.
April 27, 2018
"Grofield jumped out of the Ford with a gun in one hand and the empty satchel in the other."
August 10, 2025
"For someone who ignores his country," she said, "you're far too American for your own good."
Grofield and Parker are making their getaway with a suitcase full of stolen cash (a sequence also seen at the start of Stark's "Slayground" (1971) my review #525) but their car is upended and Grofield takes a hard hit to the head. When he wakes up in a hospital bed he learns that Parker made off with the goods but now Grofield is being held by two US government thugs. In return for helping them with an international scheme, they'll clear his name of the robbery and let him have his life back.
Alan Grofield has no intention of following through on this mission for these govt thugs but has trouble shaking his handlers and a beautiful foreign agent (this tale's "Blackbird"). He ends up reluctantly jaunting around Montreal and colder places more remote in what he half-willingly accepts as just another adventure in the life of a theatrical, womanizing con man and cynical romantic heister.
Verdict: "The Blackbird" (1969) is a fun late-60's international action caper, but these Grofield stories (this is the third of four) don't carry the same smirking menace that the companion Parker series does.
Jeff's Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13
Grofield and Parker are making their getaway with a suitcase full of stolen cash (a sequence also seen at the start of Stark's "Slayground" (1971) my review #525) but their car is upended and Grofield takes a hard hit to the head. When he wakes up in a hospital bed he learns that Parker made off with the goods but now Grofield is being held by two US government thugs. In return for helping them with an international scheme, they'll clear his name of the robbery and let him have his life back.
Alan Grofield has no intention of following through on this mission for these govt thugs but has trouble shaking his handlers and a beautiful foreign agent (this tale's "Blackbird"). He ends up reluctantly jaunting around Montreal and colder places more remote in what he half-willingly accepts as just another adventure in the life of a theatrical, womanizing con man and cynical romantic heister.
Verdict: "The Blackbird" (1969) is a fun late-60's international action caper, but these Grofield stories (this is the third of four) don't carry the same smirking menace that the companion Parker series does.
Jeff's Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13
October 21, 2017
I'm still binging on Stark (Westlake). There is one more Grofield novel and that's next up for me.
April 18, 2012
Grofield was in trouble. Again.
THE BLACKBIRD and the Parker novel, SLAYGROUND, share the same first chapter. The pair are hitting an armored car on a country road. The job was cursed from the beginning. The driver they'd lined up didn't make it, arrested by a redneck cop, and they'd had to recruit local talent. Good driver, but to nervous. Fleeing the scene, with the police a mile away, he drove too fast into a turn, rolling the car. Parker slips out with the money, Grofield is unconscious, the driver dead.
With chapter two in each book, each one takes a different track. Parker flees into a closed amusement park and the book covers his efforts to remain hidden and eventually escape.
Grofield wakes up in a hospital with a pair of men offering him a way out. Do what they want and he becomes a witness to the armored car heist, refuse and he takes the fall. They won't tell what the job is unless he agrees. They know all about him, his real name, occupation(actor).
FBI? CIA? They only admit to being a shadowy government agency.
What choice does he have? He agrees, figuring first chance he gets, he bails. It would mean starting all over with a new actor's card, new name,losing all his acting credits, moving. He didn't see any other alternative.
A few days later, they explain what they want, promising it could be dangerous to him, possibly fatal if things don't go well.
A group of third world leaders were in Quebec registered under false names. They wanted to know what they were up to and Grofield knew two of them. Colonel Pozos, the Latin American whose life he'd saved in the first Grofield, THE DAMSEL, and the African politician, Onum Marba, from THE DAME. He's to pose as an adventurer, all they know him to be, looking for work and find out what's going on.
Grofield uses his first opportunity to take off, riding several subways, backtracking, making sure no one is following him. While dining, two men walk up and ask if he's ready to go ahead now, promising he can't get away. They will even give him an hour head start. Grofield knows then there's some sort of radio link on, or in, the clothing they gave him.
He's shown a picture of his contact, a man named Carlson, and flies to Quebec, taking the room they rented for him.
That's when things start going downhill.
In short order, he's accosted by a young black woman, kidnapped by injection of a paralytic agent by a third group, ready to be questioned. rescued by one of his recruiters with him lying there half recovered, bullets flying all around.
And it's not to long before Grofield finds himself further north in a hunting lodge with a group of blacks, Chinese, and Hispanics about to be killed. He does the only thing he can, diving through a window, his head wrapped in his jacket, out into the cold.
He'll be dead by morning, frozen, and the group is content to wait till then before going after him.
A mistake.
Grofield is mad. People want him dead. believe him an easy mark, and he has no idea why.
They are about to find out that, while not as ruthless as Parker most of the time, when it calls for it, he can get up there.
Another good one from Westlake.
THE BLACKBIRD and the Parker novel, SLAYGROUND, share the same first chapter. The pair are hitting an armored car on a country road. The job was cursed from the beginning. The driver they'd lined up didn't make it, arrested by a redneck cop, and they'd had to recruit local talent. Good driver, but to nervous. Fleeing the scene, with the police a mile away, he drove too fast into a turn, rolling the car. Parker slips out with the money, Grofield is unconscious, the driver dead.
With chapter two in each book, each one takes a different track. Parker flees into a closed amusement park and the book covers his efforts to remain hidden and eventually escape.
Grofield wakes up in a hospital with a pair of men offering him a way out. Do what they want and he becomes a witness to the armored car heist, refuse and he takes the fall. They won't tell what the job is unless he agrees. They know all about him, his real name, occupation(actor).
FBI? CIA? They only admit to being a shadowy government agency.
What choice does he have? He agrees, figuring first chance he gets, he bails. It would mean starting all over with a new actor's card, new name,losing all his acting credits, moving. He didn't see any other alternative.
A few days later, they explain what they want, promising it could be dangerous to him, possibly fatal if things don't go well.
A group of third world leaders were in Quebec registered under false names. They wanted to know what they were up to and Grofield knew two of them. Colonel Pozos, the Latin American whose life he'd saved in the first Grofield, THE DAMSEL, and the African politician, Onum Marba, from THE DAME. He's to pose as an adventurer, all they know him to be, looking for work and find out what's going on.
Grofield uses his first opportunity to take off, riding several subways, backtracking, making sure no one is following him. While dining, two men walk up and ask if he's ready to go ahead now, promising he can't get away. They will even give him an hour head start. Grofield knows then there's some sort of radio link on, or in, the clothing they gave him.
He's shown a picture of his contact, a man named Carlson, and flies to Quebec, taking the room they rented for him.
That's when things start going downhill.
In short order, he's accosted by a young black woman, kidnapped by injection of a paralytic agent by a third group, ready to be questioned. rescued by one of his recruiters with him lying there half recovered, bullets flying all around.
And it's not to long before Grofield finds himself further north in a hunting lodge with a group of blacks, Chinese, and Hispanics about to be killed. He does the only thing he can, diving through a window, his head wrapped in his jacket, out into the cold.
He'll be dead by morning, frozen, and the group is content to wait till then before going after him.
A mistake.
Grofield is mad. People want him dead. believe him an easy mark, and he has no idea why.
They are about to find out that, while not as ruthless as Parker most of the time, when it calls for it, he can get up there.
Another good one from Westlake.
August 19, 2022
Interesting book. Alan Growfield is involved in an armored car heist that goes wrong; the getaway car is involved in a rollover accident and Growfield is taken to the hospital. When he awakens he's offered an opportunity to work off his crime by doing some work for a clandestine group for Uncle Sam. He takes them up on it, and winds up a spy.
More would give too much away, but it's a good story with plenty of action. Apparently, Grofield, the main character in 4 of Stark's books was originally a member of Parker's (Stark's much more popular character) gang. the very beginning of this book, up to the accident, is the same as in a Parker novel, Slayground, Parker #14. I'm looking for that one but haven't found it yet. Pretty interesting idea, I'm curious how it works out.
More would give too much away, but it's a good story with plenty of action. Apparently, Grofield, the main character in 4 of Stark's books was originally a member of Parker's (Stark's much more popular character) gang. the very beginning of this book, up to the accident, is the same as in a Parker novel, Slayground, Parker #14. I'm looking for that one but haven't found it yet. Pretty interesting idea, I'm curious how it works out.
January 7, 2026
The choice to start this 3rd Grofield adventure with the same failed armored car job that opened Stark’s 14th Parker novel, Slayground, really highlights what makes the Parker novels work so well and where these Grofield spinoffs fail. Parker is a driven, determined character with clear motivations who takes action in his own self interest, he’s easy to understand and fascinating to read about. Meanwhile Grofield always seems to get swept up in globe-trotting adventures that he doesn’t want to be a part of, he never seems to have agency in his adventures and it’s hard to understand why he even goes along half the time. It’s difficult to feel invested in the (dated, heavy-handed, kinda racist) geopolitical thriller plot being told here when our POV character is a part-time actor, part-time thief who has no connection to the action at hand and wants nothing more than to run away the whole book.
April 25, 2018
This book starts off exactly the same as the Parker novel Slayground. While Slayground follows Parker the getaway car crashes. This novel follows Alan Grofield.
Alan is not as dark and methodical as Parker. He's more of a comedian and a ladies man. However, he is sort of a deciple of Parker's. I intend to read the other 2 novels about Grofirld as well.
If you're here by chance. Go see what got this entire party started. Read 'The Hunter' ; Parker book 1. Then I dare you not to devour all 24 of them.
Alan is not as dark and methodical as Parker. He's more of a comedian and a ladies man. However, he is sort of a deciple of Parker's. I intend to read the other 2 novels about Grofirld as well.
If you're here by chance. Go see what got this entire party started. Read 'The Hunter' ; Parker book 1. Then I dare you not to devour all 24 of them.
September 16, 2020
“No army can withstand the strength of an idea whose time has come.”
This starts off with the same heist that "Slayground" begins - Grofield, Parker, and Laufman's hold up of an armored car! However this one is from Grofield's point of view, as "Slayground" was from Parker's! In "Slayground", Parker doesn't know what happened to Grofield. "The Blackbird" then is the rest of that story. ("Slayground" is the rest of what happens to Parker after the hold up!)
In "Slayground", Parker ends up in an amusement park, dealing with cops and thugs. In this book, Alan wakes up in a hospital, receiving an offer he can't refuse! He jumps out of that frying pan and into the fire of international espionage, Third World countries, and germ warfare! And Albanians! The plot is pretty far fetched, but Grofield is a fun character, and Stark is a heck of a writer, so the book was a fast, entertaining read! Now, back to the Parker novels!
This starts off with the same heist that "Slayground" begins - Grofield, Parker, and Laufman's hold up of an armored car! However this one is from Grofield's point of view, as "Slayground" was from Parker's! In "Slayground", Parker doesn't know what happened to Grofield. "The Blackbird" then is the rest of that story. ("Slayground" is the rest of what happens to Parker after the hold up!)
In "Slayground", Parker ends up in an amusement park, dealing with cops and thugs. In this book, Alan wakes up in a hospital, receiving an offer he can't refuse! He jumps out of that frying pan and into the fire of international espionage, Third World countries, and germ warfare! And Albanians! The plot is pretty far fetched, but Grofield is a fun character, and Stark is a heck of a writer, so the book was a fast, entertaining read! Now, back to the Parker novels!
August 31, 2024
4/10 - This picks up where the excellent Parker novel Deadly Edge ends, except from the perspective of Alan Grofield instead of Parker. Parker's subsequent adventure is told in the novel Slayground, and it's one of my favorites of the Parker series.
The Blackbird never really piqued my interest. Still well written with some nice humorous bits and actor/heistman Alan Grofield forced to think and fight his way out several seemingly impossible scenarios.
The Blackbird never really piqued my interest. Still well written with some nice humorous bits and actor/heistman Alan Grofield forced to think and fight his way out several seemingly impossible scenarios.
September 21, 2024
I love Richard Stark but this is my least favorite of the spin-off novels with Grofield and perhaps of all the Stark novels. Grofield gets himself into plenty of mischief in this one but isn't called upon to use his charm and skill as an actor to get out of jams. If anything, his mouth gets him into more trouble. As for the novel's backdrop of "Third World" villains, this one hasn't aged particularly well.
April 8, 2012
(More like 3.5 stars but I'm rounding up.)
The Blackbird's opening chapter is almost the same as the first chapter of Slayground from the Parker series. While Slayground follows Parker, Blackbird follows Grofield, who is caught and then offered his freedom in exchange with helping an unnamed agency of the US government.
So Grofield is off to Quebec, where he's supposed to report on a meeting of third world leaders (which just happens to involve characters from the two previous Grofield novels). And there's lots of espionage and counter-espionage action, and Grofield's mouth gets him in trouble, and he escapes, and there's some more espionage action, and in the end he gets he gives the government what it wants and gets to stay out of jail.
This is my personal favorite of these three Grofield novels, but again there isn't a whole lot to say about it. I think there's a bit more of Westlake's wit in the writing, and some nice turns of phrase. And there's a better sense of Grofield as a character as opposed to someone who is just reacting to events around him. But there isn't so much here that I'm left wishing we had more Grofield books to look forward to.
The Blackbird's opening chapter is almost the same as the first chapter of Slayground from the Parker series. While Slayground follows Parker, Blackbird follows Grofield, who is caught and then offered his freedom in exchange with helping an unnamed agency of the US government.
So Grofield is off to Quebec, where he's supposed to report on a meeting of third world leaders (which just happens to involve characters from the two previous Grofield novels). And there's lots of espionage and counter-espionage action, and Grofield's mouth gets him in trouble, and he escapes, and there's some more espionage action, and in the end he gets he gives the government what it wants and gets to stay out of jail.
This is my personal favorite of these three Grofield novels, but again there isn't a whole lot to say about it. I think there's a bit more of Westlake's wit in the writing, and some nice turns of phrase. And there's a better sense of Grofield as a character as opposed to someone who is just reacting to events around him. But there isn't so much here that I'm left wishing we had more Grofield books to look forward to.
April 25, 2010
One thing I love about Westlake is how he often seems to be amusing himself by playing with the genre and formalist conventions of the pulp novel--but he never does so in an ostentatious manner. Observant readers will note that THE BLACKBIRD has almost exactly the same first chapter as SLAYGROUND. While Parker winds up in an amusement park in that novel, Grofield wakes up in the hospital, and soon finds himself shanghaied into a job as an agent for the US government, deep undercover in rural Canada trying to figure out what's behind a secret summit of third-world dictators. (No, I'm not even going to try to explain the plot here.) THE BLACKBIRD is more of a spy thriller than the crime novels we're used to from Stark--but I enjoyed it, as I have enjoyed all of the Grofield novels, even if they're oddly diagonally opposed to the Parker universe they come from. Apparently this one is the least-loved of all the Stark novels. As a contrarian, I really enjoyed it--and I think it's far superior to THE BLACK ICE SCORE, Stark's other book that features a fictional African nation.
April 24, 2016
Gosh darn it ... I just don't know about these Grofield books. For me, they are Stark's (Westlake's) attempts at the spy/espionage genre. However, Alan Grofield is no James Bond ... or Matt Helm .... or even Maxwell Smart. The plots and characters are silly without comedic elements and a former actor turned heistman does not fit well into the hero character for these stories. An element that would have made these Grofield books better is a strong villain. I'm talking about a cold, calculating, former KGB, tattooed, psychopathic, international badass. Stark instead provides semi-likable characters who do not receive enough page time compared to Grofield. The villainous players do come from extremely remote nations. This reflects the times as the third world was playing a larger role in international relations during the 1960s.
The end is pretty exciting and Grofield holds his own. To be honest though, I would rather read about Grofield holding up a gas station than his exploits in international espionage.
The end is pretty exciting and Grofield holds his own. To be honest though, I would rather read about Grofield holding up a gas station than his exploits in international espionage.
October 24, 2012
Two roads converged with an armored car heist. And sorry he could not travel both, Richard Stark (aka Donald Westlake) decided to follow both anyway.
One road pushes Alan Grofield to become a reluctant spy (with the threat of prison). It reconnects Grofield with some of the characters he met in his previous solo outings and gives us the full Grofield spectrum: self-interested, sarcastic, and self-indulgent to extremely capable.
One road pushes Alan Grofield to become a reluctant spy (with the threat of prison). It reconnects Grofield with some of the characters he met in his previous solo outings and gives us the full Grofield spectrum: self-interested, sarcastic, and self-indulgent to extremely capable.
December 9, 2012
Alan Grofield is a character who has more humor than the Parker character, but who still is capable of some violence. Unlike Dortmunder in the Donald Westlake books, Grofield is more than a bumbling criminal caught in capers that take very bad, humorous turns. But Grofield doesn't have the sharp, amoral attitude of Parker, a character who has absolutely no humor. In my opinion, the Parker novels by Richard Stark work much better, but The Blackbird is a fast-paced Grofield caper. Because of the times in which this was written, there are some alarming racial stereotypes. But all in all, it's a fun romp with Grofield forced into doing a heroic bit for his country.
October 22, 2014
Blackbird is my favorite Grofeld novel thus far - not only is it humorous, action-packed, James Bond-esque and tightly written, it also ties other elements (including some of their more intriguing characters) from previous Grofeld books into this fast-moving tie-together story, which is attention-getting from its first word to its last. Like every Stark work I've read this is worth owning.
Followed by Lemons Don't Lie.
(This review originally appeared on the Reading & Writing By Pub Light site.)
Followed by Lemons Don't Lie.
(This review originally appeared on the Reading & Writing By Pub Light site.)
October 26, 2013
2.5 stars
Grofield and international political intrigue. Fun read, but it doesn't quite work. Added .5 star because Grofield amuses me. This book shares a chapter from the Parker series Slayground and answers the question as to what happened to Grofield.
Grofield and international political intrigue. Fun read, but it doesn't quite work. Added .5 star because Grofield amuses me. This book shares a chapter from the Parker series Slayground and answers the question as to what happened to Grofield.
September 9, 2014
Such a great change of pace from the Parker novels and a spy story that is constructed in such a way that you are not rooting for the bad guy (like in the Parker series) but you're rooting for the least-bad guy among all the bad guys.
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