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Parker #16
Butcher's Moon
The sixteenth Parker novel, Butcher’s Moon is more than twice as long most of the master heister’s adventures, and absolutely jammed with the action, violence, and nerve-jangling tension readers have come to expect. Back in the corrupt town where he lost his money, and nearly his life, in Slayground, Parker assembles a stunning cast of characters from throughout his career for one gigantic, blowout job: starting—and finishing—a gang war. It feels like the Parker novel to end all Parker novels, and for nearly twenty-five years that’s what it was. After its publication in 1974, Donald Westlake said, “Richard Stark proved to me that he had a life of his own by simply disappearing. He was gone.”
Featuring a new introduction by Westlake’s close friend and writing partner, Lawrence Block, this classic Parker adventures deserve a place of honor on any crime fan’s bookshelf. More than thirty-five years later, Butcher's Moon still packs a punch: keep your calendar clear when you pick it up, because once you open it you won't want to do anything but read until the last shot is fired.
327 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
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April 26, 2021
Beginning in 1962, over the course of ten years, Donald E. Westlake wrote fifteen Parker novels, pen name Richard Stark, all hardboiled crime fiction featuring Parker, the ultimate cool, calculating heister. And all fifteen short novels follow the same four-step template: planning the heist, assembling the crew, the heist itself, the escape.
But then it happened - Mr. Westlake broke the mold, changed things up, achieved a slam dunk with the publication of Butcher’s Moon in 1974.
How did he do it? Signature Richard Stark but with three major differences: firstly, at well over 300 pages, Butcher's Moon is double the length of his other Parker novels; secondly, Butcher's Moon does not follow the aforementioned four-part heist structure, not even close; and thirdly . . . well, let me hold off on reason number three for now.
"Running toward the light, Parker fired twice over his left shoulder, not caring whether he hit anything or not. It was just to slow them down, keep the cops in the front of the store while he and the others got out."
The above are the opening lines from the novel's first chapter, fast-paced action at the tail end of a heist gone bad - Parker and crew tripped a silent alarm not mentioned in the plan they'd bought. The cops arrive on the scene and shoot a guy named Michaelson who flops down and groans at the top of the cellar steps. Parker orders Briggs, the explosive technician, to "close it up" meaning blow up the cellar door and top steps, the steps where their partner lays sprawled. Is Michaelson dead or just wounded? According to Parker, it doesn't matter since "he's finished."
Minutes later, in the getaway car, unlike one of the heisters who is furious the plan they bought didn't mention a second alarm system, Parker immediately puts this botched job behind him (things like a new silent alarm sometimes happen) and, because he's on a bad luck streak, four botched heists in a row, he immediately considers another way he can quickly get his hands on much needed cash.
When asked what's next, Parker tells the guys he left some money behind after a job a couple years ago and now's the time to go back and get it. We quickly learn Parker's referring to $73,000 and an amusement park on the edge of a Midwestern City.
Parker fans will hear a familiar ring: Richard Stark's 1971 Slayground, a tale where Parker’s driver crashes the getaway car and Parker grabs the sack of dough and makes a run for it, solo. There’s only one escape route - an amusement park covered in ice and snow and surrounded by water, Fun Island, currently shut down for the winter. Turns out, Parker must go up against dozens of armed men under the command of Al Luzini, the local mob boss.
Back on Butcher's Moon. Parker calls Grofield, one of the crew from that armored car heist, and they both go to Fun Island to get the dough Parker stashed away in a remote hiding spot. However, there's bad news: the suitcase with the money is gone, gone.
Parker says some local tough boys chased him to this part of the amusement park and must have come back to look for the money they knew he had with him. Grofield asks if he knows how to find any of them. Parker tells him he knows the name of their boss - Lozini.
Thus the novel's framework: Parker demands his money, all $73,000. Al Lozini doesn't have a clue about any $73,000 but he recognizes Parker is right: somebody in his organization must have gone back to Fun Island and made off with the cash.
But, who? Not an easy question to answer, especially since there's all sorts of political happenings taking place in this small city of Tyler: an upcoming election and (gulp) a power play within Luzini's gangster empire. The last thing the local mob needs is two outsiders (Parker and his buddy) stirring up the muck.
But stir the muck they do. So many players drawn into the action. The body count begins to mount. Parker keeps demanding, "Give me my money." The answer keeps coming back: "no." Then someone crosses the line: he threatens Parker in a way most grotesque. Wrong move, mister!
Nearly 200 pages filled with blood, grizzle and gore and Butcher's Moon is about to take a dramatic shift. I purposely didn't cite any of those grisly, bloody specifics so as not to spoil but as reviewer I'm obliged to address what happens in Chapter Thirty-Five.
Oh, yes, that pivotal chapter. Here's the skinny: the grotesque threat enrages Parker, unleashes Parker's inner tiger, lets loose Parker's inner wolf. Not only does Parker want his money (as he does in all Richard Stark novels), Parker now wants more, he wants Grofield (currently a prisoner held by the mob) and Parker wants blood - he wants all those mob bastards dead. Parker phones twenty-five men. By nightfall, eleven tell Parker they're in.
It's war! All eleven travel to Tyler, all eleven take a seat in the apartment serving as Parker's home base. All eleven examine the plan Parker outlines - the multiple heists and the final attack.
But the key question remains: What's with the change in Parker? Why does Parker now want more than just his money? Even one of the heisters confronts Parker, remarking,"That's not like you."
Parker fans have been debating this very question ever since Butcher's Moon first hit the bookracks. Has Parker really changed or has Parker simply expanded what it means to be Parker? For each reader to decide.
The novel's last fifty pages, the climatic showdown between forty armed mobsters and Parker's eleven surely counts as among the most thrilling, electrifying, spine-tingling episodes in all crime fiction. The gangsters think they'll win with ease based on sheer numbers - but little do they know who they're up against.
Oh, baby, if those Tyler thugs only knew. Parker has assembled a dream team of combatants, men with expertise ranging from electronics to explosives and everything in between. To use a sports analogy, like a local team of semipros taking the field against Manchester United.
I've said enough. Crime fiction too good to be true. No wonder John Banville proclaimed, "We admire Parker to our shame, taking a guilty pleasure in his fearless fearsomeness. This is existential man at his furthest extremity, confronting a world that is even more wicked and treacherous than he is."
American author Donald E. Westlake, 1933-2008
September 16, 2024
“I'm only the messenger!"
"Now you're the message," Parker said, and shot him.
Butcher's Moon, the 16th Parker book from Richard Stark (Donald Westlake), the last he would write for 24 years, is more than twice as long as any previous entry in the series, looking like a big finish, with appearances by characters from many previous books, making it feel like a Big Finale. This book is one of the best, but it is not to be read first in the series. The feel of it is on a grand scale, operatic, more expansive than any other Parker book.
The book returns to the location of Slayground, Fun Island, an amusement park where Parker had left $72K. The book begins with a failed heist, and the last couple books have seen other failed endeavors, so we know he is broke. And here we are again, with the witty and popular Grofield, who deserves his half of that take. Of course the local mob already took the money, and spent it, and refuse to talk to Parker.
“Call him and ask him,” the voice said, “what you should do if you owe some money to a guy named Parker.”
Some Stark fans don’t like this expansive aspect of the book. Too long. We get to know more than we ever knew about Grofield and his theater life, and his pursuit, during the set-up of the job, of a pretty librarian.
“Wake up, sweetheart,” Grofield murmured. “We seem to be having intercourse.”
We get to know more than ever about the local political corruption, which is deep and complicated. But I think it is part of the making of the grand scale, to create the slow(er) march to the fireworks at the end.
Then Grofield is captured, and the local mob does something to him to try to dissuade Parker from continuing his quest, and that triggers some of the bloodiest violence in the series.
The critics ask: Would Parker want to help Grofield? Would he want to enact revenge for him? Parker takes the act(s) against Grofield personally, but he also intends to rescue Grofield (after making sure he gets money). He is loyal to his partners. Parker rarely kills people, but in this book he seems enraged at the mob’s refusal to repay him. Remember the title, Butcher’s Moon?
The “revenge” involves multiple hits on mob men, bringing us back to one of the first Parker books, The Outfit, after his first wife and a friend had screwed him over for the mob, when Parker coordinates a series of nationwide revenge attacks. In both books, hits happen on multiple fronts, a gang war.
It’s a great, operatic finish, with a flourish, layered and powerful. One of his very best.
P.S. And does this end everything for the Parker series? Well, this is book 16 of 24. But he didn't write #17 until 24 years later! I don't know exactly why he stopped, or why he (Stark, Westlake's pseudonym for this series) began again. After Butcher's Moon's publication in 1974, Donald Westlake said, “Richard Stark proved to me that he had a life of his own by simply disappearing."
"Now you're the message," Parker said, and shot him.
Butcher's Moon, the 16th Parker book from Richard Stark (Donald Westlake), the last he would write for 24 years, is more than twice as long as any previous entry in the series, looking like a big finish, with appearances by characters from many previous books, making it feel like a Big Finale. This book is one of the best, but it is not to be read first in the series. The feel of it is on a grand scale, operatic, more expansive than any other Parker book.
The book returns to the location of Slayground, Fun Island, an amusement park where Parker had left $72K. The book begins with a failed heist, and the last couple books have seen other failed endeavors, so we know he is broke. And here we are again, with the witty and popular Grofield, who deserves his half of that take. Of course the local mob already took the money, and spent it, and refuse to talk to Parker.
“Call him and ask him,” the voice said, “what you should do if you owe some money to a guy named Parker.”
Some Stark fans don’t like this expansive aspect of the book. Too long. We get to know more than we ever knew about Grofield and his theater life, and his pursuit, during the set-up of the job, of a pretty librarian.
“Wake up, sweetheart,” Grofield murmured. “We seem to be having intercourse.”
We get to know more than ever about the local political corruption, which is deep and complicated. But I think it is part of the making of the grand scale, to create the slow(er) march to the fireworks at the end.
Then Grofield is captured, and the local mob does something to him to try to dissuade Parker from continuing his quest, and that triggers some of the bloodiest violence in the series.
The critics ask: Would Parker want to help Grofield? Would he want to enact revenge for him? Parker takes the act(s) against Grofield personally, but he also intends to rescue Grofield (after making sure he gets money). He is loyal to his partners. Parker rarely kills people, but in this book he seems enraged at the mob’s refusal to repay him. Remember the title, Butcher’s Moon?
The “revenge” involves multiple hits on mob men, bringing us back to one of the first Parker books, The Outfit, after his first wife and a friend had screwed him over for the mob, when Parker coordinates a series of nationwide revenge attacks. In both books, hits happen on multiple fronts, a gang war.
It’s a great, operatic finish, with a flourish, layered and powerful. One of his very best.
P.S. And does this end everything for the Parker series? Well, this is book 16 of 24. But he didn't write #17 until 24 years later! I don't know exactly why he stopped, or why he (Stark, Westlake's pseudonym for this series) began again. After Butcher's Moon's publication in 1974, Donald Westlake said, “Richard Stark proved to me that he had a life of his own by simply disappearing."
June 13, 2012
This is a notable book in the Parker series because for a long time it looked like it’d be the last one that Richard Stark (a/k/a Donald E. Westlake) ever wrote since it was over twenty years before he finally did another one.
This one is also a personal milestone since it’s the last Parker novel that I haven’t read before. Westlake died a few years ago, so that means it’s the last new Parker novel I’ll ever read.
Stupid death.
As a personal ending point for me, it’s a humdinger though. Parker has been on a string of bad luck with all his potential scores going sour, and he’s hurting for cash. He decides to go back to where he left a bag of loot hidden in an amusement park while on the run from gangsters and dirty cops in Slayground. And by amusement park, I mean that Parker amused himself by killing everyone they sent into the park after him.
Fellow thief Grofield was in on that heist and Parker asks him to go along and help get their money back, but when they find it missing from the spot Parker stashed it, he thinks the local criminal kingpin’s people must have found it after he left. When Parker decides that you’ve got his money, he’s going to get it back one way or another.
After the situation escalates, Parker eventually calls in a crew for a bit of stealing and revenge, and this leads to a kind of review of past novels with characters from previous jobs Parker has pulled showing up. There’s also a feeling that this one is calling back to the beginning of the series where Parker had gone up against a large group of criminals to get back what he felt he was owed.
It hit me in this one that although Parker has always been seen as an anti-social bastard who only cares about the money, that he has gone out of his way for the few people that are the closest things he has to friends on a few occasions. He has also earned a lot of respect from his fellow thieves for his bold jobs and never double crossing anyone. You’d almost think that Parker is getting soft in his old age. Until he starts murdering a whole bunch of people.
This is yet another great book about one of the legendary anti-heroes of crime fiction. I just wish there were a couple of dozen more new ones waiting for me to read.
This one is also a personal milestone since it’s the last Parker novel that I haven’t read before. Westlake died a few years ago, so that means it’s the last new Parker novel I’ll ever read.
Stupid death.
As a personal ending point for me, it’s a humdinger though. Parker has been on a string of bad luck with all his potential scores going sour, and he’s hurting for cash. He decides to go back to where he left a bag of loot hidden in an amusement park while on the run from gangsters and dirty cops in Slayground. And by amusement park, I mean that Parker amused himself by killing everyone they sent into the park after him.
Fellow thief Grofield was in on that heist and Parker asks him to go along and help get their money back, but when they find it missing from the spot Parker stashed it, he thinks the local criminal kingpin’s people must have found it after he left. When Parker decides that you’ve got his money, he’s going to get it back one way or another.
After the situation escalates, Parker eventually calls in a crew for a bit of stealing and revenge, and this leads to a kind of review of past novels with characters from previous jobs Parker has pulled showing up. There’s also a feeling that this one is calling back to the beginning of the series where Parker had gone up against a large group of criminals to get back what he felt he was owed.
It hit me in this one that although Parker has always been seen as an anti-social bastard who only cares about the money, that he has gone out of his way for the few people that are the closest things he has to friends on a few occasions. He has also earned a lot of respect from his fellow thieves for his bold jobs and never double crossing anyone. You’d almost think that Parker is getting soft in his old age. Until he starts murdering a whole bunch of people.
This is yet another great book about one of the legendary anti-heroes of crime fiction. I just wish there were a couple of dozen more new ones waiting for me to read.
March 8, 2011
Short on cash, Parker and Grofield return to Tyler to get some money Parker stashed in an amusement park. But the money isn't there and signs point to the local mob, which is in the midst of a power struggle. Whichever party comes out on top had better remember that when Parker is owed money, he always collects, one way or another...
I'd been waiting for over six months for Butcher's Moon to be reprinted by University of Chicago Press. Was it worth the wait? Hell yes!
Butcher's Moon was the last Parker book of the original run and there's a feel of finality to it. Parker and Grofield go to work getting back the money Parker had to leave behind in Slayground and run afoul of the local syndicate. When Grofield gets shot and taken captive and Parker gets one of his fingers in the mail, Parker takes it personally and calls in a slew of favors.
Practically all of Parker's partners from the previous books who weren't double-crossed and/or killed in the previous volumes show up to lend a hand and share in the score, even Handy McKay. Parker is as relentless and ruthless as ever. The power struggle within the Tyler mob was well done, as was Parker's masterful way of taking them out.
As usual, Stark's clipped style moves the story along with the pace of an out of control freight train. Butcher's Moon is twice the length of most Parker tales and has three or four times as much action. The final shootout at the end is well-worth the price of admission (at the U of C price, not the hundreds the earlier printings fetch.)
"But I'm only the messenger!"
"Now you're the message," Parker said and shot him.
Classic Parker.
Any complaints? Not really, although I was expecting a higher bodycount among Parker's crew. I was half-hoping Parker would leave with the entire take from the score and leave his crew in the lurch. The ending would have been a fitting ending to the entire Parker series but I'm glad Stark wrote eight more, even if it did take him 25 years.
If you're a Parker fan, Butcher's Moon is not to be missed, especially at the Amazon price for this University of Chicago reprint.
I'd been waiting for over six months for Butcher's Moon to be reprinted by University of Chicago Press. Was it worth the wait? Hell yes!
Butcher's Moon was the last Parker book of the original run and there's a feel of finality to it. Parker and Grofield go to work getting back the money Parker had to leave behind in Slayground and run afoul of the local syndicate. When Grofield gets shot and taken captive and Parker gets one of his fingers in the mail, Parker takes it personally and calls in a slew of favors.
Practically all of Parker's partners from the previous books who weren't double-crossed and/or killed in the previous volumes show up to lend a hand and share in the score, even Handy McKay. Parker is as relentless and ruthless as ever. The power struggle within the Tyler mob was well done, as was Parker's masterful way of taking them out.
As usual, Stark's clipped style moves the story along with the pace of an out of control freight train. Butcher's Moon is twice the length of most Parker tales and has three or four times as much action. The final shootout at the end is well-worth the price of admission (at the U of C price, not the hundreds the earlier printings fetch.)
"But I'm only the messenger!"
"Now you're the message," Parker said and shot him.
Classic Parker.
Any complaints? Not really, although I was expecting a higher bodycount among Parker's crew. I was half-hoping Parker would leave with the entire take from the score and leave his crew in the lurch. The ending would have been a fitting ending to the entire Parker series but I'm glad Stark wrote eight more, even if it did take him 25 years.
If you're a Parker fan, Butcher's Moon is not to be missed, especially at the Amazon price for this University of Chicago reprint.
October 28, 2012
First published in 1974, this is the sixteenth book in Richard Stark's acclaimed series featuring Parker, the amoral antihero criminal mastermind. While the book can be read as a stand-alone, it is really the capstone of the series to that point and the last Parker novel that would appear until Comeback, a full twenty-three years later.
The original plan seems simple enough: Two years earlier (in Slayground), Parker and several confederates hit an armored car in the Midwestern town of Tyler for $73,000. But before they could get away, the cops closed in and Parker was forced to hide out in an amusement park that was closed for the winter. A group of mobsters and a few corrupt cops laid siege to the park in the hope of separating Parker from the money. Ultimately, Parker hid the money in the park and managed to escape.
Now, after another job has come up empty, Parker decides to go back to Tyler and retrieve the $73,000. He recruits Alan Grofield, one of his long-time associates, and the two of them quietly go to Tyler, wait for the amusement park to close for the night, and head for the spot where Parker hid the loot.
It isn't there.
This will come as no great surprise to the reader because this is the longest of the Parker novels and Parker and Grofield discover that the money is gone on page 21, which means that they will have to spend the rest of the book attempting to get the money back.
Parker is not really surprised to find the money missing either. He reaches the logical conclusion that, in the wake of his escape, the mobsters searched the park until they found the money and appropriated it for their own purposes.
Parker explains to Grofield that he knows who the boss of the local mob is. Parker calls the guy and politely asks that he return Parker's money. Not surprisingly, the mobster claims that he doesn't have it. He insists that his men did search the park but couldn't find it. Parker naturally refuses to believe him and takes several steps to demonstrate that the mobster should not take his threats lightly.
As it happens, Parker and Grofield have arrived in town at a critical time for the local mob. A gang war is brewing and Parker decides that he'll show the locals what a real gang war looks like. He recruits his own gang, composed of a number of characters from the earlier Parker novels, and goes after the mobsters, leading to a sensational climax befitting what Stark originally intended to be the last book in the series.
This is a gripping and very entertaining book that will appeal especially to those who have read the earlier Parker books and who will recognize so many of the characters that Stark resurrects. But it's hard to imagine that anyone who loves crime fiction will not thoroughly enjoy Butcher's Moon.
The original plan seems simple enough: Two years earlier (in Slayground), Parker and several confederates hit an armored car in the Midwestern town of Tyler for $73,000. But before they could get away, the cops closed in and Parker was forced to hide out in an amusement park that was closed for the winter. A group of mobsters and a few corrupt cops laid siege to the park in the hope of separating Parker from the money. Ultimately, Parker hid the money in the park and managed to escape.
Now, after another job has come up empty, Parker decides to go back to Tyler and retrieve the $73,000. He recruits Alan Grofield, one of his long-time associates, and the two of them quietly go to Tyler, wait for the amusement park to close for the night, and head for the spot where Parker hid the loot.
It isn't there.
This will come as no great surprise to the reader because this is the longest of the Parker novels and Parker and Grofield discover that the money is gone on page 21, which means that they will have to spend the rest of the book attempting to get the money back.
Parker is not really surprised to find the money missing either. He reaches the logical conclusion that, in the wake of his escape, the mobsters searched the park until they found the money and appropriated it for their own purposes.
Parker explains to Grofield that he knows who the boss of the local mob is. Parker calls the guy and politely asks that he return Parker's money. Not surprisingly, the mobster claims that he doesn't have it. He insists that his men did search the park but couldn't find it. Parker naturally refuses to believe him and takes several steps to demonstrate that the mobster should not take his threats lightly.
As it happens, Parker and Grofield have arrived in town at a critical time for the local mob. A gang war is brewing and Parker decides that he'll show the locals what a real gang war looks like. He recruits his own gang, composed of a number of characters from the earlier Parker novels, and goes after the mobsters, leading to a sensational climax befitting what Stark originally intended to be the last book in the series.
This is a gripping and very entertaining book that will appeal especially to those who have read the earlier Parker books and who will recognize so many of the characters that Stark resurrects. But it's hard to imagine that anyone who loves crime fiction will not thoroughly enjoy Butcher's Moon.
May 1, 2020
i never read any of Stark thrillers. do not blame me for this. it it better later than never and this one came to me like a bullet train riding full speed. this guy do not throw words ahead if they are not pure action. there is no time for almost any description, you hardly even know where it is happening beside that it is in a sin city and this guy Parker coming to collect his old due money. and when he don't get it he goes full revenge. quite amazing. the second half is much much stronger. for a while i thought it is a modern urban western or a best b movie i can not stop reading-watching.i give it 4.5 which i rarely do.
May 20, 2017
I wonder if I would still feel the same sense of closure if I didn’t already know it would be over twenty years before Parker would “comeback.” (Of course this is not counting his appearance as a character in a novel within the Dortmunder novel: Jimmy the Kid; a book I don’t consider a part of the Parker progression but still plan to read one day.) Butcher’s Moon immediately brings to mind The Hunter, where we first met Parker. Somebody has money that belongs to Parker and he’s going to get it back no matter what, a plot element that now brackets the series. Other observations: this is a much thicker book than the others and Westlake also abandons the four part structure.
And it is a reunion of sorts. Half of the take is Grofield’s, so he’s there for the recovery attempt. And it becomes complicated enough that more help if needed. Handy McKay comes out of retirement. And others that we’ve met--and Parker hasn’t killed yet--appear. A professional gathering for the thieves and a celebration for us. It was the satisfying ending that Westlake intended.
Fair Warning: Part of what makes this a 5-Star rating is how it wraps up the series, and it may not translate to those who do not know its history.
And it is a reunion of sorts. Half of the take is Grofield’s, so he’s there for the recovery attempt. And it becomes complicated enough that more help if needed. Handy McKay comes out of retirement. And others that we’ve met--and Parker hasn’t killed yet--appear. A professional gathering for the thieves and a celebration for us. It was the satisfying ending that Westlake intended.
Fair Warning: Part of what makes this a 5-Star rating is how it wraps up the series, and it may not translate to those who do not know its history.
October 24, 2021
After book number 16 of this series Mr Stark took a 25 year break from creating Parker's crime infested world. I must say- he went out with a BIG ol' bang!! Everyone in Butcher's Moon is a target and as the bodies pile up it seems Parker and his ilk might have finally met their match.... Or have they?!?! Hmmmmmmmmmm?
Five Fantastically Bullet Steeped Stars
runonoutandgetyousomeofthisfunkystuffyo
Five Fantastically Bullet Steeped Stars
runonoutandgetyousomeofthisfunkystuffyo
April 4, 2011
I can see why this was the last one written of the original series. Stark perfected the Parker story,formula. The writing,the many different viewpoints,the characters,the pace,the story,the heists. This is Parker at his most cold blooded and brutal,his smartest. He is so hardcore,ruthless when he takes on his enemies. The action,the twists, is breakneck,believable and thrilling.
It is not only the best in the series, its a massive novel and an alltime great. It was truly the Parker novel to end all Parker novels. Before i thought how could Stark leave Parker series to hang for 24 years but now i understand. Stark,Parker went out at their peak and no reason to keep writing the year after this novel really.
It is not only the best in the series, its a massive novel and an alltime great. It was truly the Parker novel to end all Parker novels. Before i thought how could Stark leave Parker series to hang for 24 years but now i understand. Stark,Parker went out at their peak and no reason to keep writing the year after this novel really.
June 11, 2017
June 2017 Review I'm giving this an extra star. I still think the end was overblown, but I liked it better this time. This time I read it directly after Slayground for reasons that are obvious if you've read it. I highly recommend reading all the other Parker & Grofield books first. This one wraps them all up with a bow.
April 2015 Review Twice as long as the preceding books, I was worried that Westlake had gone all Stephen King or something. He didn't. Still the same tight prose that I love. Same Parker, too. In fact, this whole story is a walk down memory lane, but just by touching on each item & character. Not a lot of detail to bore the reader familiar with the series. There are far too many spoilers if you haven't read the preceding books!!! You have been warned. Read the others & at least the first Grofield book before reading this.
This was a 4 star read until the end which was just too overblown for me. One of the things I like so much about this series is that while Parker & his associates (He has no pals.) have pulled more complex jobs than is believable, each story is very believable. There's very little hyperbole save for Parker's understated, almost machine-like performance. The last big scene just went off the reservation, though. No, it was just too much. Some finesse would have been appreciated, but instead it was just heavy-handed.
Aside from that, it was a really fun read, though. As usual, very well read. The best news is my library has most of the rest available now, too. I'm still looking forward to the next one.
April 2015 Review Twice as long as the preceding books, I was worried that Westlake had gone all Stephen King or something. He didn't. Still the same tight prose that I love. Same Parker, too. In fact, this whole story is a walk down memory lane, but just by touching on each item & character. Not a lot of detail to bore the reader familiar with the series. There are far too many spoilers if you haven't read the preceding books!!! You have been warned. Read the others & at least the first Grofield book before reading this.
This was a 4 star read until the end which was just too overblown for me. One of the things I like so much about this series is that while Parker & his associates (He has no pals.) have pulled more complex jobs than is believable, each story is very believable. There's very little hyperbole save for Parker's understated, almost machine-like performance. The last big scene just went off the reservation, though. No, it was just too much. Some finesse would have been appreciated, but instead it was just heavy-handed.
Aside from that, it was a really fun read, though. As usual, very well read. The best news is my library has most of the rest available now, too. I'm still looking forward to the next one.
July 12, 2017
How good is the sixteenth Parker novel "Butcher's Moon"? It's so damn good that, after reading it, people sat around with their hands folded for twenty-three long years, staring at the walls and waiting for the next Parker book. This book reminded me of the first and third Parker books when a young Parker decides the Outfit owes him money and there will be nothing but havoc until he gets his money. In fact, here, Parker even has the head of the local outfit call Karns and ask whether or not he should pay Parker. Two years earlier, Parker and Grofield pulled off an armored car robbery that went wrong. As detailed in "The Blackbird," Grofield ended up in a hospital and sent on a mission by the CIA. As detailed in "Slayground," Parker made off with the bag of loot: $73,000. But he had to hide in an amusement park where he was chased by twenty hoods who wanted his dough. In escaping he had to stash the loot. Two years later, he suddenly decided to back for the loot, grabs Grofield, and goes. Convinced the local mob grabbed it, he sets out to wreak absolute havoc in their world until they pay him what they took. This is Parker tough, unyielding, uncompromising, and in the middle of a local gang war that will leave few standing when the smoke clears. A terrific crime novel and one of the best of the series. Sardonic, nasty, tight.
November 10, 2018
Perhaps the best of the Parker series, and what was for many years, his last book. After a series of bad luck robberies and running low on cash, Parker and the sometimes actor Grofield, go back to recover the $73,000, Parker had to abandon in an amusement park, dodging gangsters and dirty cops in Slayground. Unfortunately, the chief gangster doesn't have his money and even after checking with the big city mob boss, decides to ignore Parker, at his own peril. Parker and Grofield strike back, but when Grofield is shot and captured, Parker unleashes his own version of a jihad, by calling in his many friends to wage war against the gangsters/dirty cops, who themselves are mired in their own power struggles. Terrific action, vintage Parker.
August 16, 2018
I'm a huge Parker fan and this novel is the best of an incredible series. What a perfect way to wrap up the series by making a double length novel that fits nicely into two parts. First part - Parker and Grofield team up to recover the money Parker lost in Slayground. Second part, Parker gets the gang together to rescue Grofield. Now, you might say "it wasn't the end of the series - many books came after that" BUT for over a decade it was the end and it looked like Rickard Stark (aka Donald Westlake) wouldn't write another Parker novel...until he couldn't help himself and Comeback was released.
If you are a Parker fan you have to read this. If you aren't - this isn't the book to start with because the joy of reading it is multiplied because it brings back characters from earlier Parker novels. In fact - the edition was originally going to have footnotes about which books the characters mentioned first/last appeared and its a shame it didn't. But true Parker fans can make the connections without the footnotes.
Why do I love Parker so much? Tightly plotted stories, a protagonist who is of few words but is smart and efficient, fun and enjoyable heists. I appreciate that Parker is a character that we can root for because he is so smart. The crises in the stories aren't because of his mistakes or failings but because of things beyond his control. He is of so few words but the writer, Stark, fills out his personality with his actions. In fact - this story is also notable for the "emotional outburst" Parker has when he decides to rescue Grofield. One of the other crooks asks why he is doing it - it is so unlike Parker to risk his life going back for someone. Parker gets mad he even has to explain himself. Probably because he can't. It is unlike Parker but at the same time it is perfectly Parker, because the people holding Gorfield made it personal. And you don't want to make it personal when that person is Parker.
If you are a Parker fan you have to read this. If you aren't - this isn't the book to start with because the joy of reading it is multiplied because it brings back characters from earlier Parker novels. In fact - the edition was originally going to have footnotes about which books the characters mentioned first/last appeared and its a shame it didn't. But true Parker fans can make the connections without the footnotes.
Why do I love Parker so much? Tightly plotted stories, a protagonist who is of few words but is smart and efficient, fun and enjoyable heists. I appreciate that Parker is a character that we can root for because he is so smart. The crises in the stories aren't because of his mistakes or failings but because of things beyond his control. He is of so few words but the writer, Stark, fills out his personality with his actions. In fact - this story is also notable for the "emotional outburst" Parker has when he decides to rescue Grofield. One of the other crooks asks why he is doing it - it is so unlike Parker to risk his life going back for someone. Parker gets mad he even has to explain himself. Probably because he can't. It is unlike Parker but at the same time it is perfectly Parker, because the people holding Gorfield made it personal. And you don't want to make it personal when that person is Parker.
March 15, 2012
I actually quite like those later Parker novels, but you can see why Richard Stark may have preferred to go out on a nitroglycerin bang with this one. The phrase that follows is normally a trite old cliché, but in this case is genuinely true – this is the Parker novel to end all Parker novels. ‘Butcher’s Moon’ rolls together all the attitude, themes and even the various crews of the earlier books into an genuinely thrilling read.
After a particularly bad streak, Parker remembers that he stashed some money in an amusement park in Tyler (at the end of ‘Slayground’) and so enlists Grofield to go and fetch it. However the local mob isn’t overly happy with the thought of giving the money back and so Parker determines to teach them a lesson. When that doesn’t work, he enlists some old friends to burn their world down.
This is a bravura performance. Stark keeps the momentum of the plot progressing like a speeding getaway car. At the same time managing to flesh out Parker’s crew, give us a well defined selection of bad guys (bad guys, of course, being a relative term), as well as the normal selection of innocent and not so innocent bystanders. With foot on the accelerator, the pace never lessens for a paragraph, with the result that this is the first book in a long while where I was desperate each and every time to get started on the next chapter.
It’d certainly best to have a working knowledge of the Parker novels before this one, but if you don’t – then just enjoy the ride and think what fun you’ll have filling in the gaps in your understanding.
After a particularly bad streak, Parker remembers that he stashed some money in an amusement park in Tyler (at the end of ‘Slayground’) and so enlists Grofield to go and fetch it. However the local mob isn’t overly happy with the thought of giving the money back and so Parker determines to teach them a lesson. When that doesn’t work, he enlists some old friends to burn their world down.
This is a bravura performance. Stark keeps the momentum of the plot progressing like a speeding getaway car. At the same time managing to flesh out Parker’s crew, give us a well defined selection of bad guys (bad guys, of course, being a relative term), as well as the normal selection of innocent and not so innocent bystanders. With foot on the accelerator, the pace never lessens for a paragraph, with the result that this is the first book in a long while where I was desperate each and every time to get started on the next chapter.
It’d certainly best to have a working knowledge of the Parker novels before this one, but if you don’t – then just enjoy the ride and think what fun you’ll have filling in the gaps in your understanding.
February 5, 2023
If you’ve read/listened to the first 15 then #16 packs a punch with lots of action and Parker is finally out for revenge. Even better, Westlake brings back memorable plots and previous characters from his earlier books in the series which contributes to my rare 5-star rating for an Audible book.
✍️
Another thing that makes it special is the forward by the author’s friend, Lawrence Block, who writes in the same genre and was very prolific during his prime - I completed his Bernie Rhodenbarr series about the burglar/bookstore owner and it was a treat.
📚
It would be 23 years before #17 was published and he would add 8 more to the series before his passing in 2008.
✍️
Another thing that makes it special is the forward by the author’s friend, Lawrence Block, who writes in the same genre and was very prolific during his prime - I completed his Bernie Rhodenbarr series about the burglar/bookstore owner and it was a treat.
📚
It would be 23 years before #17 was published and he would add 8 more to the series before his passing in 2008.
September 3, 2024
The last of the first series (16) of Parker novels. Late in his life Richard Stark (Donald E Westlake) would return to Parker, but this was a nice finish to the first group. A lot of the old gang getting back together, and old score reclaimed, and accounts balanced.
July 25, 2021
Parker and the Crime Spree
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (January, 2013) of the Random House hardcover (1974)
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, an antihero criminal who is usually betrayed or ensnared in some manner and who spends each book getting revenge or escaping the circumstances.
Butcher's Moon finds Parker returning to the town of the scene of the crime in Slayground (Parker #14 - 1971) in order to retrieve the lost loot from that heist which he had to abandon in his escape. He believes that it is the local mob that has collected his score. They in turn are understandably reluctant to reimburse Parker for his losses. The master heister then proceeds to unleash a horde of his cronies to rob all of the mob's front operations while insisting those scores are just interest on the outstanding debt. The truth of the original lost score is gradually revealed.
Butcher's Moon was the culmination of the first arc of Parker stories from 1962 to 1974, after which Richard Stark retired the character for 25 years until Comeback (Parker #17 - 1997).
Narrator Joe Barrett does a good job in all voices in this audiobook edition.
I had never previously read the Stark/Parker novels but became curious when they came up in my recent reading of The Writer's Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives (Sept. 2020) by Nancy Pearl & Jeff Schwager. Here is a (perhaps surprising) excerpt from their discussion with Amor Towles:
The 24 Parker books are almost all available for free on Audible Plus, except for #21 & #22 which aren't available at all.
Trivia and Links
There is a brief plot summary of Butcher's Moon and of all the Parker books and adaptations at The Violent World of Parker website.
Unlike many of the 2010-2013 Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook editions which share the same cover art as the University of Chicago Press 2009-2011 reprints, this audiobook DOES include the Foreword by author Lawrence Block.
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (January, 2013) of the Random House hardcover (1974)
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, an antihero criminal who is usually betrayed or ensnared in some manner and who spends each book getting revenge or escaping the circumstances.
Butcher's Moon finds Parker returning to the town of the scene of the crime in Slayground (Parker #14 - 1971) in order to retrieve the lost loot from that heist which he had to abandon in his escape. He believes that it is the local mob that has collected his score. They in turn are understandably reluctant to reimburse Parker for his losses. The master heister then proceeds to unleash a horde of his cronies to rob all of the mob's front operations while insisting those scores are just interest on the outstanding debt. The truth of the original lost score is gradually revealed.
Butcher's Moon was the culmination of the first arc of Parker stories from 1962 to 1974, after which Richard Stark retired the character for 25 years until Comeback (Parker #17 - 1997).
Narrator Joe Barrett does a good job in all voices in this audiobook edition.
I had never previously read the Stark/Parker novels but became curious when they came up in my recent reading of The Writer's Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives (Sept. 2020) by Nancy Pearl & Jeff Schwager. Here is a (perhaps surprising) excerpt from their discussion with Amor Towles:
Nancy: Do you read Lee Child?
Amor: I know Lee. I had never read his books until I met him, but now I read them whenever they come out. I think some of the decisions he makes are ingenious.
Jeff: Have you read the Parker books by Donald Westlake [writing as Richard Stark]?
Amor: I think the Parker books are an extraordinary series.
Jeff: They feel like a big influence on Reacher, right down to the name. Both Reacher and Parker have a singular focus on the task in front of them.
Amor: But Parker is amoral. Reacher is just dangerous.
Jeff: Right. Reacher doesn't have a conventional morality, but he has his own morality. Parker will do anything he has to do to achieve his goal.
Amor: But to your point, Westlake's staccato style with its great twists at the end of the paragraphs, and his mesmerizing central character - these attributes are clearly shared by the Reacher books.
The 24 Parker books are almost all available for free on Audible Plus, except for #21 & #22 which aren't available at all.
Trivia and Links
There is a brief plot summary of Butcher's Moon and of all the Parker books and adaptations at The Violent World of Parker website.
Unlike many of the 2010-2013 Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook editions which share the same cover art as the University of Chicago Press 2009-2011 reprints, this audiobook DOES include the Foreword by author Lawrence Block.
May 17, 2013
Great suspense. Great read. A lot of killing. I was smiling a lot at the end.
This is one of the best Parker books. It’s better if you read Slayground before this. This continues that story. This is sooo good. Great revenge! Parker takes on a local mob. They are no match for Parker. They are like children next to him.
I was intrigued with a comment in the Forward by Lawrence Block. When Stark was writing the first Parker novel, Block asked Stark if he knew where the story was going. Stark said “Sort of. I’ll just keep writing and see where it goes.” That reminded me of Stephen King. King said something like he never knows his plot or ending in advance. He just starts with an inspiration. I think that’s a great way to write. Stark is doing the same.
The narrator Joe Barrett was pretty good, but I did not like his voice for Parker. It sounded too normal-guy-like. I prefer Keith Szarabajka.
THE SERIES:
This is book 16 in the 24 book series. These stories are about bad guys. They rob. They kill. They’re smart. Most don’t go to jail. Parker is the main bad guy, a brilliant strategist. He partners with different guys for different jobs in each book.
If you are new to the series, I suggest reading the first three and then choose among the rest. A few should be read in order since characters continue in a sequel fashion. Those are listed below (with my star ratings). The rest can be read as stand alones.
The first three books in order:
4 stars. The Hunter (Point Blank movie with Lee Marvin 1967) (Payback movie with Mel Gibson)
3 ½ stars. The Man with the Getaway Face (The Steel Hit)
4 stars. The Outfit.
Read these two in order:
5 stars. Slayground (Bk #14)
5 stars. Butcher’s Moon (Bk #16)
Read these four in order:
4 ½ stars. The Sour Lemon Score (Bk #12)
2 ½ stars. Firebreak (Bk #20)
(not read) Nobody Runs Forever (Bk #22)
2 ½ stars. Dirty Money (Bk #24)
Others that I gave 4 or more stars to:
The Jugger (Bk #6), The Seventh (Bk#7), The Handle (Bk #8), Deadly Edge (Bk#13), Flashfire (Bk#19)
DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Unabridged audiobook length: 10 hrs and 6 mins. Swearing language: moderate including religious swear words. Sexual content: one scene briefly referred to. Setting: around 1974 mostly the town of Tyler. Book copyright: 1974. Genre: noir crime fiction.
This is one of the best Parker books. It’s better if you read Slayground before this. This continues that story. This is sooo good. Great revenge! Parker takes on a local mob. They are no match for Parker. They are like children next to him.
I was intrigued with a comment in the Forward by Lawrence Block. When Stark was writing the first Parker novel, Block asked Stark if he knew where the story was going. Stark said “Sort of. I’ll just keep writing and see where it goes.” That reminded me of Stephen King. King said something like he never knows his plot or ending in advance. He just starts with an inspiration. I think that’s a great way to write. Stark is doing the same.
The narrator Joe Barrett was pretty good, but I did not like his voice for Parker. It sounded too normal-guy-like. I prefer Keith Szarabajka.
THE SERIES:
This is book 16 in the 24 book series. These stories are about bad guys. They rob. They kill. They’re smart. Most don’t go to jail. Parker is the main bad guy, a brilliant strategist. He partners with different guys for different jobs in each book.
If you are new to the series, I suggest reading the first three and then choose among the rest. A few should be read in order since characters continue in a sequel fashion. Those are listed below (with my star ratings). The rest can be read as stand alones.
The first three books in order:
4 stars. The Hunter (Point Blank movie with Lee Marvin 1967) (Payback movie with Mel Gibson)
3 ½ stars. The Man with the Getaway Face (The Steel Hit)
4 stars. The Outfit.
Read these two in order:
5 stars. Slayground (Bk #14)
5 stars. Butcher’s Moon (Bk #16)
Read these four in order:
4 ½ stars. The Sour Lemon Score (Bk #12)
2 ½ stars. Firebreak (Bk #20)
(not read) Nobody Runs Forever (Bk #22)
2 ½ stars. Dirty Money (Bk #24)
Others that I gave 4 or more stars to:
The Jugger (Bk #6), The Seventh (Bk#7), The Handle (Bk #8), Deadly Edge (Bk#13), Flashfire (Bk#19)
DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Unabridged audiobook length: 10 hrs and 6 mins. Swearing language: moderate including religious swear words. Sexual content: one scene briefly referred to. Setting: around 1974 mostly the town of Tyler. Book copyright: 1974. Genre: noir crime fiction.
May 23, 2017
This, the 16th in the Parker series, was pretty grim, longer than average, and on the whole, a bit less enjoyable for me than earlier works in this series.
I really enjoy the complex, but nevertheless, rather sociopathic Parker- a tough character who is guided by his own sense of fairness, but is just as ruthless as anyone when it serves his purpose.
He and a colleague venture into a small but predictably corrupt town to recover a stolen cache that Parker had stashed some time before. Unfortunately for the town's corrupt mayor, mobbed up "goodfellas," and dirty cops, Parker isn't one to say "easy come, easy go" upon discovering that his ill-gotten goods have been subsequently purloined by someone connected to the town's controlling mobster. Parker is determined to have his money returned to him (stolen or not), and will stop at nothing to assure that outcome.
Well, one can imagine the fun that ensues when the bad guys underestimate both Parker's resolve and talents. One twist in this book that I found interesting was the inclusion toward the latter part of the story, of a small "army" of Parker's associates, gathered from previous novels; all hard men, all willing to work with Parker not only for the good return on investment of their time, but out of sheer respect for Parker and the way he conducts his business. Professional courtesy of sorts.
As with any Parker book, there's humor, and I enjoy the author's subtle use of it, but frankly found this story, on the whole, rather darker and more depressing than most of these novels.
Be that as it may, it's still well worth the reading, especially for fans of Parker, or of any of Richard Stark's (actually, Don Westlake) work.
I really enjoy the complex, but nevertheless, rather sociopathic Parker- a tough character who is guided by his own sense of fairness, but is just as ruthless as anyone when it serves his purpose.
He and a colleague venture into a small but predictably corrupt town to recover a stolen cache that Parker had stashed some time before. Unfortunately for the town's corrupt mayor, mobbed up "goodfellas," and dirty cops, Parker isn't one to say "easy come, easy go" upon discovering that his ill-gotten goods have been subsequently purloined by someone connected to the town's controlling mobster. Parker is determined to have his money returned to him (stolen or not), and will stop at nothing to assure that outcome.
Well, one can imagine the fun that ensues when the bad guys underestimate both Parker's resolve and talents. One twist in this book that I found interesting was the inclusion toward the latter part of the story, of a small "army" of Parker's associates, gathered from previous novels; all hard men, all willing to work with Parker not only for the good return on investment of their time, but out of sheer respect for Parker and the way he conducts his business. Professional courtesy of sorts.
As with any Parker book, there's humor, and I enjoy the author's subtle use of it, but frankly found this story, on the whole, rather darker and more depressing than most of these novels.
Be that as it may, it's still well worth the reading, especially for fans of Parker, or of any of Richard Stark's (actually, Don Westlake) work.
April 12, 2011
The last of the Parkers for me. And my favorite of the series.
Parker is on one of those occasional dry spells and decides to retrieve the money he'd hid from a previous job so that he could manage his escape from the pursuing police and their criminal associates(Slayride). He gets his partner from the job, Grofeld, and when they get there, in the amusement park, the stash is gone.
He knows the people who were looking for him back then and goes to them for his money.
At the time, it was the last Parker novel for over twenty years and a fitting conclusion. He brings in a number of folks he's worked with in other books and goes after the bad guys, whether cops or out-and-out criminals.
Then the double cross happens.
One thing one doesn't do is cross Parker. He doesn't take that sort of thing well.
Parker is on one of those occasional dry spells and decides to retrieve the money he'd hid from a previous job so that he could manage his escape from the pursuing police and their criminal associates(Slayride). He gets his partner from the job, Grofeld, and when they get there, in the amusement park, the stash is gone.
He knows the people who were looking for him back then and goes to them for his money.
At the time, it was the last Parker novel for over twenty years and a fitting conclusion. He brings in a number of folks he's worked with in other books and goes after the bad guys, whether cops or out-and-out criminals.
Then the double cross happens.
One thing one doesn't do is cross Parker. He doesn't take that sort of thing well.
April 3, 2018
This is the longest Parker book I've read and I think the longest in the series (more than twice as long as the others). That said you don't lose any quality here and there is very little if any flagging. Here Parker goes back to retrieve the money he left behind in Slayground. For Parker (in the book) only a couple of years have passed (though for the reader when the books were published for the first time more than 20 years had gone by). Now Parker and the surviving partner from the fiasco that the armored car job in Slayground turned out to go back to "simply" retrieve "their" money...
But it's not there and before things are over Parker is involved in (possibly starts?) a full-fledged gang war...
Worth reading, recommended, enjoy.
But it's not there and before things are over Parker is involved in (possibly starts?) a full-fledged gang war...
Worth reading, recommended, enjoy.
March 18, 2012
The Hunter + The Score = Butcher’s Moon. For more than two decades, it seemed that Butcher’s Moon would be the last Parker novel, and I have to admit that some small part of me wishes that it were, as it makes a perfect coda to original series of novels (and is even richer still if you have read the Grofield novels, too). Having said that, however, I will relish reading Comeback, and I will not feel obligated to wait 23 years before I do it.
May 1, 2018
“Running toward the light, Parker fired twice over his left shoulder, not caring whether he hit anything or not.”
Easily the best Parker novel, wrapping up the preceding fifteen novels in a neat little ultraviolent package.
Easily the best Parker novel, wrapping up the preceding fifteen novels in a neat little ultraviolent package.
March 19, 2017
The last Parker written before the long break. It's got characters from like ten books in it, but it still all works. He wants his money. People should give it to him.
February 7, 2025
"All at once, with the conviction of a revelation, he knew there were going to be more punches than one. Looking toward the window, Calesian thought, 'He's out there somewhere, right now, hitting again."'
The explosive (kinda-)finale to the ground-breaking and retrospectively-perfect Parker crime heist series, "Butcher's Moon" (1974) finds Parker deciding it is time to go back for the money cache he left behind in a prior score that went sideways ("Slayground," my review #525) and somehow he ends up in the middle of a brewing mob war.
"Butcher's Moon" isn't actually the finale to the Parker series because the author Westlake/Stark would return to the series 20 years later with 1997's "Comeback" but a finale is what this feels like. The culmination of 16 amoral heists, mysteries, brutal takedowns, intricate plans, con man swindles, accidental blunders, and genius double-crosses. As such, for readers of crime fiction familiar with these stories, it might rate among the best books we've ever read.
Reading "Butcher's Moon" raises in my mind a whole slew of new questions I'm asking myself, deeper meaning, all selfish and inward-directed, of course:
1) Has "Butcher's Moon" actually convinced me to go back and read them all again back to back to back (x16) from the beginning before taking on the 20-year-follow-up "Comeback?" I kinda want to. I might see if I can take off a week this summer and crush the whole first 16 books again. Short, hardnosed, classic heist mysteries, each readable in one sitting except for this one, the lengthiest by far.
2) What are the best of these sixteen Parker novels? Here are how I 'rated' them here:
Order Title Rating (out of five)
1 The Hunter 1 (I hated the first one)
2 The Man with the Getaway Face 4
3 The Outfit 5
4 The Mourner 4
5 The Score 3
6 The Jugger 4
7 The Seventh 4
8 The Handle 3
9 The Rare Coin Score 4
10 The Green Eagle Score 4
11 The Black Ice Score 4
12 The Sour Lemon Score 4
13 Deadly Edge 3
14 Slayground 4
15 Plunder Squad 5
16 Butcher's Moon 5
For context, my average rating for all of my reviews is 2.9 and only 8% of my reads get 5's. I definitely took a relative liking to the Parker series above.
3) Which of my three beautiful children should get all these books when I die? I certainly can't split them up. Should I hold a "Fun Island" style contest with the winner getting them? Should I be buried with them? Or perhaps should I leave them stored in a hotel safe under a fake name known only to me, never to be claimed rightfully again? In the spirit of this series, as an ode to Parker, if you will, I think that's what I'd do. ... I guess that's unless my Parker-fan super father-in-law wants to put dibs on these. In that case, he can join the kids on that Fun Island free-for-all lol.
Verdict: A crime masterpiece. Loads of fun. The only knock on "Butcher's Moon" is that it won't be as fun for someone who hasn't read a lot of the other Parker series; it feels like a Season 6 of the Sopranos like that.
Jeff's Rating: 5 / 5 (Excellent)
movie rating if made into a movie: R
The explosive (kinda-)finale to the ground-breaking and retrospectively-perfect Parker crime heist series, "Butcher's Moon" (1974) finds Parker deciding it is time to go back for the money cache he left behind in a prior score that went sideways ("Slayground," my review #525) and somehow he ends up in the middle of a brewing mob war.
"Butcher's Moon" isn't actually the finale to the Parker series because the author Westlake/Stark would return to the series 20 years later with 1997's "Comeback" but a finale is what this feels like. The culmination of 16 amoral heists, mysteries, brutal takedowns, intricate plans, con man swindles, accidental blunders, and genius double-crosses. As such, for readers of crime fiction familiar with these stories, it might rate among the best books we've ever read.
Reading "Butcher's Moon" raises in my mind a whole slew of new questions I'm asking myself, deeper meaning, all selfish and inward-directed, of course:
1) Has "Butcher's Moon" actually convinced me to go back and read them all again back to back to back (x16) from the beginning before taking on the 20-year-follow-up "Comeback?" I kinda want to. I might see if I can take off a week this summer and crush the whole first 16 books again. Short, hardnosed, classic heist mysteries, each readable in one sitting except for this one, the lengthiest by far.
2) What are the best of these sixteen Parker novels? Here are how I 'rated' them here:
Order Title Rating (out of five)
1 The Hunter 1 (I hated the first one)
2 The Man with the Getaway Face 4
3 The Outfit 5
4 The Mourner 4
5 The Score 3
6 The Jugger 4
7 The Seventh 4
8 The Handle 3
9 The Rare Coin Score 4
10 The Green Eagle Score 4
11 The Black Ice Score 4
12 The Sour Lemon Score 4
13 Deadly Edge 3
14 Slayground 4
15 Plunder Squad 5
16 Butcher's Moon 5
For context, my average rating for all of my reviews is 2.9 and only 8% of my reads get 5's. I definitely took a relative liking to the Parker series above.
3) Which of my three beautiful children should get all these books when I die? I certainly can't split them up. Should I hold a "Fun Island" style contest with the winner getting them? Should I be buried with them? Or perhaps should I leave them stored in a hotel safe under a fake name known only to me, never to be claimed rightfully again? In the spirit of this series, as an ode to Parker, if you will, I think that's what I'd do. ... I guess that's unless my Parker-fan super father-in-law wants to put dibs on these. In that case, he can join the kids on that Fun Island free-for-all lol.
Verdict: A crime masterpiece. Loads of fun. The only knock on "Butcher's Moon" is that it won't be as fun for someone who hasn't read a lot of the other Parker series; it feels like a Season 6 of the Sopranos like that.
Jeff's Rating: 5 / 5 (Excellent)
movie rating if made into a movie: R
December 23, 2025
The Parker series gets a big crescendo here, and it's a lot of fun. Longer, more complicated, and featuring far more characters than usual this knits Parker's adventures together and assembles many characters from his past for one big job and many small jobs. Unfortunately it suffers from a common issue in late Parker novels. Parker is supposed to be a completely cold, rational, and practical man. Such a man would have bailed on this mess as not worth it pretty early. Instead Parker goes full belligerent wrath-of-God. I suspect I will like this one more on a reread.
June 18, 2017
The fallout from a two year old armored car robbery (Slayground) has left Parker in a tight spot. When he goes looking for his lost loot, he finds it missing. He wants his money but the "organization" who was at odds with Parker over the heist claims they don't have possession of it. So where does this leave our main man? Driving with part time thief and actor Grofield to the city of Tyler in order to reclaim Parker's money and be on their merry way. Only it's not quite that simple. The town is run by the same hoods that may have Parker's money and worse yet ... it is days away from a mayoral election in which the interests of organized crime are at stake. The last thing these thugs want is Parker sniffing around, causing trouble. Parker must decide if interfering with local politics and organized crime is worth the return of his loot. He will also find out who his real friends are and how far his code of "play the hand your dealt" will stretch in order to fulfill his intentions.
Butcher's Moon contains some of the best staples of the Parker series while adding some new elements in the mix. First, let's start with the good and familiar. It's got the number one amoral badass that everyone loves: Parker. Like always, he's chasing a payday and is behind due to some unforeseen circumstances. But he gets right in the thick of the action in order to see his quest through. Punching, shooting, slapping, sneaking, hiding, and driving are all methods that our antihero utilizes throughout the book. And it's great.
We also have the return of some awesome side characters. (I've got a soft spot for Grofield). For those who have been loyal readers of the series, many of the names and backgrounds will bring back some fond memories of criminal mayhem. Parker has assembled a group of tough sonsabitches to do battle with modern gangsters and let me tell ya ... pretty good lineup.
There is something new about Butcher's Moon ... well at least for a Parker entry. It's long, which is a good addition. The reader gets double the trouble with a 300 page offering. Stark (Westlake) also provides more context and dialogue. This was definitely not the case with the previous books which gives it the feel of a more traditional crime novel but no like an old Parker. The narrative flow doesn't quite have the same pace as the others. The different: more dialogue as Parker says some really cool lines as opposed to stacking up corpses and the plot has a very long fuse that leads to a big boom in the last 25 pages or so. All of this is new and all of this was appreciated.
Last but not least, the descriptive violence is ramped up. This creates a more serious, rated R Parker story with a, again, different feel than the other capers. I'd say the body count was low but when someone gets popped it often involves a grotesque description of what body part got nailed. This renders the action more thrilling but less fun and creative as the older books. Plus there are a ton of F bombs which feel right in the mix and also show that this was written in a different time (1974) than the Hunter (1962).
Parker is different in this one. He sheds his "doesn't give a shit unless it concerns my money" persona and actually implements a seething desire for revenge. This is new and refreshing but yet seems a little alien. Same with the crew that Parker has assembled. With so many former references and characters, it can be a little overwhelming to comprehend them all without rereading a few chapters from previous books. Come on University of Chicago Press! You publish all sorts of academic works...throw in a footnote here and there. Even though they come together nicely, many of the best supporting crooks have been killed off in previous entries. This cohort is good, but I wouldn't consider it to be Parker's The Last Waltz farewell concert or anything like that.
If you've gotten here I imagine that you have read all the books up until Butcher's Moon. Congratulations! You've spent hours with the world's greatest heistman and learned a thing or two about great crime fiction. This criminal capstone (at least originally intended) was worth the ride and journey. Now let's see who/what is/are robbed, slapped, punched, beaten, fleeced, shot, dropped, betrayed, partnered up with, ratted on, and/or paid off in the upcoming novels in this superb series.
Butcher's Moon contains some of the best staples of the Parker series while adding some new elements in the mix. First, let's start with the good and familiar. It's got the number one amoral badass that everyone loves: Parker. Like always, he's chasing a payday and is behind due to some unforeseen circumstances. But he gets right in the thick of the action in order to see his quest through. Punching, shooting, slapping, sneaking, hiding, and driving are all methods that our antihero utilizes throughout the book. And it's great.
We also have the return of some awesome side characters. (I've got a soft spot for Grofield). For those who have been loyal readers of the series, many of the names and backgrounds will bring back some fond memories of criminal mayhem. Parker has assembled a group of tough sonsabitches to do battle with modern gangsters and let me tell ya ... pretty good lineup.
There is something new about Butcher's Moon ... well at least for a Parker entry. It's long, which is a good addition. The reader gets double the trouble with a 300 page offering. Stark (Westlake) also provides more context and dialogue. This was definitely not the case with the previous books which gives it the feel of a more traditional crime novel but no like an old Parker. The narrative flow doesn't quite have the same pace as the others. The different: more dialogue as Parker says some really cool lines as opposed to stacking up corpses and the plot has a very long fuse that leads to a big boom in the last 25 pages or so. All of this is new and all of this was appreciated.
Last but not least, the descriptive violence is ramped up. This creates a more serious, rated R Parker story with a, again, different feel than the other capers. I'd say the body count was low but when someone gets popped it often involves a grotesque description of what body part got nailed. This renders the action more thrilling but less fun and creative as the older books. Plus there are a ton of F bombs which feel right in the mix and also show that this was written in a different time (1974) than the Hunter (1962).
Parker is different in this one. He sheds his "doesn't give a shit unless it concerns my money" persona and actually implements a seething desire for revenge. This is new and refreshing but yet seems a little alien. Same with the crew that Parker has assembled. With so many former references and characters, it can be a little overwhelming to comprehend them all without rereading a few chapters from previous books. Come on University of Chicago Press! You publish all sorts of academic works...throw in a footnote here and there. Even though they come together nicely, many of the best supporting crooks have been killed off in previous entries. This cohort is good, but I wouldn't consider it to be Parker's The Last Waltz farewell concert or anything like that.
If you've gotten here I imagine that you have read all the books up until Butcher's Moon. Congratulations! You've spent hours with the world's greatest heistman and learned a thing or two about great crime fiction. This criminal capstone (at least originally intended) was worth the ride and journey. Now let's see who/what is/are robbed, slapped, punched, beaten, fleeced, shot, dropped, betrayed, partnered up with, ratted on, and/or paid off in the upcoming novels in this superb series.
December 28, 2020
Notes:
Currently on Audible Plus
That's a wrap for the original books in the Parker series. This one was loaded with more tension and the pragmatic, business side of Parker that no one wants to see.
In 2021, I'll continue the series with Comeback. The revival of Parker. ;)
Currently on Audible Plus
That's a wrap for the original books in the Parker series. This one was loaded with more tension and the pragmatic, business side of Parker that no one wants to see.
In 2021, I'll continue the series with Comeback. The revival of Parker. ;)
December 27, 2021
Great story, Parker and his partner go back to retrieve some money they took in a heist but had to hide and leave behind. In trying to get it back, they get stuck in the middle of a local mob war and end up calling in a lot of old partners from old jobs for one last big score.
I've also been reading some Larence Block books recently and was interested to find out that Block and Donald Westlake (Stark is a pen name) knew each other and were friends in New York city. Also, Westlake had Parker die at the end of the first book, but the editor said to change it, he thought they could get a couple more books out of the Parker character. Guess that worked out ok.
I've also been reading some Larence Block books recently and was interested to find out that Block and Donald Westlake (Stark is a pen name) knew each other and were friends in New York city. Also, Westlake had Parker die at the end of the first book, but the editor said to change it, he thought they could get a couple more books out of the Parker character. Guess that worked out ok.
November 16, 2011
Parker is short of cash and pissed. He knows where he had hidden a stash and takes Grofield, the actor/theater director/thief along to help retrieve it from a carnival ride where he had hidden it several years before. Problem is that the money is gone so suspecting it was found by a local mafia boss, Frank Lonzini, he decides to get it back.
Unfortunately, Parker and Grofield find themselves in the midst of a mob leadership fight. All they want is to get their money back and leave town, but events conspire against them leaving them no alternative but to stir up the pot, pit one against the other, and still try for the seventy-three thousand, a number that remains immutable. (Had I been Parker, I would have tacked on many thousands for the trouble.)
Some marvelous scenes. A particular favorite was Parker’s method for working out which residents might be gone on an extended vacation as he searches for an apartment to use as a temporary base of operations after Grofield is shot.
The description of the mobster’s office is evocative and vivid, typical of the sardonic wit that permeates the Parker novels. The room was a disaster, a combination of so many misunderstandings and misconceptions that it practically became a work of art all in itself, like the Watts Towers. It was a den, or studio, or office-away-from-office; called by the family “Daddy's room,” no doubt. The walnut-veneer paneling, very dark, made the already small square room even smaller and squarer, darkening it to the point where even a white ceiling and a white rug would have had a hard time getting some light into the room. Instead of which, the ceiling was crisscrossed with Styrofoam artificial wooden beams, à la restaurants trying for an English-country-inn effect, and the two-foot-by-four-foot rectangles between the beams had been painted in a kind of peach or coral color; Consumptive's Upchuck was the color description that came to Grofield's mind. While the floor was covered with an oriental rug featuring dark red figures on a black background, with a dark red fringe buzzing away all the way around. Would there be a kerosene lamp with green glass shade, converted to electricity? Yes, there would, on the mahogany table to the right, along with the clock built into the side of a wooden cannon; above these on the wall were the full-color photographs of The Guns That Won the West lying on beds of red or green velvet. Don’t you love “consumptive upchuck”?
A very entertaining Parker novel, intricate in detail, typical of the other Parkers as things never work out as planned for Parker who has to use his wits to overcome the obstacles. Therein lies their appeal.
Unfortunately, Parker and Grofield find themselves in the midst of a mob leadership fight. All they want is to get their money back and leave town, but events conspire against them leaving them no alternative but to stir up the pot, pit one against the other, and still try for the seventy-three thousand, a number that remains immutable. (Had I been Parker, I would have tacked on many thousands for the trouble.)
Some marvelous scenes. A particular favorite was Parker’s method for working out which residents might be gone on an extended vacation as he searches for an apartment to use as a temporary base of operations after Grofield is shot.
The description of the mobster’s office is evocative and vivid, typical of the sardonic wit that permeates the Parker novels. The room was a disaster, a combination of so many misunderstandings and misconceptions that it practically became a work of art all in itself, like the Watts Towers. It was a den, or studio, or office-away-from-office; called by the family “Daddy's room,” no doubt. The walnut-veneer paneling, very dark, made the already small square room even smaller and squarer, darkening it to the point where even a white ceiling and a white rug would have had a hard time getting some light into the room. Instead of which, the ceiling was crisscrossed with Styrofoam artificial wooden beams, à la restaurants trying for an English-country-inn effect, and the two-foot-by-four-foot rectangles between the beams had been painted in a kind of peach or coral color; Consumptive's Upchuck was the color description that came to Grofield's mind. While the floor was covered with an oriental rug featuring dark red figures on a black background, with a dark red fringe buzzing away all the way around. Would there be a kerosene lamp with green glass shade, converted to electricity? Yes, there would, on the mahogany table to the right, along with the clock built into the side of a wooden cannon; above these on the wall were the full-color photographs of The Guns That Won the West lying on beds of red or green velvet. Don’t you love “consumptive upchuck”?
A very entertaining Parker novel, intricate in detail, typical of the other Parkers as things never work out as planned for Parker who has to use his wits to overcome the obstacles. Therein lies their appeal.
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