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Parker #12
The Sour Lemon Score
Bank robberies should run like clockwork, right? If your name’s Parker, you expect nothing less. Until, that is, one of your partners gets too greedy for his own good. The four-way split following a job leaves too small a take for George Uhl, who begins to pick off his fellow hoisters, one by one. The first mistake? That he doesn’t begin things by putting a bullet in Parker. That means he won’t get the chance to make a second. One of the darkest novels in the series, this caper proves the adage that no one crosses Parker and lives.
160 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
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December 7, 2024
"Parker dove through the window elbows first, the rotted wood and shards of glass spraying out in front of him. He duck his head, landed hard on his right shoulder, rolled over twice, and was running before he was well on his feet. He heard shots behind him but didn't know if they were coming at him or not. He ran for the corner of the barn, and a bullet chunked into the wood beside his head. [.] He reached inside his coat, and his hand closed on . . . an empty holster." -- the day going from bad to worse, on page 20
Another solid entry in the long-running series - featuring a pitch-perfect foreword by no less than Boston crime maestro Dennis Lehane, who notes that he read all of the paperbacks way back during the summer of '86, and refers to Parker as "the greatest antihero in American noir . . . [he] is as bad as he seems" - this typically brisk and brusque story has the professional thief Parker being double-crossed by a turncoat member of his assembled robbery crew. (Hence the book's odd title - things went sour.) After they successfully pull off a heist at a small town bank in Ohio, two of Parker's confederates are gunned down while he barely escapes bullet wounds and burning to death. Setting out on what I call 'a roarin' rampage of revenge' to inflict some deserved rough justice and recover the purloined $33,000, Parker makes clandestine stops at the small cities of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre before engaging in a particularly violent climax in the quiet suburbs of Philadelphia. (Yes, I love it when the narratives happen to coincide with my home state.) While some of the aspects have not dated particularly well since its original published date in 1969 - such as two of the antagonists are homosexual, with one of them denying his orientation while the one is referred to with a dated slur by the omniscient narrator, but at least they are not used as easy targets for some misguided humor - author Stark (a.k.a. the prolific Donald Westlake) is quietly amazing in penning these terse crime stories featuring that quietly determined and unstoppable force known only by a single name. 💥
Another solid entry in the long-running series - featuring a pitch-perfect foreword by no less than Boston crime maestro Dennis Lehane, who notes that he read all of the paperbacks way back during the summer of '86, and refers to Parker as "the greatest antihero in American noir . . . [he] is as bad as he seems" - this typically brisk and brusque story has the professional thief Parker being double-crossed by a turncoat member of his assembled robbery crew. (Hence the book's odd title - things went sour.) After they successfully pull off a heist at a small town bank in Ohio, two of Parker's confederates are gunned down while he barely escapes bullet wounds and burning to death. Setting out on what I call 'a roarin' rampage of revenge' to inflict some deserved rough justice and recover the purloined $33,000, Parker makes clandestine stops at the small cities of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre before engaging in a particularly violent climax in the quiet suburbs of Philadelphia. (Yes, I love it when the narratives happen to coincide with my home state.) While some of the aspects have not dated particularly well since its original published date in 1969 - such as two of the antagonists are homosexual, with one of them denying his orientation while the one is referred to with a dated slur by the omniscient narrator, but at least they are not used as easy targets for some misguided humor - author Stark (a.k.a. the prolific Donald Westlake) is quietly amazing in penning these terse crime stories featuring that quietly determined and unstoppable force known only by a single name. 💥
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December 11, 2020
Score gone sour.
Parker and three other outlaws - Weiss, Andrews, Uhl - pull off a bank robbery with perfect execution: preparation, at the bank itself, getaway all textbook. Of course, there's no academic textbook on how to rob a bank but if such a textbook existed, the author could use this heist as a case study - how to do it right without getting caught.
But then it happens: the boys reach their farmhouse hideout twenty miles from town and are about to sit down at the kitchen table to divvy up the loot when young, feisty George Uhl shoots Weiss in the head. Uhl then shoots Andrews. Uhl doesn't shoot Parker 'cause Parker dives through the window and runs behind the barn.
Parker would square off against George Uhl right then and there if he had a gun. But, as bad luck has it, when Parker crashed through the window and rolled on the ground, his pistol fell out of its holster. All Parker can do now is make a dash for the woods and leave George and the money for later.
Thus, The Sour Lemon Score is the tale of a manhunt, Parker hunting George Uhl across the Midwest and then up and down the East Coast, from New York City to Alexandria, Virginia. Special call-out for Parker's durable green Pontiac.
Many Westlake/Stark aficionados judge Sour Lemon as one of the top novels in the series - reasons include the variety of colorful and sometimes dangerous characters, examination of underlying psychology and motivation propelling men and women to do what they do, sharp sketches, especially in Part 3 where point-of-view rotates through six different players.
I myself became totally absorbed. Once I started listening to the 4-hour audio book while taking my evening walk, I simply couldn't stop. Oh, Donald E. Westlake! You propelled me into walking nonstop for hours. Enjoyed every minute.
As Parker makes the rounds, he comes in contact with an old lady selling guns under the table in her antique shop, the owner of a Greenwich Village record store who is openly gay, a jaded hipster babe on Manhattan's Upper West Side, a crook living the lifestyle of a typical suburban businessman, a heister with a sadistic streak, a beauty running her own dance/physical fitness studio and eventually (background music to build suspense) George Uhl.
Ah, George Uhl. I think we've all met this type of dude. In high school he might have been the class clown but he definitely was the cool slicker, the one who knew all the angles, the smooth-talking teenage con artist, they guy who claimed to get all the chicks and who could usually swindle and cheat his way into getting much of everything else he wanted. Hard word? No way, José! He knew he could use a certain kind of smarts to outflank the hardest workers, even if it meant skirting the law. Books and school? Are you kidding! What a waste of time.
So there he is, George Uhl, age 31, tall, thin, receding black hair, working his sixth heist. George is the driver for the bank robbery and George is being unusually jumpy - a real case of nerves. Meanwhile, Parker is in the back seat and wonders if George's nerves will sour the whole job, if George's jumpiness will cause George to race away in the car, leaving all three of them stranded when they run out of the bank. Parker is getting this weird negative vibe from George but Parker hasn't worked with Uhl before so lets it go.
Oh, Parker. If you only knew what was really causing George Uhl to sweat all over - George, you see, knows all along that this job is THE job, his big chance to score all the cash. Hey, unlike the past five jobs, there are only three other chumps with him on this one. All George has to do is POW! POW! POW! - shoot the other three suckers dead and all the dough, every single dollar, is his.
As it turned out, after he leaves the farmhouse with all the loot, George Uhl thinks maybe he should have shot Parker first. Nah. He did it right. It was only dumb luck that Parker managed to jump out of that window. But lady luck turned him a favor - Parker dropped his gun when he ran for the hills.
"But it wasn't all that bad. Parker and Uhl didn't know each other, so how could Parker make trouble for him later on even if he wanted to? And besides, since Uhl was going to leave him unarmed and on foot out here, he was more than likely to be picked up by the cops. Let Parker do twenty years in a federal pen somewhere and then come looking for Uhl."
There's no doubt you're a slick dude, George. But you just might find out the hard way what it means to underestimate Parker.
How hard? Read all about it in The Sour Lemon Score.
American author Donald E. Westlake, 1933-2008
January 22, 2021
"Always blabbin'. You know what your problem is, Parker? You talk too much"--Madge
Back to basics for Stark in volume #12 of the Parker series. Parker is not:
--taking on the mob, or trying to rip off a whole town, or take all the receipts from a football game, or taking on a small African country.
--softened too much by the presence of girlfriend Claire.
Parker is, on the other hand,
--in the short first third of the book, pulling off a simple bank heist, which goes flawlessly. When the four way split isn't as much as George Uhl hoped it would be, he knocks off two of his partners and takes off with the cash. When one of those partners is not Parker, well, we know this is a mistake.
--all about getting his split back and
--punishing Uhl for a dishonorable approach to the work
--returning to sweet Claire
though he leaves things, surprisingly, a bit open in the end.
This is one of the darker ones, bled of sentiment, which also means it is one of the best ones, with Parker as cold technician.
Back to basics for Stark in volume #12 of the Parker series. Parker is not:
--taking on the mob, or trying to rip off a whole town, or take all the receipts from a football game, or taking on a small African country.
--softened too much by the presence of girlfriend Claire.
Parker is, on the other hand,
--in the short first third of the book, pulling off a simple bank heist, which goes flawlessly. When the four way split isn't as much as George Uhl hoped it would be, he knocks off two of his partners and takes off with the cash. When one of those partners is not Parker, well, we know this is a mistake.
--all about getting his split back and
--punishing Uhl for a dishonorable approach to the work
--returning to sweet Claire
though he leaves things, surprisingly, a bit open in the end.
This is one of the darker ones, bled of sentiment, which also means it is one of the best ones, with Parker as cold technician.
April 8, 2022
This one goes sour shortly after Parker and his associates knock over a small town bank. It follows the usual formula, and it's not the first or even second time Parker's been double crossed, but Stark/Westlake deftly infuses a palpable tension as Parker races against another brute who's trying to track down the same weasel, with an inevitable showdown between the two looming. The weasel of course learns his lesson the hard way, as weasels tend to; if you're going to double cross your partners in crime make sure to shoot Parker first. In many ways Parker is like the Spock of crime. No pacifist, he nonetheless remains ruthlessly practical and detached when it comes to business, doing anything required to live long and prosper :)
June 2, 2011
At this point in the series, you gotta wonder how anybody in the criminal underworld that Parker inhabits could possibly think that it’s a good idea to try and rip him off. Stark (a/k/a Westlake) always did a terrific job of creating greedy characters and making you understand why they‘ve decided to take it all for themselves. But still, the word on Parker has to have made it around the thieves’ grapevine. It’d sound like this:
“Parker? He’s good. Great planner and never loses his head. He’s not a mad dog, but he’d kill his own mother if she was between him and the money. He’s got no sense of humor or social skills, but he’s the man you want pulling a job with you. As long as you do your part and don’t make any waves, Parker will always give you a square deal. But whatever you do, do NOT even think about trying to double cross that grim bastard. He will hunt you down to the ends of the earth if you try to take a dollar from him or if you’ve made trouble and you may be a loose end. Hell, he took on the entire Outfit once over a beef about money, and he won. You want to mess with a guy like that?”
Of course, just as there are always people willing to sign up for pyramid schemes and send money to Nigerian princes, there is always someone stupid enough to cross Parker. In this case, it’s a driver named George Uhl. Shortly after pulling a successful bank job, Parker and his crew are hiding out and getting ready to split the cash when Uhl makes a violent bid to keep all the loot. Parker escapes, but Uhl has the money. While trying to track down Uhl, Parker creates competition when he inadvertently puts another dangerous man on the trail of the cash.
I loved the first section with Uhl’s betrayal, and Parker scrambling to get away from the bad situation Uhl has left him in. However, at the end, Parker has acted very unlike his usual self and left a big loose end hanging. Stark often left something unresolved to carry over into another book, and that may be the situation here, but the way this one is set up is such an obvious mistake on Parker’s part that it took me out of the story. It’s still one of the better Parker novels.
“Parker? He’s good. Great planner and never loses his head. He’s not a mad dog, but he’d kill his own mother if she was between him and the money. He’s got no sense of humor or social skills, but he’s the man you want pulling a job with you. As long as you do your part and don’t make any waves, Parker will always give you a square deal. But whatever you do, do NOT even think about trying to double cross that grim bastard. He will hunt you down to the ends of the earth if you try to take a dollar from him or if you’ve made trouble and you may be a loose end. Hell, he took on the entire Outfit once over a beef about money, and he won. You want to mess with a guy like that?”
Of course, just as there are always people willing to sign up for pyramid schemes and send money to Nigerian princes, there is always someone stupid enough to cross Parker. In this case, it’s a driver named George Uhl. Shortly after pulling a successful bank job, Parker and his crew are hiding out and getting ready to split the cash when Uhl makes a violent bid to keep all the loot. Parker escapes, but Uhl has the money. While trying to track down Uhl, Parker creates competition when he inadvertently puts another dangerous man on the trail of the cash.
I loved the first section with Uhl’s betrayal, and Parker scrambling to get away from the bad situation Uhl has left him in. However, at the end, Parker has acted very unlike his usual self and left a big loose end hanging. Stark often left something unresolved to carry over into another book, and that may be the situation here, but the way this one is set up is such an obvious mistake on Parker’s part that it took me out of the story. It’s still one of the better Parker novels.
May 17, 2011
When the loot from a heist falls short of expectations, George Uhl kills two of the men and takes the money. Too bad he didn't finish the job and kill Parker too. Now Parker's on his tail and wants his money and George Uhl's hide. Too bad other people are after George and the money as well...
The Sour Lemon Score really washed away the lingering bad taste of The Black Ice Score. Parker does what he does best, solving problems. With no Claire to soften him, he's the relentless Parker of old. The plot itself is like a throwback to the earlier Parkers where you just waited for the inevitable double cross.
The heist of the title was only a minor part of the plot. Parker traipsing around the country trying to catch Uhl was the driving force of the story and kept the suspense going. Parker showed a little more compassion than we're used to near the end but it felt consistent with his character, as did the state he left his enemies in.
Another first rate Parker story by Richard Stark. If you liked the others, you'll like this one.
The Sour Lemon Score really washed away the lingering bad taste of The Black Ice Score. Parker does what he does best, solving problems. With no Claire to soften him, he's the relentless Parker of old. The plot itself is like a throwback to the earlier Parkers where you just waited for the inevitable double cross.
The heist of the title was only a minor part of the plot. Parker traipsing around the country trying to catch Uhl was the driving force of the story and kept the suspense going. Parker showed a little more compassion than we're used to near the end but it felt consistent with his character, as did the state he left his enemies in.
Another first rate Parker story by Richard Stark. If you liked the others, you'll like this one.
July 29, 2018
I enjoy the capers most, and this one was not focused on the job, but on the betrayal. Parker is wary of George Uhl, the driver on the job. He'd never worked with him before and he seemed nervous and fidgety. When they get back to the safe house, Uhl decides it's every man for himself, but misses Parker. Bad mistake. With only the thinnest of leads, Parker goes searching for Uhl and finds himself competing for the loot. At the end, Parker does something completely out of character too.
September 5, 2026
It’s amazing how the writing maintains its original suspenseful, no-nonsense tone while at the same time gets richer with each new book of the series.
Parker stopped in a deserted area. The swamp was flat and green. Far away he could see bridges, factories, junkyards, oil refineries; but around here nothing but the flat green.
He got Uhl out of the car and walked him out across a soggy field through waist-high weeds. After a while he stopped and said, “Lie down,” but when he let go of Uhl’s arm Uhl just went limp and fell down, lying in a crumped heap in the weeds.
Parker took out his pistol and aimed in at Uhl’s head, but he didn’t fire.
It was stupid. There was no sense in it, and things without sense in them irritated him. Uhl was too docile, too easy. Somehow he was too much like a trusting child. Today or tomorrow he would wake up with a blinding headache and he would be again the guy who had twice tried to kill Parker, who had turned a very sweet job sour, who had killed his partners and stolen money that belonged to Parker, who had caused him trouble and discomfort of all kinds for five days in a row. That’s who he’d been yesterday and that’s who he’d be tomorrow, and Parker wouldn’t think twice about exing that George Uhl out of the human race. But that wasn’t who George Uhl was today. Today he was a docile child, and with angry irritation Parker realized that today he wasn’t going to kill George Uhl.
But neither was he going to leave Uhl capable of getting back into the action. Nothing could make him quite that stupid. He put his pistol away again and bent over Uhl and broke three bones, all fairly important. Uhl groaned once and frowned, but that was all.
Parker walked back to the car and set off for Philadelphia.
This was the darkest novel in the series so far, with an action-packed finale that unfolds against the calm backdrop of American suburbia. Delicious!
Parker stopped in a deserted area. The swamp was flat and green. Far away he could see bridges, factories, junkyards, oil refineries; but around here nothing but the flat green.
He got Uhl out of the car and walked him out across a soggy field through waist-high weeds. After a while he stopped and said, “Lie down,” but when he let go of Uhl’s arm Uhl just went limp and fell down, lying in a crumped heap in the weeds.
Parker took out his pistol and aimed in at Uhl’s head, but he didn’t fire.
It was stupid. There was no sense in it, and things without sense in them irritated him. Uhl was too docile, too easy. Somehow he was too much like a trusting child. Today or tomorrow he would wake up with a blinding headache and he would be again the guy who had twice tried to kill Parker, who had turned a very sweet job sour, who had killed his partners and stolen money that belonged to Parker, who had caused him trouble and discomfort of all kinds for five days in a row. That’s who he’d been yesterday and that’s who he’d be tomorrow, and Parker wouldn’t think twice about exing that George Uhl out of the human race. But that wasn’t who George Uhl was today. Today he was a docile child, and with angry irritation Parker realized that today he wasn’t going to kill George Uhl.
But neither was he going to leave Uhl capable of getting back into the action. Nothing could make him quite that stupid. He put his pistol away again and bent over Uhl and broke three bones, all fairly important. Uhl groaned once and frowned, but that was all.
Parker walked back to the car and set off for Philadelphia.
This was the darkest novel in the series so far, with an action-packed finale that unfolds against the calm backdrop of American suburbia. Delicious!
May 9, 2011
Maybe when I'm all done with the Parker novels I'll go back and award five-stars to some of them. This might be one of them.
In the Parker oeuvre this is the 12th novel and like a tonal scale this returns to the same note the scale started with in a different octave. In this case the scale was descending, and The Sour Lemon Score is a lower, darker and more ominous version of The Hunter.
The novel starts with Parker and three professional cronies doing a relatively easy job that goes sour when they return to their hideout and the driver of the job attempts to double-cross the other three. He successfully kills two of the men but, opps, he tried to kill Parker last. Big mistake in the Parker universe. The man gets away with the money but now has Parker looking to kill him and retrieve the money.
The general rule in a Parker novel is the same as in a successful revolution, you better make sure to kill all your enemies if you are going to be successful in over-turning the apple cart and upsetting the balance of power if you plan on living long enough to enjoy the rewards.
Parker and another group of criminals race each other to find the double-crosser, driving up and down the Northeast and leaving a wake of tortured, raped, and murdered people behind them. Parker's own sociopath side is mellowed out from some earlier books but that doesn't mean Stark isn't allowing other characters to do some very awful things.
Even though it is mining some of the same story elements as the first novel in the series, this isn't a rehash and shows again Stark's brilliance at being able to make the same basic formulaic story-lines feel fresh.
In the Parker oeuvre this is the 12th novel and like a tonal scale this returns to the same note the scale started with in a different octave. In this case the scale was descending, and The Sour Lemon Score is a lower, darker and more ominous version of The Hunter.
The novel starts with Parker and three professional cronies doing a relatively easy job that goes sour when they return to their hideout and the driver of the job attempts to double-cross the other three. He successfully kills two of the men but, opps, he tried to kill Parker last. Big mistake in the Parker universe. The man gets away with the money but now has Parker looking to kill him and retrieve the money.
The general rule in a Parker novel is the same as in a successful revolution, you better make sure to kill all your enemies if you are going to be successful in over-turning the apple cart and upsetting the balance of power if you plan on living long enough to enjoy the rewards.
Parker and another group of criminals race each other to find the double-crosser, driving up and down the Northeast and leaving a wake of tortured, raped, and murdered people behind them. Parker's own sociopath side is mellowed out from some earlier books but that doesn't mean Stark isn't allowing other characters to do some very awful things.
Even though it is mining some of the same story elements as the first novel in the series, this isn't a rehash and shows again Stark's brilliance at being able to make the same basic formulaic story-lines feel fresh.
March 4, 2012
Originally published in 1969, this is one of the "Early Epoch" Parker novels written by Richard Stark (Donald Westlake). Like all of the others it's written close to the bone with no wasted words and no sentimentality whatsoever. In this case, Parker and three other men take down a bank just after an armored car has made a delivery to the bank. Parker knows two of the other men in the crew, but he's uneasy about the driver, George Uhl, who he doesn't know but who has been vouched for by one of the other members of the crew.
For once the job itself goes off without a hitch, and the robbers get away cleanly to their hideout, an old farmhouse where they plan to wait until the heat dies down. But the take is smaller than they had hoped and it turns out that Parker was right to be suspicious of Uhl. As they count the money, a disgruntled Uhl draws a gun and shoots two of the other members of the crew. His huge mistake, of course, is that he doesn't shoot Parker first.
Parker dives out a window and flees to safety in the nearby woods but loses his gun in the process. Thus he can only watch helplessly as Uhl takes off with the money leaving Parker stranded. Uhl compounds his first mistake by leaving Parker alive and the story consists of Parker's effort to hunt Uhl down and reclaim the money. Any fan of this series will understand that you definitely would not want to be George Uhl in this sitation.
For once the job itself goes off without a hitch, and the robbers get away cleanly to their hideout, an old farmhouse where they plan to wait until the heat dies down. But the take is smaller than they had hoped and it turns out that Parker was right to be suspicious of Uhl. As they count the money, a disgruntled Uhl draws a gun and shoots two of the other members of the crew. His huge mistake, of course, is that he doesn't shoot Parker first.
Parker dives out a window and flees to safety in the nearby woods but loses his gun in the process. Thus he can only watch helplessly as Uhl takes off with the money leaving Parker stranded. Uhl compounds his first mistake by leaving Parker alive and the story consists of Parker's effort to hunt Uhl down and reclaim the money. Any fan of this series will understand that you definitely would not want to be George Uhl in this sitation.
October 16, 2016
I hate to sound blood-thirsty, but Parker should have killed three double-crossing, dishonorable, non-code following killers when he had the chance. I realize it isn't his job to keep the criminal world free of riff-raff, but people who try to kill Parker more than once should expect to die.
Great story though....my predictions and expectations are destroyed in every story. I did love the twist at the end..... the thought of the bitchy suburban lady left to mete out Parker's revenge on the men who terrorized her family is a bit Hollywood, but a pleasant note to go out on.
Great story though....my predictions and expectations are destroyed in every story. I did love the twist at the end..... the thought of the bitchy suburban lady left to mete out Parker's revenge on the men who terrorized her family is a bit Hollywood, but a pleasant note to go out on.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2023
From 1969
One of the thieves in Parker's crew shoots the other thieves dead and takes all the money. I mean, Parker escapes with his life, of course. Then he has to find the bad guy and the money. Things are messy and not so easy this time.
One of the thieves in Parker's crew shoots the other thieves dead and takes all the money. I mean, Parker escapes with his life, of course. Then he has to find the bad guy and the money. Things are messy and not so easy this time.
January 24, 2025
Be gay, do crime. (This review is very funny in context, I promise.)
November 13, 2015
Let me say, right up front, i ADORE the 'Parker' Series. Without doubt Parker is my favourite non-hero.
This is #12 of 16 in the original series. Stark/Westlake put Parker to rest for 20+ years, then resurrected the character for an additional 8 installments. I have now read all 24 Parker books & even though i didn't enjoy the last 4 as much, they were still better than many writers achieve in their entire careers. This series is the ONLY one I've read in it's entirety, by ANY author. It's that good.
I've read some reviews, where the reviewer has said the Parker character & the series itself, are two dimensional & to some extent, i agree. However, i see this as a positive. Too many authors give you exhaustive (& exhausting?) detail, ad infintim. Stark allows that you have an imagination & gives it room to move. More importantly, Stark weaves a story around his dark, amoral Parker and the action is relentless. Parker isn't evil, but he is the ultimate badass. He's a sociopath. That is, he feels no guilt, no remorse, would i think, rather not kill to achieve his aims, not because it bothers him, but because bodies attract too much attention from the law.
This story is a return to a darker, somewhat starker (no pun), Parker. In all these novels, there's a score; a bank, burglary, heist, whatever & invariably, something goes wrong. Someone gets greedy & tries to rip off the ripees or some other disaster befalls the crew. Parker always gets his revenge, but not always his money.
In this installment, Parker is double-crossed by one of his off-siders & nearly killed. Big mistake not to kill Parker outright. Parker sets off in pursuit. Oh yeah, he has to contend with an actual psychopath who joins in the pursuit of the ill-gotten loot. The ending is classic Parker, with a twist.
Stand out Parker novels for me were #1, 'The Hunter' & #14 'Slayground' & now this one also.
I am so glad i left this to read last. It was an absolute delight.
This is #12 of 16 in the original series. Stark/Westlake put Parker to rest for 20+ years, then resurrected the character for an additional 8 installments. I have now read all 24 Parker books & even though i didn't enjoy the last 4 as much, they were still better than many writers achieve in their entire careers. This series is the ONLY one I've read in it's entirety, by ANY author. It's that good.
I've read some reviews, where the reviewer has said the Parker character & the series itself, are two dimensional & to some extent, i agree. However, i see this as a positive. Too many authors give you exhaustive (& exhausting?) detail, ad infintim. Stark allows that you have an imagination & gives it room to move. More importantly, Stark weaves a story around his dark, amoral Parker and the action is relentless. Parker isn't evil, but he is the ultimate badass. He's a sociopath. That is, he feels no guilt, no remorse, would i think, rather not kill to achieve his aims, not because it bothers him, but because bodies attract too much attention from the law.
This story is a return to a darker, somewhat starker (no pun), Parker. In all these novels, there's a score; a bank, burglary, heist, whatever & invariably, something goes wrong. Someone gets greedy & tries to rip off the ripees or some other disaster befalls the crew. Parker always gets his revenge, but not always his money.
In this installment, Parker is double-crossed by one of his off-siders & nearly killed. Big mistake not to kill Parker outright. Parker sets off in pursuit. Oh yeah, he has to contend with an actual psychopath who joins in the pursuit of the ill-gotten loot. The ending is classic Parker, with a twist.
Stand out Parker novels for me were #1, 'The Hunter' & #14 'Slayground' & now this one also.
I am so glad i left this to read last. It was an absolute delight.
June 25, 2021
One of the crazier tales in this cray-soaked series starring our favorite "papa don't take no mess" styled professional thief: Parker. He may take an L or two in this swiftly-moving tale...but do you really believe said L's won't be made right?!?
Bring the pain!!!!
4 Brightly Burning Stars.
Bring the pain!!!!
4 Brightly Burning Stars.
September 30, 2019
Parker returns. A robbery goes south and Parker goes west to find the man who mucked it all up. One of my favorites in the Parker series. Must read!
June 13, 2017
Another day another Parker story and this time from the FPE, First Parker Epoch 1962-1974, and one of the shorter tales from the fist sixteen books.
In this book we see a bank robbery go well and as soon as the robbers come back in their hiding place and find out that the heist actually made less money than they estimated the driver George Uhl starts killing his fellow robbers. He makes one mistake and did not kill Parker first by the time he realises his mistake Parker has left the building and is out in the dark.
George is armed and Parker isn't so he gets away but underestimates the skills and determination of Parker who goes in pursuit and looking for Uhl and more importantly the money.
A very short and ergonomically written book that is about payback and Parker is a formidable person when he is after you. The book is well written and a true page turner and with it short length you are somewhat annoyed when you realise how quick the book has run its course.
Another tour de force by Stark aka Westlake. If by now you never felt the urge to try and read one of his books and I do advise one from the FPE you are lacking in your reading development. ;)
In this book we see a bank robbery go well and as soon as the robbers come back in their hiding place and find out that the heist actually made less money than they estimated the driver George Uhl starts killing his fellow robbers. He makes one mistake and did not kill Parker first by the time he realises his mistake Parker has left the building and is out in the dark.
George is armed and Parker isn't so he gets away but underestimates the skills and determination of Parker who goes in pursuit and looking for Uhl and more importantly the money.
A very short and ergonomically written book that is about payback and Parker is a formidable person when he is after you. The book is well written and a true page turner and with it short length you are somewhat annoyed when you realise how quick the book has run its course.
Another tour de force by Stark aka Westlake. If by now you never felt the urge to try and read one of his books and I do advise one from the FPE you are lacking in your reading development. ;)
May 17, 2011
A solid Parker novel of the aftermath variety: A heist goes so sour that it resembles a lemon, and Parker is hellbent on getting his money back. The narrative makes one serious misstep early on: In a ludicrous sequence, a fellow career criminal drugs Parker and injects him with truth serum so that he can interrogate Parker to determine how much of a threat he poses. I mean, seriously? The man has no reason on earth not to kill Parker, plain and simple. Starklake tries too hard with the truth serum, but he is otherwise in fine form.
January 14, 2023
A finalist for the ‘70 Edgar for best paperback, Parker #12 was more fluid and easy to follow than some of Westlake’s (aka Stark) previous installments.
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It’s a quick listen and free 🤓 on Audible with a good narrator. I’ll enjoy continuing the series during my commute and/or while undertaking dishwashing duties for the fam.
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It’s a quick listen and free 🤓 on Audible with a good narrator. I’ll enjoy continuing the series during my commute and/or while undertaking dishwashing duties for the fam.
June 21, 2017
The Sour Lemon Score is the 12th book in the Parker series by Donald Westlake, published under the name Richard Stark. It is among the best of the Parker books. Parker is a thief, a heister, a hijacker. He is known as being cold, professional, emotionless. He is the best at what he does. But Parker has his own notions of morality and they include standing by your word and dividing the loot equally. He is not sadistic or vicious. He only does what he needs to get the job done. Knowing all this about Parker (and he's fairly well known in his circles), you'd think most folks would be hip to what happens when you double-cross him. Well, George Uhl apparently didn't get the memo. Following a well executed bank robbery, Uhl turns on his three accomplices and makes off with all the dough. This opening sequence that sets the premise of the book is terrific. There is a whole novel just
packed in that opening sequence. The balance of the book is devoted to Parker catching up with Uhl,
chasing him from Bew York to Virginia to Pennsylvania. Along the way, other bad guys get wind of what Uhl is carting around and the race is on. Despite what Parker does in this story, he's not the bad guy here. He's almost an angel compared to some others in this book. The plot, the pacing, everything just works in this book as does Westlake's uncanny ability to create characters in just a sentence or two.
packed in that opening sequence. The balance of the book is devoted to Parker catching up with Uhl,
chasing him from Bew York to Virginia to Pennsylvania. Along the way, other bad guys get wind of what Uhl is carting around and the race is on. Despite what Parker does in this story, he's not the bad guy here. He's almost an angel compared to some others in this book. The plot, the pacing, everything just works in this book as does Westlake's uncanny ability to create characters in just a sentence or two.
April 3, 2021
Parker never kills just for the sake of killing. And this entry shows Parker's idea of justice.
Great ending.
"No, I'm not leaving you to the cops. I'm leaving you to Saugherty's wife."
Great ending.
"No, I'm not leaving you to the cops. I'm leaving you to Saugherty's wife."
May 1, 2024
Not every score is a hit. Not every friend can be trusted.
April 23, 2022
The constant back and forth up and down the coast might have read better in a Dortmunder comedy, and overall this is the most brutal entry in the series so far, save for an oddly sentimental turn by our protagonist in the swamps of Jersey. Also with the amount of interstate driving (in a time before a completed interstate system) the times seem - even by modern standards - off. 4 hours from Alexandria, VA to NYC is barely possible today. I can't say it's unrealistic 50 years ago but it certainly feels like it is.
August 11, 2025
if there is anything that ruins Parker's plans it's bad accomplices. This story begins with the heist and all goes as planned until the accomplice kills two of the team and Parker barely escapes with his life. The rest of the story is Parker trying to chase down the turncoat and retrieve the money. It become a triangle of New York City, Philadelphia, and D.C. I didn't remember this one from my previous reading of the series and it's a great variation of the formula where the caper itself isn't the center of the story. The story changes focus to different characters in different cities rather than just stay with Parker. You get a feeling for his ethics. He doesn't mind killing, if necessary, but won't do it just to make things easier. And the ending is a bit of a surprise.
April 12, 2016
Did you read the first book in the series? Or come to think of it did you see the Mel Gibson version of the first book (Payback) then you know that no matter how "BAD you may be you don't want to cross...or double-cross Parker.
The job is set, it goes off okay if not perfectly, but the take isn't what was expected...and one of the crew decides to kill everybody else and take the entire "pie". Unfortunately for him he didn't shoot Parker first.
Thus we get a chase across the country with Parker stalking the double-crosser while said double-crosser is stalking him.
Lots of action and intrigue here, good book as always. Recommended, enjoy.
The job is set, it goes off okay if not perfectly, but the take isn't what was expected...and one of the crew decides to kill everybody else and take the entire "pie". Unfortunately for him he didn't shoot Parker first.
Thus we get a chase across the country with Parker stalking the double-crosser while said double-crosser is stalking him.
Lots of action and intrigue here, good book as always. Recommended, enjoy.
May 9, 2021
I could imagine this being Westlake’s response to complaints that Parker always wins. Of course, since Parker lives when few in these stories seldom do, Parker does win again. But not everything. In fact, if not for Deadly Edge, the next book in the progression, this could be considered the first small step in a series of losses that Parker would take. Not your typical Parker in content or structure but still enjoyable, still worth the read, just nothing great.
October 11, 2023
For some reason I never read this book in the Parker series when I first read through the series. Incredibly spare writing by Stark (Westlake).
May 6, 2020
I didn't bother reading the back cover and was surprised at how dark this was. The most violent one in the series so far.
October 21, 2020
"I did it for the money," she said.
A little more frustrating that a lot of other Parker novels, since our hero is on the back foot the whole time and rarely catches a break. Still, he powers through with his animal cunning and ice-cold demeanor.
Some really nice characterisations throughout the book, too: Brock/Rosenstein; Grace Weiss; Andrews all convincingly fleshed out.
A little more frustrating that a lot of other Parker novels, since our hero is on the back foot the whole time and rarely catches a break. Still, he powers through with his animal cunning and ice-cold demeanor.
Some really nice characterisations throughout the book, too: Brock/Rosenstein; Grace Weiss; Andrews all convincingly fleshed out.
January 25, 2022
Parker is on an armored car heist, along with a couple guys he's worked with, and someone new. The new guy, George Uhl, is a wild card, and not in a good way. No honor among thieves is true, and so many things go wrong for our bad guy you almost feel sorry for him.
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