Book Review: Richard Stark, Ask the Parrot (2006)

I resented the beginning of this novel, was bored by the ending, and was thoroughly entertained in between. Ask the Parrot begins exactly where Nobody Runs Forever ends, with Parker in dire straits, and the defusion of the situation is totally, lazily deus ex machina. The end of the novel dissolves into a gun battle, which I always find to be a particularly anticlimactic way for a Parker novel to wind down, especially given my confidence that Parker is not going to die. In between, which is most of the book, Parker plans a heist while trapped in the middle of a Parker-seeking manhunt, which is, of course, great fun. Grade: B