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
Thanks for that. I have yet to read any of the post 70s Parker books - deep down I remain worried that too much time may have passed ...
ReplyDeleteI've read all the Richard Stark books. I'm sad that there won't be any more published.
ReplyDelete