Richard Stark’s Parker first appeared in 1962, in The Hunter. Double-crossed and left for dead by his partner and his wife after a robbery, Parker survives, and returns for revenge and his share of the proceeds. Since his partner spent that share covering a debt with ‘the outfit’, Parker demands the syndicate reimburse the money stolen from him. Not surprisingly, they say no. Then they discover Parker isn’t the kind of guy who takes no for an answer.
Pocket Books asked Stark to change the original ending, keep Parker alive, and write two sequels. Stark produced 13 Parker novels in 11 years, the series switching publishers and some books changing titles along the way. They were something new, stories of a professional thief told without moralising. The style reflected the name: stark. Parker was a Sixties anti-hero long before Bonnie and Clyde or The Man With No Name. The blurb on the cover of the Gold Medal Books editions caught the tone perfectly: ‘Parker steals. Parker kills. It’s a living.’
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