• The Blackbird

  • An Alan Grofield Novel, Book 3
  • By: Richard Stark
  • Narrated by: R.C. Bray
  • Length: 5 hrs
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (255 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
The Blackbird  By  cover art

The Blackbird

By: Richard Stark
Narrated by: R.C. Bray
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.56

Buy for $15.56

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Donald E. Westlake is one of the greats of crime fiction. Under the pseudonym Richard Stark, he wrote 24 fast-paced, hardboiled novels featuring Parker, a shrewd career criminal with a talent for heists. Using the same nom de plume, Westlake also completed a separate series in the Parker universe, starring Alan Grofield, an occasional colleague of Parker. While he shares events and characters with several Parker novels, Grofield is less calculating and more hot-blooded than Parker; think fewer guns, more dames.

Not that there isn’t violence and adventure aplenty.... The third Grofield novel, The Blackbird shares its first chapter with Slayground: after a traumatic car crash, Parker eludes the police, but Grofield gets caught. Lying injured in the hospital, Grofield is visited by G-men who offer him an alternative to jail, and he finds himself forced into a deadly situation involving international criminals and a political conspiracy.

©1967 Richard Stark (P)2013 AudioGO

Critic reviews

"Never before has Grofield gone for so many rides with someone else at the wheel." ( New York Times)
"A pleasure.... [Stark]’s ability to construct an action story filled with unforeseen twists and quadruple-crosses is unparalleled." ( San Francisco Chronicle)
!Energy and imagination light up virtually every page, as does some of the best hard-boiled prose ever to grace the noir genre." ( Publishers Weekly)

More from the same

What listeners say about The Blackbird

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    174
  • 4 Stars
    58
  • 3 Stars
    19
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    195
  • 4 Stars
    30
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    165
  • 4 Stars
    50
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Noir Crime Fiction

Alan Grofield returns with a cast of international criminals. In order to escape jail time he is forced to infiltrate a conference of third world leaders engaged in a dangerous political conspiracy. Stark & Bray deliver a fast paced narrative that does not disappoint in the end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Meh.

First off, the performance was great! RC Bray was the perfect choice for this book. It was the only reason I finished it. As the parallel to Slayground, one of my favorite Westlake Parker novels, I was looking forward to this one and hoping it could top it or be as good. It wasn’t even in the ballpark. It won’t stop me from reading more in the Parker series but it will be a while before I come back for the next in this series. Oh well…that can’t all be winners.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

What a snooze.

Kept waiting and waiting and waitingfor something to happen. Nothing ever happened. What a snooze.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

boring as hell

I've been enjoying a lot of the Parker and growfield novels and this one board me to tears and I just couldn't put up with it so I began fast forwarding and up to the last hour I just couldn't care less what happens in this dull pointless novel.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not as Satisfying as the First Two Installments

The first Grofield yarn was hysterical. The second made me laugh (though less frequently). This third entry had its moments of mirth, but they were fewer and farther between.

Don’t get me wrong; it’s a great story. Grofield’s spontaneous improvisation under pressure is here – and a pleasure to watch. But I missed the rapid-fire, lighthearted, idiotic quips that set him apart from his sometime partner, the darkly dangerous Parker.

As always, R. C. Bray turns in a fine performance, getting Grofield’s character – and everyone else’s – just right.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Remember the time period in which it was written.

I don't hate the Alan Grofield stories, but this is my least favorite so far. It's far fetched and a little more ridiculous than the others. The narrator is wonderful, which is why I added it to my library. The series as a whole is worth a listen. These are old stories, so keep that in mind when listening, and don't get offended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

all of Stark Books are worth it?

I've listened to and enjoyed alk of Starks books. Late 50's & 60's. No computers or cell phones. worth evert minute listening to!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!