The Sour Lemon Score

A Parker Novel

De: Richard Stark

Narrado por: Stephen R. Thorne

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.

©1969 Richard Stark (P)2012 AudioGo

Parker at his best!

Revenge--Parker-style! Need I say more? It doesn't get any better. And the reader is excellent.

Sour lemon score

This was a good story about criminals . it was very 60's and I had a great time listening to it.

When the Job goes South and Sour.

Not every job is a hit. Not every friend can be trusted. Sometimes the only score you leave with is your life. Sometimes revenge is the only sugar you get.

4 ½ stars. I liked getting revenge,

and I liked Parker’s detective mystery solving.

The bank robbery is a short section at the beginning. Then one of the group (George) kills the others and takes all the money. The problem is when he tried to kill Parker, he missed. So the rest of the book is watching Parker survive the double cross and then hunt George in various places across the country. I had no idea how Parker would be able to find someone who was on the run and in hiding, but he does. Good suspense, interesting writing, very enjoyable.

A mother and children are held hostage by someone other than Parker. It’s a small part of the story and did not end badly. But some readers might want to know.

There is a forward by Dennis Lehane (dated 2010) in the paperback. I was disappointed that the forward was missing from this audiobook.

The narrator Stephen R. Thorne was good, but I wish he had a rougher, darker, or more menacing voice for Parker. His Parker voice was too clean cut and normal sounding.

THE SERIES:
This is book 12 in the 24 book series. These stories are about bad guys. They rob. They kill. They’re smart. Most don’t go to jail. Parker is the main bad guy, a brilliant strategist. He partners with different guys for different jobs in each book.

If you are new to the series, I suggest reading the first three and then choose among the rest. A few should be read in order since characters continue in a sequel fashion. Those are listed below (with my star ratings). The rest can be read as stand alones.

The first three books in order:
4 stars. The Hunter (Point Blank movie with Lee Marvin 1967) (Payback movie with Mel Gibson)
3 ½ stars. The Man with the Getaway Face (The Steel Hit)
4 stars. The Outfit.

Read these two in order:
5 stars. Slayground (Bk #14)
5 stars. Butcher’s Moon (Bk #16)

Read these four in order:
4 ½ stars. The Sour Lemon Score (Bk #12)
2 ½ stars. Firebreak (Bk #20)
(not read) Nobody Runs Forever (Bk #22)
2 ½ stars. Dirty Money (Bk #24)

Others that I gave 4 or more stars to:
The Jugger (Bk #6), The Seventh (Bk#7), The Handle (Bk #8), Deadly Edge (Bk#13), Flashfire (Bk#19)

GENRE: noir crime fiction

One of the better Parker novels

The Sour Lemon Score breaks the usual Parker formula of Parker gets a job, Parker plans a heist, Parker completes the heist despite complications. In this novel, more akin to the original story in the Hunter, Parker has to deal with the fallout of a job gone bad from the outset of the novel. It excels in that Parker faces real adversity in the form of difficult circumstances and a formidable new enemy. It also rings true in its characterizations, showing Parker's cold rationalism's limitations and a more brutal side to crime than the clean capers Parker usually undertakes. Parker fans will not be disappointed.