Dirty Money

By: Richard Stark

Narrated by: Stephen Thorne

Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Master criminal Parker takes another turn for the worse as he tries to recover loot from a heist gone terribly wrong. Parker and two cohorts stole the assets of a bank in transit, but the police heat was so great they could only escape if they left the money behind.

Now Parker and his associates plot to reclaim the loot, which they hid in the choir loft of an unused country church. As they implement the plan, people on both sides of the law use the forces at their command to stop Parker and grab the goods for themselves.

Though Parker's new getaway van is an old Ford Econoline with "Holy Redeemer Choir" on its doors, his gang is anything but holy, and Parker will do whatever it takes to redeem his prize, no matter who gets hurt in the process.

©2008 Richard Stark (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks America

Critic reviews

"Stark handles the criminal aspects of his tale with his usual panache." ( Publishers Weekly)

Parker becomes less sexist brute

Good story with strong women characters. Great improvement over Parker’s debut in which he is woman-beating savage

Another great Parker storyline.

It's Parker at his usual game. He is amazing in that area of finding himself in a world of crime, backstabbing, and very narrow escapes.

What a journey

I can't believe the journey is over. I have listened to all the Parker books that are available. This one does not disappoint. It is classic Parker.

Bummed it’s over

Loves this series - always interesting and some great readers - sorry for Starks passing but he left a great gift if his writing.

We say goodbye to Parker

This is the final book in the series. It follows what happened in the previous book. As with all
of the books, I think it can be read as a standalone, but it is somewhat enhanced if you have read all of the previous books.

It wasn’t intended to be the final book, but the author Donald Westlake writing as Richard Stark died not long after completion.

There’s a few too many moving parts and characters in this book. This book is not about a heist, but rather about recovering the money from the heist at the beginning of the last book, ASK THE PARROT.

While this will never be my favorite Parker book, it’s still a good one. The reader does a good job, although not my favorite reader of the Parker series either. I will re-read the entire series once again. And I will miss the next Parker book which never happened.

They are all decent reads. And I suspect very re-readable.

Goodbye Parker.

2 ½ stars. It was hard to stay interested.

My mind wandered. The ending was good for Parker but abrupt.

Prior to this book three guys rob an armored car and hide the money in a church. That story is told in “Nobody Runs Forever” Bk #22. I did not read that book but others say it’s important to this story. The guys can’t spend the money because the serial numbers are known. This story is about how to get the money out of the church and launder it. The authorities have roadblocks and pictures of the guys. Parker is one of the guys. Others find out about the money and try for it.

I was surprised with who Parker contacted to solve the money problem. It’s important to read Firebreak before this book to appreciate this part.

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

THE SERIES:
This is book 24 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