The Mourner: A Parker Novel

By Richard Stark and John Banville

The Mourner is a story of convergence—of cultures and of guys with guns. Hot on the trail of a statue stolen from a fifteenth-century French tomb, Parker enters a world of eccentric art collectors, greedy foreign officials, and shady KGB agents. Hired by a shifty dame who has something he needs, Parker will find out just who intends to bury whom—and who he needs to kill to finish the job.

• Language: English
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Release date: Jun 15, 2010
• ISBN: 9780226772882

Book preview

Reviews for The Mourner

[bjkelley · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although it seemed to drag a little in the middle and part of the book about breaking into a house seemed familiar from an earlier book, it still was a very well written book with a satisfying ending.

[jimmaclachlan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Another very good adventure with Parker. Not quite as high marks because a couple of things were a bit obvious. The books are a bit formulaic, still there were a couple of good twists & it was an enjoyable romp.

On to #5.

[stahl2ricco · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"When the guy with asthma finally came in from the fire escape, Parker rabbit-punched him and took his gun away."A tight beginning to a tight book! A book that sees Parker get shot for the 6th time and left for dead for the 2nd time in just 4 books! Very good plot, action, everything! Parker is just the best anti-hero, and I love to root for him! And strong characters like Handy, Menlo, and Bett and get one heck of a ride of a story! The end of part 3 is especially awesome! Happily on to book #5!

[Michael Connor · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

FIFTY YEARS ON, more or less, and the Parker novels work very, very well: scenes click relentlessly forward and deliver delight after delight.

[dh1writer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Parker is after a statue. Along the way he meets an inspector who wants money from the same owner. An agreement, a double cross, a chase and you have a typical month for Parker. A good entertaining read.

[ecw0647 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another solid entry in the Parker series. Parker is offered a considerable sum to retrieve a valuable and rare statuette. From there, as is usual, everything goes awry with complications caused by a rogue cop from eastern Europe who has his own plans. Enjoyable.

[grandpahobo_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Gritty and intense. The Parker novels are the highest form of crime and noir fiction.

[alanteder · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Parker and the StatueReview of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (March, 2011) of the Pocket Books paperback (1963)Richard Stark was one of the many pseudonyms of the prolific crime author Donald E. Westlake (1933-2008), who wrote over 100 books. The Stark pseudonym was used primarily for the Parker novels, an antihero criminal who is usually betrayed in some manner and who spends each book getting revenge.The Mourner is a rare statue that Parker is hired to steal. It is in the hands of a corrupt ambassador from a fictional Eastern Bloc country, but Parker's main adversary is an agent from that country's secret police who is looking to cash in for himself. This book diverges from the usual Parker narrative and tells the story of the agent Auguste Menlo instead. Narrator Stephen R. Thorne does a good job in all voices in this audiobook edition. I had never previously read the Stark/Parker novels but became curious when they came up in my recent reading of The Writer's Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives (Sept. 2020) by Nancy Pearl & Jeff Schwager. Here is a (perhaps surprising) excerpt from their discussion with Amor Towles:Nancy: Do you read Lee Child?Amor: I know Lee. I had never read his books until I met him, but now I read them whenever they come out. I think some of the decisions he makes are ingenious.Jeff: Have you read the Parker books by Donald Westlake [writing as Richard Stark]?Amor: I think the Parker books are an extraordinary series.Jeff: They feel like a big influence on Reacher, right down to the name. Both Reacher and Parker have a singular focus on the task in front of them.Amor: But Parker is amoral. Reacher is just dangerous.Jeff: Right. Reacher doesn't have a conventional morality, but he has his own morality. Parker will do anything he has to do to achieve his goal.Amor: But to your point, Westlake's staccato style with its great twists at the end the end of the paragraphs, and his mesmerizing central character - these attributes are clearly shared by the Reacher books.The 24 Parker books are almost all available for free on Audible Plus, except for #21 & #22 which aren't available at all.Trivia and LinksThere is a brief plot summary of The Mourner and of all the Parker books and adaptations at The Violent World of Parker website.Although the 2011 Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition shares the same cover art as the University of Chicago Press 2009 reprint, it does not include the introduction by author [author:John Banville|91].

[3j0hn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Parker books may be a bit formulaic, but what a great formula.

[erickibler · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Having gotten this far in the Parker series (#4), I recognize the standard formula of these books. (1) Parker and his cronies painstakingly plan and execute a heist. (2)Parker is double-crossed by one of the cronies and is left for dead. (3)The crony makes off with the swag and lulls himself into a false sense of security. (4) Parker shows up, very much alive, to exact his revenge, get paid, and get laid (in that order).

However, once a formula has been established and recognized by the readers, the trick to a successful series installment is to deviate from the formula. This one doesn't deviate enough, and falls too much into the pattern laid out above. If you're new to the Parker books, you'll be entertained by this one. but if you've read "The Hunter" (#1 in the series), you're going to find this one a bit of a retread. Still, I'm intrigued enough to continue with the series.

[moonimal · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Quick and Noir, this book didn't advance Parker much. Just a case, with no more Outfit ties or character development A bit of a yawner.

[clfisha · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Clunky story and a main character that’s hard to like hurt this book but doesn't devalue reading it. Actual part of the fascination is oddly Parker; following this cold, murderous professional criminal through the story (a theft, a bit of espionage). This is a guy who manages to torture a women in the second chapter (off screen so to speak its not gratuitous). However to make up for no nonsense Parker we get a cast of overly gregarious odd beats: the femme fatale, her rich art collector daddy and the rotund foreign spy. Its not a bad plot, exciting set up and tense middle, sadly loose obvious ending. The misogyny is so over the top I actually laughed at the end (when he takes femme fatale to bed because he is feeling strong and virile. I might try another one, hoping if the plot is tighter you could get real drama out of having such a ruthless main characters but I think I would only recommend this one to hard crime fans.

[rdhawk6886 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Best in the Parker series so far. Parker competes against femme fatale, Bett Harrow, and Russian element to acquire 14th century statutette, The Mourner. Solid pure action thriller. Why they don't film this series with Jason Stathim is beyond me.