The Rare Coin Score: A Parker Novel
By Richard Stark and Luc Sante
4/5
()
About this ebook
When it comes to heists, Parker believes in some cardinal rules. On this job, he breaks two of them: never bring a dame along—especially not one you like—and never, ever, work with amateurs. Nevertheless, with the help of a creepy coin collector named Billy, and the lure of a classy widow, he agrees to set up a heist of a coin convention. But Billy’s a rookie with no idea how to pull off a score, and the lady soon becomes a major distraction. The Rare Coin Score marks the first appearance of Claire, who pulls off her own heist on Parker's heart—while together they steal two million dollars worth of coins.
Read more from Richard Stark
Breakout: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ask the Parrot: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nobody Runs Forever: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hunter: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Butcher's Moon: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Jugger: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Handle: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Man with the Getaway Face: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Seventh: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dirty Money: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mourner: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slayground: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Black Ice Score: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sour Lemon Score: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Backflash: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Plunder Squad: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Deadly Edge: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Score: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Outfit: A Parker Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Comeback: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flashfire: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Firebreak: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Blackbird: An Alan Grofield Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Green Eagle Score: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER: Reflections on the Dramas of Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Rare Coin Score
Related ebooks
The Sour Lemon Score: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Seventh: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Deadly Edge: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slayground: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mourner: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Jugger: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Black Ice Score: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Handle: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Green Eagle Score: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Outfit: A Parker Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Plunder Squad: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Backflash: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Man with the Getaway Face: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Score: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dame: An Alan Grofield Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Comeback: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Firebreak: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flashfire: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Damsel: An Alan Grofield Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Blackbird: An Alan Grofield Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dirty Money: A Parker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Trouble is My Business Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Of Mice and Minestrone: Hap and Leonard: The Early Years Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fourth Durango Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Death is a Lovely Dame: Great Lines from the Golden Era of Crime Fiction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBloodthirsty Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLemons Never Lie: An Alan Grofield Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House In Turk Street Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Night and the Music: Matthew Scudder, #18 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Trust Me on This Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Hard-boiled Mystery For You
Don’t Know Jack: The Hunt for Jack Reacher, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pulp Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch Series Reading Order Updated 2019: Compiled by Albie Berk Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Warriors Series Boxset I: Warriors Series Boxset, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Librarian: The unforgettable, completely addictive psychological thriller from bestseller Valerie Keogh Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hunter: And Other Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLicensed to Thrill 1: Hunt For Jack Reacher Series Thrillers Books 1 - 3: Diane Capri’s Licensed to Thrill Sets, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Devil's Necktie Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hard Fall: A Gripping Mystery Thriller: Thomas Blume, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fourth Monkey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tropical Depression Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Casanegra: A Tennyson Hardwick Story Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Bullet for Cinderella (Thriller) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Return of the Thin Man Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPromised Land Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Los Angeles Noir 2: The Classics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Six Easy Pieces: Easy Rawlins Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Scents and Sensibility: A Chet and Bernie Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Selected Novels: An Idol for Others, The Quirk, Now Let's Talk About Music, Perfect Freedom, and The Great Urge Downward Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGone, Baby, Gone: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Colorado Kid Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5TekWar Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Queenpin: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cincinnati Kid Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHurting Distance: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dog on It: A Chet and Bernie Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Drink Before the War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Killer in the Wind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Rare Coin Score
74 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the best books in the Parker series by Richard Stark/Donald Westlake. Also, introduces the character Claire that becomes Parker's permanent love interest (if Parker can love?)
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5“The Rare Coin Score” is the ninth Parker novel by Richard Stark (aka Westlake). I am probably going to sound like a broken record in saying that, like all the books in the Parker series, it is a terrific, fast-moving crime thriller. Here, the caper is the robbery of a coin dealers convention from a hotel ballroom. There could be as much as $2 million worth of rare coins there, although it is not like cold hard cash (or is it?) and it has to go through a fence who knows how to handle such material (or perhaps one of the coin dealers at the convention). The coins have to be handled gently because, if you throw them all in a bag, they will get scratched and marred and lose quite a bit of their value. The coins are also quite heavy, unlike paper money. Of course, being a Parker novel, there are double-crosses and problems to contend with such that even the Pinkertons guarding the coins at night are the least of the crew’s headaches.
What stands out about this caper is the crew that is organized to do it, a crew that needs a well-organized, professional leader – Parker. One member of this crew becomes a recurring character through many of the succeeding Parker novels (Claire). If you have read any of the later Parker books, you know Claire and you know that Parker has a long- term relationship with her, but the Claire you meet in this book (before everything that happens here) is unlike the Claire you meet in succeeding books. This is a tough-nosed, hard-edged bombshell who manipulates the soft captive coin dealer (Billy) involved in the caper like any good femme fatale would.
This story is smoothly written and just flows off the pages. It is filled with action and intrigue. Novels such as this one thoroughly cemented Westlake’s place as a top-notch crime fiction writer even though he published it under his alter ego, Richard Stark. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5“Parker spent two weeks on the white sand beach at Biloxi, and on a white sandy bitch named Belle, but he was restless,...”First words of the first sentence of the book, and I’m already smiling! Another Parker story! The one where he first meets Claire! And they, along with a few others, are planning to knock over a coin convention.This little paragraph is an example of why I like Parker so much: “He was relieved, but didn’t show it. If she’d said yes he would have had to kill her, here and now. It would have bothered him; but it would have been necessary, so he would have done it.”That’s Parker, 100%! Business, and survival first, everything else second. Another solid book, short, sweet, and packed with fun! And, like most Parker novels, there is a double cross! But UNlike most Parker novels, this one has a happy ending, of sorts. One could almost call it sweet. But not to Parker's face...