Plunder Squad by Richard Stark

 


Plunder Squad lines up as #15 of 24 Parker novels by Donald E. Westlake writing under the name of Richard Stark.

Plunder Squad is one rambling, shambling tale featuring multiple heists (two of which never actually come off) and Parker on a manhunt, a novel chock-full of Parker action and memorable scenes in places like the mountains of California, a posh apartment overlooking Central Park, a Pop art exhibit in Indianapolis.

The highlight reel on this one includes:

Georgie Porgie
"He didn't have a gun on him, and the first thing to do was get away from the guy who did." The guy without a gun is Parker; the guy with the gun is George Uhl. In the opening scene of Plunder Squad, Uhl shoots at Parker's head. Stark fans will remember George Uhl from The Sour Lemon Score where Parker didn't kill Uhl when he had the chance. Recall I mentioned Plunder Squad features Parker on a manhunt. I bet you can guess who Parker will be hunting down.

Foxy Sharon
"She was almost the parody of a suburban slut. Slender to the point of skinniness except for oversized breasts, she had the small narrow foxlike face of a tenement upbringing....The only good thing about her was that she didn't seem to be in active agitation." There she is - Sharon, wife of Bob Beaghler, the gent organizing a California heist. Parker immediately smells unending troubles with slut Sharon (you gotta love Stark's description: "face of a tenement upbringing') but Parker is running a string of bad luck and he NEEDS THE MONEY so he'll stick around to at least find out what Beaghler has in mind.

Man's Best Friend
You never know what can happen when you break into someone's house at two in the morning when they're not at home. Parker does so in Plunder Squad. "He heard the clicks on linoleum and saw the dark shape hurtling at him just an instant before it hit, slamming into him at chest height and knocking him flat on his back on the floor." Just so happens Blackie the Doberman Pinscher's final act of heroism saves someone's life.

Parker the Aesthete - Not!
Reading between the lines, there's a strong element of humor when Parker attends an exhibit of Pop art currently on a city to city tour. Predictably, much more than the Andy Warhol-style 60s art on display, Parker makes a careful study of the private guards and armed guards guarding all those pricey treasures. Parker also makes a mental note of the price tag next to each painting. The last thing Parker is interested in having at the art gallery is an aesthetic experience. Understatement!

Parker gets the once over from two cops sitting in their car both when he enters and when he exists the building where the exhibit is being held. I bet he did! It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out Parker would be a tad out of place among all the Pop art.

Intense Interview
Griffith deals in art, one of his prime advantages: he negotiates for a living and he's good at it. One of the highlights of Plunder Squad: watching Griffith deal with Parker's demands.

"But I don't compromise," Parker said. "My price is forty thousand dollars. Not thirty-five. Not even thirty-nine and a half"
Petulant, Griffith said, "Never? Never in your goddam life have you ever done anything for less than forty thousand?"
"This job," Parker said, pointing straight down. "This job, my price is forty thousand."

When Parker walks out of Griffith's office, any guesses how much Griffith agrees to pay Parker for this job?

Beaghler's Mighty ATV
Bob Beaghler is mighty proud of his mighty all-terrain vehicle. Parker and Beaghler travel through some mighty tough mountainous terrain to track down George Uhl. When the boys near Uhl's hideout, Beaghler offers Parker a rifle. Parker declines; he'll take the Colt since, as he tells Beaghler, he knows handguns better. Why would Parker not want to take that rifle, the ideal weapon for shooting at long-range? You'll have to read for yourself. But I will say: this California mountain episode counts as one of the more memorable ones in the entire Parker series - and for good reason.

Stan Devers
Stark fans will remember young, blonde, resourceful Stan Devers from The Green Eagle Score where Stan was the inside man (what the outlaw world calls "the finger") for a score at an Air Force military base (a month's payroll in $200,000 cash).

Stan is now a full-time outlaw, constantly changing identities, constantly moving around the country to avoid serious prison time. When we meet up with Stan in Plunder Squad, he's pulling his own one-man heist of a salesman's Mercedes. A smooth operation that speaks to Stan's confidence and hard-won experience.

Tommy & Noelle
Ah, to be young and randy and a heister on a job with Parker. What part will young gal Noelle and young guy Tommy play in a big-time heist? For starters, they attract the attention of two Illinois state troopers:

"We'll check it out," Trooper Jarvis said, making the turn to stop beside the Chevrolet, and damn if there wasn't a couple screwing on a blanket next to the car.
"Son of a bitch!" Trooper MacAndrews said.
The bare ass of the boy stopped humping when the light hit it, and he stared over his shoulder in astonishment at the car two yards back of his feet. He was as shaggy and hairy as a mountain goat.
"One of them hippies," Trooper MacAndrews said.

Plunder Squad was originally published in 1972 when hippies were still hippies - a constant threat to conventional, good ole apple pie USA. The scene with Tommy, Noelle and the state troopers sizzles.

Final Thought
Plunder Squad scores high with avid Parker fans. What a doozy of a novel. While reading, I wondered if Donald E. Westlake might have privately and somewhat comically thought of his book as Blunder Squad.

Why, you ask? Parker the wolf is forever the professional. But the rest of us poor homo sapiens frequently are lacking when it comes to that sapiens part.


American author Donald E. Westlake, 1933-2008