Book Review: Breakout

Reviewed By: Luke Croll - RAM

Breakout     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Richard Stark
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Hard Boiled
Series: Parker # 22
2003, Warner Books, 300 pages

There are times when even master criminals make mistakes. This time, Parker has ended up in jail. The police do not know who he really is, but if he does not escape from the jail soon, the house of cards is going to come tumbling down. However, when he asks his fellow convicts to help, they agree ­ at a price. Parker will have to help them with a robbery. Can Parker succeed this time or is his criminal career over?

Richard Stark is actually Donald Westlake, writing under a pseudonym that he uses for his long-running Parker series. Luckily, the Parker novels can be read as standalone novels, but there are recurring characters and previous events referred to which would be made clearer by having read previous books in the series.

‘Breakout’ is immensely easy to read. Within a few minutes of picking the book up, you will be flying through the pages. There is nothing too deep or complicated here, just a simple thriller, moving from a prison breakout to the robbery Parker’s cohorts want him to carry out. The novel also takes place in a very short timeframe and this adds to the sense of pace.

Whilst Parker may be a criminal, the reader sympathises with him and will soon be rooting for him to escape the police and succeed. The other characters are not particularly deep, but at the end of the day, the reader will not care. The fast pace, enjoyable writing and plot make for a suitable beach read. Nothing meaty to get your teeth into, but certainly a good book for beside the swimming pool.

Luke Croll - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Luke Croll - RAM

Luke Croll - Conference interpreter and translator
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