Book Review: Nobody Runs Forever

Reviewed By: Pat Reid - RAM

Nobody Runs Forever     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Richard Stark
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Hard Boiled
Series: Parker # 23
Time Warner, 2004, 295 pps.

This is the first Parker, master criminal, novel that I have read. I found it to be entertaining and a very fast read. The story begins in a hotel room in Cincinnati where several professional criminals meet in order to plan a job. During a game of seven-card stud Parker noticed that one of the group was wearing a wire. The culprit was swiftly dispensed with and while the man who brought him to the meet left to dispose of the body the group broke up and left the room one by one to go their separate ways.

Nick Dalesia one of the participants stopped Parker and asked him to have a drink. Since Parker was slightly acquainted with Dalesia he listened to the proposition Dalesia had to offer.

The two agree to work together on a job where they would travel to Massachusetts to organize the robbery of armored car transferring money from a small town bank that had been bought out by another bank in a larger town nearby. The woman with the inside information is shaky to say the least and before the whole thing is over half the town plus a bounty hunter are drawn into the mix.

I would have enjoyed the book more had I read previous Parker books and had a better understanding of his history but I would look forward to reading another Parker novel in the future.

Pat Reid - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Pat Reid - RAM