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    The Rare Coin Score: A Parker Novel
    The Rare Coin Score: A Parker Novel
    The Rare Coin Score: A Parker Novel
    Ebook115 pages2 hours

    The Rare Coin Score: A Parker Novel

    By Richard Stark and Luc Sante

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    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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
    Release dateMay 1, 2011
    ISBN9780226772929
    The Rare Coin Score: A Parker Novel

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    Reviews for The Rare Coin Score

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      One 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?)
    • 5/5
      “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.
    • 5/5
      “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...

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