The Mourner

The Mourner by Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake) is the 4th book in the Parker series. Wikipedia describes the character this way: "A ruthless career criminal, Parker has almost no traditional redeeming qualities, aside from efficiency and professionalism. Parker is cold, methodical, and perfectly willing to commit murder to get what he wants." That is accurate.

John Banville wrote the introduction to this book, and if he likes it that's a good recommendation. I bought this book at the same time I bought The Hunter, which is the 1st in the series. I enjoyed the 1st one as well as this one, perhaps mainly because they are so different from what I usually read. These are crime novels but with the criminal as the protagonist. I'd be interested in seeing the Lee Marvin film that was based on the first book, but I never see it at our local music/video store for anything less than full list price. I'll pick it up eventually, but not while I have so many un-watched DVDs on the shelf.

from the back of the book:

The Mourner is a story of convergence -of cultures and of guys with guns. Hired by a dame who has something he needs, Parker is hot on the trail of a statue stolen from a fifteenth-century French tomb. Coincidentally, the foreign official who has been hiding the statue is targetted by the KGB, which dispatches one of its best men, the loquacious and colorful Auguste Menlo, who makes the mistake of bringing in the Mob. In a deadly, treacherous endgame, Parker will find who intends to bury whom -and why no one will be crying over his grave.

I don't know why reviews of these books are so hard to come by. There's a tribute site to the Parker novels here.