Thu 14 Aug 2014
RICHARD STARK – The Jugger. Pocket 50149, paperback original, 1965. Reprinted several times, mostly in softcover.
A few years ago I re-read one of Richard (Donald E. Westlake) Stark’s old “Parker” novels in the standard “caper” vein, Green Eagle Score, so I recently thought I’d try something a bit different, and selected The Jugger, wondering, as I did, whether Stark’s writing would seem as fine now as it did to the High-School kid I was over forty years ago. My doubts were answered in the first two paragraphs:
The little guy standing there was dressed like he was kidding around.
Right there. Right in your face, but gently, hints of death, something to conceal, and a trace of tough humor. Makes me wish I could write like that.
The Jugger departs from the usual format of the series to center on Parker’s response when an old associate writes to ask him for help. It develops that the old-timer (the “jugger” of the title, i. e., someone who has done time in “the jug”) has been hounded to death by a venal cop looking for loot stashed away from previous capers. When Parker shows up just days after the jugger’s death, the cop is convinced he must have an inside track on Where’s The Money.
I remembered this had a fairly perfunctory murder-mystery angle, but I forgot how abruptly Parker wraps it up. I also recalled a pleasantly tricky bit of business toward the end, as Parker makes sure the cop won’t double-cross him, and one other thing: When Parker responds to the jugger’s plea, he is not necessarily going to help him — he’s going to see if the old-timer has gone soft enough to sell out his friends and hence need to be killed.
August 15th, 2014 at 10:18 am
There’s a short, sharp moment involving the basement and a neighborhood kid. Took me completely by surprise. You sometimes forget how icily feral Parker can be.
August 15th, 2014 at 11:21 am
Enjoyed your review and I have enjoyed all the Parker novels. I was under the impression that the term jugger refered to a bank robber whose specialty was opening safes. “Jug” is criminal slang for a bank.
August 15th, 2014 at 4:07 pm
Westlake did an interview for Armchair Detective between himself, Tucker Coe, and Richard Stark. At the end Stark murdered Coe and Westlake. Sort of sums up Parker and Stark.
August 16th, 2014 at 11:56 am
Dan,
Good review. I remember reading this pb on my way back from a Pulpcon some years ago, and finished it without stopping. Not very hard, but the two other friends I was travelling with did remark that I hadn’t uttered a peep the whole time. Another thought on the Parker books. After the long hiatus of starting this series again, Westlake didn’t miss a beat. You would have thought they were written way back when. These are one of my favorite series.