Ask the Parrot

By: Richard Stark

Narrated by: William Dufris

Racing through the backwoods of Massachusetts and on the verge of being taken down for one of the biggest and most disastrous bank heists the state has ever seen, Parker runs right into the barrel of a gun pointed from the wrong side of the law.

A quiet and angry recluse with only a silent parrot for company in his seclusion, Tom Lindahl saves Parker from the police dogs, but enmeshes him in yet another in a long line of dubious, highly dangerous, but seriously profitable jobs.

Far more than some aimless indigent, holed up in a shack in the woods, Lindahl is a man built on rage and driven by a thirst for revenge. A whistleblower whom nobody heard, a man tossed aside by a corrupt political establishment, Lindahl plans to rob them of their lucre and needs Parker's help.

©2006 Richard Stark. All rights reserved. (P)2006 BBCA

Critic reviews

"As with any Parker novel, things go to hell in bits and pieces as the tight-knit plan unravels, while Parker, ever the cold-blooded professional, deals with the pitiful attempts of amateurs and law enforcement alike to bring him down." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Dufris's delivery of the characters' voices, complete with local accents, is totally believable. Author Stark is also known as Donald Westlake." ( AudioFile)

Parker rules

Here we see Parker on the run. He thinks on his feet and comes out golden. These books have had several different narrators. This one is not my favorite.

Superbly Parker

Well done written story , I enjoyed the story for the most part Parker's a real go getter and joy how he manipulates the other characters and basically gets way with murder haha

Very Good, But Mixed

The performance was great on this. Not my favorite reader of the Parker books, but a very good one. Overall I round up from 4 1/2 stars to five.

The story had some interesting twists on the formula. For one thing, there’s a moral dilemma, which is usually not part of Parker books. It’s not a moral dilemma from Parker‘s point of view, but from one of the minor characters (although as Larry Block says in his introduction, just as it applies to actors, it applies to writers: there are no minor characters). The way it is introduced, and dealt with, especially when in the beginning fascinated me.

There are also some other interesting twists that come up in the storytelling.

Having said all that, I have to take off at least a half a star on the story itself. There just seem to be so many conveniences and coincidences. Just a few too many for me. It didn’t ruin the story, but it’s slightly marred it.

Recommended still, especially for a diehard fans of the series like me. And we’re getting close to the end of the entire series by this book, so each one is precious.

a great book!

the stark novels are particularly nice because their plots are different and the way they are developed comes from different viewpoints.

Parker does it again!

What did you love best about Ask the Parrot?

As usual, Parker's logical approach to every situation, with nerves-of-steel, always prepared to do what he must to stay alive and free. He has a gift for psychological insights into what makes people tick.

What did you like best about this story?

The convoluted twists and turns with these interesting characters.

What about William Dufris’s performance did you like?

His ability to portray the different characters.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, although these Parker stories are short, like novellas. These are great books for a day at the beach.

Any additional comments?

Either you like the Parker series, or you don't. I love this clever anti-hero. Just wouldn't want to ever meet up with him! (Glad this is fiction.)

Very complicated plot

The Parker books are works of genius. Parker made a lot of mistakes in this escapade but also was subject to a lot of unpredictable events. Of course he had to unravel it all so we could have another Parker book!

Parker is awesome

Parker is one of my favorite fictional characters a professional robber all the way and more words

Another ‘Parker’ Masterpiece!

As an avid fan of the Parker series, Ask The Parrot doesn’t disappoint! The book kept me intrigued and guessing ‘what’s going to happen next’ from start to finish.
I should point out that Parker’s characterization wasn’t the TYPICAL Parker. He was more talkative and definitely took more chances, allowing people who had info on him to walk away. Seriously? The typical Parker would NEVER had taken such chances. In spite of this variation, I still enjoyed Ask The Parrot immensely.
I almost forgot; in addition, there were parts of book that were hilarious! Good job!

A Favorite of the Series

I love the Parker series, Ask the Parrot is one of the top in the series! A must read even if you haven't been through the entire series. The only complaint I have is Book 21 and 22 (Breakout and Nobody Runs Forever) are not available in audio, so I had to skip from Firebreak to Ask the Parrot! Not a deal breaker to enjoy the series as Stark geniously writes each book with a true end, which is always abrupt and unexpected, in a good way,but leaving you wanting more!!! Sadly I'm off to the last in the series

They skipped several chapters

My wife and I were loving this classic Parker while on a long drive home when nothing made any sense. It seemed as if something was missing, and, sure enough, when I consulted the hard copy, I discovered the Audible version had skipped several chapters just before the conclusion. Not sure if it's worse if they did it on purpose or by accident, but it's entirely unacceptable either way.