The Jugger

By: Richard Stark

Narrated by: Stephen R. Thorne

Not many men knew what Parker did for a living, because what he did was steal. But Joe Sheer, a retired safecracker - also known in the business as a jugger - knew. He knew Parker's alias, his whereabouts, his plans... and because he knew too much, he knew to keep his mouth shut. Or die. But Joe was more than ready to trade what he knew for a soft mattress, windows without bars on them, and what every man needs - his freedom.

So Parker had come to Nebraska to find the old jugger... and probably murder him. But what Parker found was trouble: Joe was already six feet under; something very valuable was missing; and somebody was planning a funeral: Parker's. Too bad for somebody that Parker wasn't an easy man to kill.

©1965 Richard Stark. All rights reserved. (P)2011 BBC Audiobooks America

I Never Want the Star to Get Caught

I liked the intrigue, but not all the killing. The teenaged boy seemed too much. Just $100 to start all over. I couldn’t do it.

Another great Parker novel.

Any additional comments?

Really amazing how each and every book feels fresh and new. The main plot is that Parker has to investigate the status of an old man who has sent him some senile sounding letters. The old man knows too much and a risk. As always, nothing is as it seems and Parker has to rise to the occasion.

Good stuff

Reading these novels in order and this one seems to be the best one out of the first few! Don’t miss out on this!!!!!!!!

An average story most of the way,

but I liked the twists and turns at the end.

Parker comes to town after receiving a strange letter from one of his guys. The guy died after sending the letter. Strange things are happening. A bad cop is involved. Parker is trying to figure it out. Then Parker kills someone which shocked me. I shouldn’t like this because he killed a kind-of-good person. But the “shock” was what I liked. And the ending I liked. It seemed Parker had everything all nice and neat and packaged, and then a little thread here and there didn’t fit. The investigating cop pulled, and things began unraveling. The result was twists and turns that I did not expect.

The narrator Stephen R. Thorne was very good, but I wish he had a rougher or more gravely voice for Parker. His Parker voice was too clean cut and normal sounding. Parker is a beast.

THE SERIES:
This is book 6 in the 24 book series. It’s about half the length of a typical novel. If you are new to the series, I suggest reading the first three, and then pick and choose among the rest. I like reading them in order since there is a flow. These stories are about bad guys. They rob. They kill. They don’t go to jail. They’re smart. Parker is the main bad guy. He partners with different guys for different jobs in each book.

Genre: noir crime fiction

A very entertaining series

These books have been put together so well - it’s a very engaging series. I preferred the reader in the first two books but this isn’t bad! Anxious to get the next one!

Love these

These books are priceless. Timeless.
Good reader.
I’ll listen to them several times in the next years

Typical Parker with Poorly Chosen Reader

It's a typical, violent Parker novel. If you like them, you won't be starting here. The reader, however, sounds like he's never even walked the same street as a Parker. Ever.

He does some of the voices well: a policeman, women, an acquaintance early on. But he doesn't attempt to do a voice for Parker and his narrative voice doesn't suit the material - some other material maybe, but not this.

Contains important plot developments for the series as a whole.

The Best Parker Yet

Six books into this series, it’s clear that Parker’s character—his frightening utilitarian brutality and thuggish common sense (“Don’t show a gun unless you intend to use it”)—will not alter. His associates share his practical criminal outlook; questions of right and wrong arise only regarding the conduct of, not the motivations behind, the job at hand.

What’s different here is the story. This is the most complex, the most interesting one yet because, for the first time, money isn’t the ultimate issue. Yes, it’s still brutal, and as with previous installments you’ll find yourself wondering if—and then ever-so-slightly-hoping that—Parker gets out of this jam. But the plot is a radical departure, leaving you with the definite feeling that the next story will be even better. As usual, Stephen Thorne turns in another superb performance.

Heist Noir Gotta love it

This guy Parker might be my hero. He is unflappable and ruthless. Recommend these books highly.

Whats Up With Joe?

Spoilers Ahead



A big part of this novel hangs on what happens to Joe Sheer. We are to believe that Joe, who Parker trusts explicitly is harassed by the city police for weeks and STAYS IN TOWN. I don’t believe a man as smart as Joe, no matter his age, wouldn’t pick up and leave the first time the police came to his home unannounced. Joe has the smarts and money to disappear and he doesn’t. Why?

The preformance is cool. I prefer a more gravely, cold Parker but the reader does some decent voices other than that.