The Rare Coin Score

By: Richard Stark

Narrated by: John Chancer

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 creep 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 will steal Parker’s heister’s heart - while together they steal two million dollars’ worth of coins.

©1967 Richard Stark. All rights reserved. (P)2012 AudioGo

3 ½ stars. Engaging.

Some slightly different characters this time.

Needy childlike Billy loves Claire the widow who sees Billy with contempt. This book was slightly above average but still worth reading because the series is great. I don’t want to stop reading them.

The Forward by Luc Sante was insightful. A few of his comments follow, edited for brevity. “When I read my first Parker novel, I was stunned. I imagined that I had stumbled upon a particularly brilliant specimen of a thriving genre. But I was wrong. There is no such genre... Stark said that he meant the books to be about a workman at work. Process and mechanics and troubleshooting dominate the books. Stark portrays a world of total amorality. It is never suggested in the novels that robbing payrolls or shooting people who present liabilities are anything more than business practices... As brilliant as Parker is as a strategist, he is nothing short of phenomenal at instantly grasping character. This means that he sometimes sounds more like a fictional detective than a crook. In order to decide which path the double crosser he is pursuing is most likely to have taken, or which member of the string is most likely to double cross, or the odds on a reasonable sounding job that has just been proposed to him by someone with shaky credentials, he has to get all the way under the skin of the party in question.”

The narrator John Chancer was good. I liked his voice for Parker.

THE SERIES:
This is book 9 in the 24 book series. These stories are about bad guys. They rob. They kill. They’re smart. Most don’t go to jail. Parker is the main bad guy, a brilliant strategist. He partners with different guys for different jobs in each book.

If you are new to the series, I suggest reading the first three and then choose among the rest. A few should be read in order since characters continue in a sequel fashion. Those are listed below (with my star ratings). The rest can be read as stand alones.

The first three books in order:
4 stars. The Hunter (Point Blank movie with Lee Marvin 1967) (Payback movie with Mel Gibson)
3 ½ stars. The Man with the Getaway Face (The Steel Hit)
4 stars. The Outfit.

Read these two in order:
5 stars. Slayground (Bk #14)
5 stars. Butcher’s Moon (Bk #16)

Read these four in order:
4 ½ stars. The Sour Lemon Score (Bk #12)
2 ½ stars. Firebreak (Bk #20)
(not read) Nobody Runs Forever (Bk #22)
2 ½ stars. Dirty Money (Bk #24)

Others that I gave 4 or more stars to:
The Jugger (Bk #6), The Seventh (Bk#7), The Handle (Bk #8), Deadly Edge (Bk#13), Flashfire (Bk#19)

GENRE: noir crime fiction.

Skip the first chapter

The narrator feels the need to give a summary of the Parker series in chapter 1 in which he spoils major events that will happen throughout the rest of the series. If you don’t want every single book after this spoiled skip the first chapter.

Parker Confronts his Past

Claire is just what Parker needs to recover and move forward from Lynn's betrayal and suicide.

Another great Richard Stark heist novel.

Any additional comments?

The plan is secondary in this tale, it's more about the relationships and personalities. The Rare Coin Score was a fun read, plenty of twists. You know that Parker always comes out on top somehow but nothing ever goes cleanly whenever you get a room of criminals involved. The newbie criminals were a nice touch as well; first timer jitters and all. Great book.

More Heist Noir

Another Parker book and they don't disappoint. In this one Parker changes a little and that is good. Keeps the series fresh.

5 Star's again

Is there a Parker that isn't 5 stars? I don't think they exist, in my experience.

A robbery gets entangled: great pacing, no fluff.

Another great Parker novel and it is in this one that he meets Claire. As usual every page counts, there is no waste here. Things go wrong, Parker has to hurry up to mend them, watch his back, and get the money and the girl.

The narrator gives a great rendering that captures the pace and the style.

The rare coin sscore

I listened to the audio book version and I enjoyed it. there is a cliff hanger ending😘.... I hope I get to read the next in the series.

Numismatists!

Handy McKay became the middle man for Parker after Joe Sheer killed himself. Handy forwarded a couple of leads and Parker wound up in Indianapolis. A woman called Claire picked up Parker at the hotel, taking him to the meeting place. Here he met Lemke. Jack French was another man there. Billy Levitard, a coin dealer, was the setup man and he proceeded to lay out the job; the Indianapolis Coin Association convention. The job was sour, French and Parker left. Claire showed up at Parker’s hotel and pitched the score again. The convention was at Parker’s hotel. Claire took him around the ballroom to show him the setup. Parker thought it through. So much for the setup of the story. Coins are hard to transport, they’re fragile, you rub them together or scratch them, and the value drops. Coins are heavy too, especially when you’re talking about the number of coins at a convention, with 100-150 dealers. Parker had a lot to think about. Claire was another problem to think about. Billy and Claire were an item, Parker and Claire were “close”, Parker needed Billy so he had to be handled carefully. The score was set, five men and a woman. Personalities and idiosyncrasies on display. Was this job going to go off as planned? Double-cross?

The Origin of Claire! (Spoilers for later books)

This is the introduction of the character Claire and the beginning of that relationship. It’s one of the most important relationships in the entire series. I’d read one of the later books before this, describing that relationship and how this is as close as Parker ever gets to love. And I really liked it there, and like it here.

This is an interesting heist with its own quirks. There’s the typical Parker elements and some good characters throughout. It’s Parker. What else is there to say? You either like these books or you don’t. If you do, this one is great and well read. If not… Parker shrugged.