The Seventh
The Seventh, appropriately the seventh book in the series, details the aftermath of a brilliant heist of a college football game. This time, rather than being betrayed by one of the seven people involved in the heist, Parker runs into trouble from a psychotic amateur who leaves a sword in his woman and steals the entire take from the operation.
After taking a couple of detours with The Score and The Jugger, The Seventh marks a return to the formula established in the earlier books, albeit with a new twist or two. Perhaps this is because Westlake felt he had failed so badly with The Jugger. In any case, Parker is meaner than ever and the pages fly by.
The Seventh was filmed (and reprinted as) The Split, a film which focuses on the stadium heist idea rather than the aftermath (the heist is a rather small portion of the actual novel). It would be interesting to see it filmed more faithful to the book, with Parker as a sort of criminal Dirty Harry, obsessed with hunting down a killer. Of course, the fact that the man is a killer is totally irrelevant to Parker--he just wants his money back.
AVAILABILITY:
The Parker Omnibus Volume 2 contains The Seventh (as The
Split), The Score, and The Handle (in typical Parker
reprint fashion, out of order). Unfortunately for many of us,
it's a UK only edition. How do you get it in the States? I would
suggest talking to independent specialty bookstores if there are any in your
area...they are frequently experts at getting overseas printings.
You might also try Amazon.co.uk or another
overseas online bookdealer. Warning:
A fellow reader has told me that this book contains dozens of typos and is
frustrating to read.
To The Split, based on The Seventh
To Al Nussbaum's introduction to the Gregg Press edition
To The Jugger, the previous book in the series
To The Handle, the next book in the series
Back to The Violent World of Parker