Parker is approached with a job to rob a riverboat casino on the Hudson. But, he says, “I don’t like anything where there’s one entrance, one exit.” and, “A boat on the water is a cell, you can’t just up and go away.” Both good points! BUT, it’s ALL cash, possibly 400 grand, so…

But there always seems to be a hitch with these plans, and in this book, Ray Becker is that hitch.

Parker said, “I came to tell you, your problems are over after all.”

No loose ends in Parker’s world.

Another really good chapter in this series! I am in awe that even though this is the eighteenth book, it's still fresh and entertaining! I'll be sad when I finally read my last Parker novel. ( )

Parker and the Riverboat Casino
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (April 2013) of the Warner Books / Mysterious Press hardcover (October 1998)

Richard Stark was one of the many pseudonyms of the prolific crime writer Donald E. Westlake (1933-2008), who wrote over 100 books. The Stark pseudonym was used primarily for the Parker novels, an antihero criminal who is usually betrayed or ensnared in some manner and who spends each book getting revenge or escaping the circumstances.

In Backflash, Parker is engaged by a retired state bureaucrat who is morally opposed to gambling and a new state initiative for a trial run boat casino. Parker enlists a heist crew who take on disguises for their entry onto the boat with one part of the crew doing the robbery and the others to get the loot off the boat separately. Parker is suspicious of the insider bureaucrat's motives and senses that a betrayal may be planned so he has to keep watching his back throughout. These final Parker novels from #17 to #24 seem stronger and more complex than the original run which was probably due to Westlake/Stark's development as a writer over the years and during the 23 year hiatus. Several of these are strong 4's to 5's (I've actually read or listened to all of them now and am just parceling out the reviews over time).

Backflash is the 2nd book of 5 in a title arc by Richard Stark where the second syllable in each one-word title provides the first syllable of the next one as in 1) Comeback, 2) Backflash, 3) Flashfire, 4) Firebreak and 5) Breakout.

Narrator Keith Szarabjka does an excellent job in all voices in this audiobook edition. The narration includes the Introduction by Lawrence Block as read by Szarabjka.

I had never previously read the Stark/Parker novels but became curious when they came up in my recent reading of The Writer's Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives (Sept. 2020) by Nancy Pearl & Jeff Schwager. Here is a (perhaps surprising) excerpt from their discussion with author Amor Towles:

Nancy: Do you read Lee Child?
Amor: I know Lee. I had never read his books until I met him, but now I read them whenever they come out. I think some of the decisions he makes are ingenious.
Jeff: Have you read the Parker books by Donald Westlake [writing as Richard Stark]?
Amor: I think the Parker books are an extraordinary series.
Jeff: They feel like a big influence on Reacher, right down to the name. Both Reacher and Parker have a singular focus on the task in front of them.
Amor: But Parker is amoral. Reacher is just dangerous.
Jeff: Right. Reacher doesn't have a conventional morality, but he has his own morality. Parker will do anything he has to do to achieve his goal.
Amor: But to your point, Westlake's staccato style with its great twists at the end of the paragraphs, and his mesmerizing central character - these attributes are clearly shared by the Reacher books.

The 24 Parker books are almost all available for free on Audible Plus, except for #21 & #22 which aren't available at all.

Trivia and Links
The Backflash page at The Violent World of Parker website is not as complete as those for the earlier books, but does provide cover images of the different editions.

Unlike many of the 2010-2013 Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook editions which share the same cover art as the University of Chicago Press 2009-2011 reprints, this audiobook DOES include the Foreword by author [author:Lawrence Block|17613]. ( )

Book #18, though #2 after a long hiatus. Parker is contacted by a man named Cathman, a retired government bureaucrat, who wants to rob a casino ship on the Hudson River between Albany and Poughkeepsie. As the inside man, Cathman has all the details, but Parker is worried about his motives and the limited escape routes from a riverboat casino, even one filled with cash. After completing his due diligence and developing a viable plan, he assembles a familiar crew of thieves to pull off the daring job. But, as always, there are competing forces, leading to the usual post-heist mayhem. I especially liked the role played by Noelle Braselle, as a sympathetic, wheelchair-bound invalid. ( )

Loved this one, slight change of format, classic setting up the job, maybe my favorite? ( )

Once again, Richard Stark/Donald Westlake writes a well put together, well written Parker story. As far as I can tell, there has never been any bad or even average writing ever done by Westlake. ( )