Parker is a fictional character created by American author Donald E. Westlake who published the series of books under the pseudonym Richard Stark. Parker is a professional thief who is relentless and has no redeemable qualities whatsoever. He is perfectly fine with committing murder if someone is standing between him and what he wants. Several times, actors including Lee Marvin and Mel Gibson have portrayed the Parker character in film, although never using the “Parker” name.

Parker made his first appearance in The Hunter (alternately titled Point Blank aswell as Payback) in 1962. Parker would later take a break between 1974 and 1997, before making his return in Comeback in 1997. His last official appearance is in Dirty Money in 2008. Below is a list of Donald E. Westlake’s (or Richard Stark’s) Parker books in publication order (which is also their chronological order):

Publication Order of Parker Books

Payback / Point Blank / The Hunter(1962)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Steel Hit / The Man With The Getaway Face(1963)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Outfit(1963)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Mourner(1963)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Score / Killtown(1963)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Jugger(1965)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Seventh / The Split(1966)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Handle / Run Lethal(1966)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Rare Coin Score(1967)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Green Eagle Score(1967)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Black Ice Score(1968)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Sour Lemon Score(1969)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Slayground(1971)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Deadly Edge(1971)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Plunder Squad(1972)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Butcher's Moon(1974)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Comeback(1997)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Backflash(1998)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Flashfire / Parker(2000)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Firebreak(2001)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Breakout(2002)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Nobody Runs Forever(2004)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Ask The Parrot(2006)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Dirty Money(2008)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Notes: The Handle was published in the United Kingdom as Run Lethal. The Man With the Getaway Face was published in the United Kingdom as Steel Hit. The Hunter had two alternate titles – Point Blank and Payback. The Score was published in the UK as Killtown. The Seventh was published under the alternate title of The Split.

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Order of Books » Characters » Order of Parker Books

2 Responses to “Order of Parker Books”

  1. Steven: 11 years ago

    The Mourner was the fourth book, not the second (in both publication and chronology.) You also have the year wrong on two other books- see herefor clarification: http://www.donaldwestlake.com/parker/

    Reply

    • Brandon: 11 years ago

      Thank you for the correction! Sources can get confused when several books are put out in the same year.

      Reply

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