Parker and the Break-ins & Breakouts
Review of the University of Chicago Press paperback edition (May 2013) of the Mysterious Press hardcover (2002)

Richard Stark was one of the many pseudonyms of the prolific crime author 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.

As Breakout begins, Parker is in prison and has to assemble a crew in order to breakout. The same crew become the nucleus for an expanded crew to break into a jewellery wholesaler for a heist, but circumstances go awry as always and they find themselves having to breakout all over again. I would say that this is probably my absolute favourite Parker novel primarily because of the constant obstacles that have to be overcome whether human or physical. The actual heist is not even a major element.

These final Parker novels from #17 to #24 are 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).

Breakout is the 5th book of 5 in a book titles 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.

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.

Other Reviews
There is an extremely detailed review and plot summary (in 2 parts) of Breakout (with spoilers obviously) at The Westlake Review, April 18, 2017.

Trivia and Links
The Breakout 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.

This paperback is part of the University of Chicago Press 2009-2017 series of reprints of the Parker novels and includes a new Foreword by author Chris Holm. ( )

Parker has miraculously avoided the law until a knucklehead on a pharmaceutical warehouse job goes into the alarmed office, and the whole crew goes to the pokie. The cops are trying to get each to rat out the others, but Parker has the most to lose since his fingerprints are in the system from his previous prison sentence where there is an inmate murder so Parker needs to get out. He recruits his cellmate and another inmate, and they do what has never been done in this overcrowded facility, with the help of Ed Mackey. Then, the other inmate, Ed and his cellmate stick around to rob a wholesale jewelry shop using a secret access point, which turns into a disaster, including Brenda getting arrested. Parker and Mackey have to spring her, and get away. A bit longer than necessary, but better than the recent ones. ( )

Great book from start to finish. The title actually refers to several "breakouts" in the book. Stark/Westlake does a great job of keeping the plot moving. ( )

Another fantastic Parker book. He gets caught in the opening chapter and has to breakout of jail thereafter. Cold-blooded as ever, he eventually make it back to Claire with little to show for his efforts. ( )

Well, this isn't my favorite Parker novel of all time, but it is a Parker novel, so I liked it! The title says it all "Breakout", and in fact there are three breakouts in here! Out of prison, out of a botched job, and out of the whole dang thing! Parker teams up with Mackey and Williams in all 3 and they do it as only they can! If you like Parker, you'll like this book! ( )