Richard Stark - The Hunter (1962)

This is the first book by Donald Westlake using the alias Richard Stark.
It is also the first book in the highly successful Parker series.

This book has been recently reissued by the University of Chicago Press.

For an excellent source of information on all things Parker, take a look here:

http://violentworldofparker.com/

Tucker Coe - Kinds of Love, Kinds of Death (1966)

Tucker Coe, yet another pseudonym of Donald Westlake, is what he used for this series of mystery novels starring ex-cop Mitch Tobin.

Donald Westlake - The Cutie (1960)

Just got the latest Hard Case Crime novel, which is Donald E. Westlake's The Cutie. This is actually the first book I've gotten since I joined up with Hard Case that I've actually read before. What is interesting is I've actually read this book twice before- of course, the edition I've read was published under the original published title, The Mercenaries. Being that I've already read this one (twice,) I've decided to read the first of Westlake's "Tucker Coe" novels instead. I'll probably get around to read this one a third time eventually as well, but I'm going to pass on it for now.... and maybe give it to a friend to read in the meantime!

Donald Westlake

Just got the news that Donald Westlake had passed away as I was finishing Duane Swierczynski's The Wheelman- There happened to have been a Westlake reference earlier in the novel that had gotten me thinking about him before I heard the news. Westlake's Parker series (written under pseudonym Richard Stark) have been some of my favorite reads of the last couple years. Westlake was also a big influence on Stephen King and his own Bachman novels.

Read Duane’s blog on Westlake here:

http://secretdead.blogspot.com/2009/01/donald-westlake-aka-richard-stark-1933.html