For some reason, I thought this was the “real life” author that Stephen King was referencing when he wrote the character George Stark in The Dark Half. But it’s not. At least I don’t think so. And Richard Stark is the pseudonym for yet another writer.

Overall, this wasn’t bad at all. He has a tight, spare style that is stripped down and bare but yet conveys so much detail and atmosphere. His style is like a film noir – mostly action with a hint of history. Fast-paced, too. With plenty of villains. It seemed to have no details of the escape or the heist, but yet somehow enough was explained for me to understand. He doesn’t dwell on details – he moves things along very quickly.

Parker escapes from Stoneveldt with the help of his outside buddy who does some background checking on his fellow inmates. He comes up with a few who are looking at long stretches of time, have their shit together and aren’t assholes. They make it but the succeeding heist goes wrong and they are trapped in a high-security building with no way out. After a lot of work and anxious hours, they get out of there.

Meanwhile, Parker’s outside man’s girlfriend is turned into the police for listing a false name on her gym membership. She only joined the gym because it was in the same building as the heist target. Somehow she’s held on this and connected to the band that burst out of there. The same lawyer (a friend of Parker’s sometime girlfriend, Claire) who helped Parker in jail now helps her and eventually they turn her loose.

After that they need to get away from the cops and out of town. One of the jailbreakers turns into an incredibly loyal guy and helps them out of a couple of tight spots. In the very end, Parker hooks up with Claire in her apartment and we’re done.

I’d read another. ( )