"A jug, once upon a time, was slang for a bank. Thus, a jugger was a
bank robber. Joe Sheer, a former safecracker, had worked with Parker on several
bank heists before, like Handy McKay, he decided retirement suited him. Now his only connection to his past is
being Parker’s go-between when someone wanted to get hold of him. So
when Parker gets Joe’s letter, which was one long aganoized scream for help, he
left Miami for Sagamore, Nebraska. But it wasn’t for Joe Sheer that he came
there. As far as he was concerned the old fool could drop dead. He came because
in Joe’s letter he saw danger to himself, much more obvious and lethal than any
personal peril Sheer had been describing. Joe was just an old jugger turned
rusty, shaky, and scared. But was this old jugger ready to trade secrets for
some peace of mind? So Parker had come
to Nebraska to find out… and probably murder him. But what Parker
found was trouble: Joe was already six feet under; something very valuable was
missing; and somebody was planning a funeral…Parker’s. Too bad for somebody —
that Parker wasn’t an easy man to kill."
Westlake once said about this
Parker tale: “I spoiled a book by having him do something he wouldn’t do. The
sixth book in the series is called The Jugger, and that book is one of the
worst failures I’ve ever had. The problem with it is, in the beginning of the
book this guy calls him and says ‘I’m in trouble out here and these guys are
leaning on me and I need help,’ and Parker goes to help him. I mean, he
wouldn’t do that, and in fact, the guy wouldn’t even think to call him!”
Westlake may have been right, as
no actual jugging takes place in this book and in fact, not that much memorable
really happens here as well. Stark/Westlake comes up with a convoluted, yet believable reasons for Parker to have venture to
Nebraska, which was to protect his false identity. There is a whole section
that justifies the travel:
“There were more numbers on this second sheet, but they weren’t what caught Parker’s eye. Besides the numbers there was a list of names, scattered down the right side of the paper. Loomis, McKay, Parker, Littlefield, Clinger…a long, long list of thirty or more names, all of them men Joe Sheer had worked with at one time or another.“But not in Joe’s handwriting. The list of names, and the figures over on the other side of the page, were all done in the same handwriting as the total on the first sheet.“Younger looked up, smiling his smug smile, tapping a finger against the list of names. ‘See that there? It wouldn’t surprise me none if your name’s down there. Don’t think I ever bought that Willis name.’ Parker looked at him, seeing him definitely for the first time as a dead man.”
Of course, something does go
wrong and Parker fails to anticipate a few thing, which I assume is a set up
for the next book.
Yes, it’s not a heist tale,
not even a whodunit in that traditional mode, but more of a tale in classic noir style. But it's certainly a cold story and mean, with very brutal ending that made me question why I should continue to read these books.
No comments:
Post a Comment