Books: Lemons Never Lie (Alan Grofield #4) by Richard Stark (1972)

“When he’s not carrying out heists with his friend Parker, Alan Grofield runs a small theater in Indiana. But putting on shows costs money and jobs have been thin lately—which is why Grofield agreed to fly to Las Vegas to hear Andrew Myers’ plan to knock over a brewery in upstate New York. Unfortunately, Myers’ plan is insane—so Grofield walks out on him. But Myers isn’t a man you walk out on, and his retribution culminates in an act of unforgivable brutality. That’s when Grofield decides to show him what a disciple of Parker is capable of.” 

Lemons Never Lie would be the last Alan Grofield spin-off novel, but the character would make another appearance in the 1974 (sort of) final Parker novel, Butcher’s Moon. The more reliable Westlake Review can’t come to any conclusion as to why Stark stopped writing about him, but like Parker, there’s an assumption the 1970s was causing problems for thieves who are stealing large amounts of cash from banks, entertainment venues, local stores and other places –those places were drying up, mostly due to the credit card boom, and money being transferred electronically, so there no need to have large amounts of loose cash on hand. They also noted: “It does, like the others, refer to Parker, remind us of Grofield’s connection to him (there’s even a brief cameo by Handy McKay).  Westlake was well aware of the fact that Grofield had not developed much of an independent fanbase, and that Grofield’s readership was, in the main, a subset of Parker’s.”

 

So after Butcher’s Moon, Grofield never appeared in another Parker novel (though Westlake would revive that character in 1997). Though, on a side note, Westlake did create a sort of alternate universe version of Grofield (who had sold out and become a prosperous star of film and TV) who periodically would popup in the Dortmunder books. 

 

Finally, perhaps by the time Westlake restarted the Parker novels after a twenty-three year absence, the rise of the information age would’ve stretched the concept of an actor who also committed robberies using the same name a bit hard to cover up. For many, those latter Parker tales were already stretching the believability factor.

 

Out of the four books, Lemons Never Lie comes the closest to what Westlake created in the Parker character. Seems ironic that a lot of Stark/Westlake fans did not really enjoy this off ramp into the mind of Grofield, but here, in this last book, Grofield is closest to being part of the darkness that surrounds Parker.

 

The most interesting thing about the book is that it actually shows Grofield working at his small theater – an out the way place in rural Indiana. It recounts the mundane aspect he and his wife Mary go through to put on highly unprofitable plays (and one where we see Westlake/Stark take a jab at the current medium of popular TV, movies, and even tedious plays. He only puts on “legit” plays). This also sort of really shows why Grofield has his side business as a thief – it raises the capital to put on his shows.

 

As well, though, Lemons Never Lies doesn’t read like a last book in the series, it yet somehow kind of works as such. I liked Grofield and despite being a less ruthless thief and killer that is Parker (and he’s less humorous here), he remains just as complex and interesting as Parker.

Books: The Blackbird (Alan Grofield #3) By Richard Stark (1969)

“After a dramatic armor car robbery goes south (the first chapter opens with the events -with minor variations- from Stark’s Parker novel, Slayground), Grofield, while recovering from his injuries, becomes the man who knows too much (though this book seemly plays out like another Hitchcock thriller, Notorious), as unnamed federal agents will make his robbery charges go away is he agrees infiltrate a dangerous group attempting to influence a newly independent African nation.” 

Long before John Dortmunder (some variations on the plot in this book will pop up in The Hot Rock) showed up, it appears that Westlake was using Alan Grofield to test out some other ways to tell his tales -still somewhat violent, but also with additional humor not seen in the Parker novels. So we get Grofield as the reluctant adventurer in The Damsel, and a reluctant detective stuck in a locked-room mystery in The Dame, while here in The Blackbird, we get a reluctant spy. The reason Grofield was picked for this mission is because he knows both General Pozos, dictator of the South American banana republic Guerrero (who he met in The Damsel), and Onum Marba, a powerful politician from the African country Undurwa (who he met in The Dame), both of whom will be at the conference, representing their countries. 

It’s also been well established that Grofield has an overwhelming sense of self-preservation and has a contemptuous attitude every-man-for-himself. This may be the characters only drawback, because while he sort of becomes a cut-rate James Bond here, his relationship with one Undurwan aide Vivian Kamdela (the blackbird of the title) becomes a battle of what Grofield will do for his country (nothing much) and the beliefs of the ultra-patriot Miss Kamdela. Throughout the book, they have a back and forth philosophical dialogue about what a patriot means, what loyalty means. She clearly believes in being a good soldier, while Grofield only believes in being Grofield. 

There is a lot more smart-assery and wisecracks going on here, as well, which (as mentioned) is out of place in a Richard Stark tale, but the book does return to violence you expect in the Parker tales in the end, though Alan seems pragmatic about it, and less ruthless (but, in its own way it can be sold as being ruthless. It’s a fine line, from my POV. Like Parker, he is a thief, but will cross the line to save his own hide, even at the expense of four idiotic Americans playing a game that is so far out of their league).

Books: The Dame By Richard Stark (1969)

“Alan Grofield, still in the arms of Elly, but preparing to return to the United States to see his wife, when receives a message asking him to go to Puerto Rico as a favor to a friend to help out a woman in distress. Curious, Grofield flies to Puerto Rico and meets the woman and her several houseguests at an isolated mansion out in the countryside. Grofield and the lady immediately annoy each other and he decides not to take the job. However, before he can leave someone in the house is murdered. It's clear that the killer must have either been a guest or a member of the staff, and Grofield is everyone's number one suspect. Grofield becomes suspect number one, but to clear his name, he relunctantly assumes the role of detective. But can he amuse the husband of the murdered woman –a crime boss himself- until he can discover who killed her?”

The Dame is the second of Westlake’s four pseudonymous Parker spin-off novels starring actor-turned-thief Alan Grofield, and follows on almost directly from the first book, The Damsel. The premise is a bit wobbly and vague here. While Grofield is more wittier and less violent than Parker, he still is a smart man and I began to wonder why he would take this job –he still has his take of the money from his recent adventure with Parker (see The Handle)- mostly because that gig set him up with enough cash for a year or more. So why go to Puerto Rico to begin with? Thus it becomes a straight whodunit with plot contrivances and some action thrown in to remind readers that Donald E. Westlake is writing under his hard-broiled noir nom de plume of Richard Stark.

And sort of like The Damsel, Grofield no longer has some of the quirks Westlake created for him in his appearances in the Parker books, which adds to the boring murder mystery. Another word, some of his wittiness has been diluted, making The Dame sit awkwardly between two writing genre styles, neither tough, smart or violent enough to be a good Parker novel nor funny enough to be a good Westlake caper.

Still, it is Westlake and book does have some redeeming values –the murder mystery is thin, but him playing detective and asking questions does sparkle. Maybe it’s only for those who consider themselves a Parker completists –which I’m not, but these books are still better written than most other crime novels of the modern age.

Books: The Damsel by Richard Stark (1967)

The eighth Parker novels was The Handle. At the end of that book, partner Alan Grofield is wounded and Parker gets him safely to a hotel in Mexico City and has a doctor tend to the wound. Then Parker returns to the U.S., leaving Grofield with his share of the cash from the job, to recover.

It's at this point, The Damsel (the first of four tales spun-off from the Parker series) begins. Grofield is lying in bed in his fourth floor hotel room when, seemingly out of nowhere, a very attractive young woman climbs through the window. She's apparently fleeing from someone and thinks the room is empty because it is dark. Grofield surprises her and demands to know what she's doing. She tells him a few obvious lies; he tells her a few in return, and the story is off and running.

However, It doesn’t take the thugs long to figure out where Elly is hiding, and soon both are on the run.  The rest of the plot revolves around a complex web involving three fathers and three grown children, an imminent political assassination, a former governor of Pennsylvania, the current dictator of a banana republic, and a one-eyed scarred ex-convict running around half-naked with a very large knife.

There is an odd mix of violence and witty dialogue here, a far-fetched plot, and a bit of a travelogue thrown in as well. It seems, from my perspective, The Damsel is also a dry run for what would become the Dortmunder tales a few years later. Alan is an interesting character and Elly is perhaps Stark’s first genuine female character who is not out for herself.

So Grofield falls somewhere between Parker and Dortmunder. He has some dark aspects of the violent world of Parker, but offers a somewhat cheerful outlook, with some wittiness here and there. A fun diversion away from Parker and his killer takes all world.