Thursday 8 August 2024

One Man's Opinion: DEADLY EDGE by RICHARD STARK



The first of my holiday reads was a brilliant choice. 

Another Parker novel, Deadly Edge had a very different feel to my previous one. 

It opens mid-heist, the target the cash takings of a huge gig where the music provides the soundtrack to the crime. As always, the plan is detailed and almost every angle has been considered, but the way things unfold, it becomes a little more personal.

Parker retreats from the hit to the stash in his new home, a place bought by his partner Claire who had to find a property that ticked Parker's list of demands. It's a lovely getaway on the edge of a lake and, as it's off season, things are relatively quiet.

It soon becomes clear that someone's after the gang who ripped off the venue and that whoever it is has a mean streak wide enough to murder the members as they catch up with them, leaving a bloody trail in their wake. 

Almost as soon as Parker's comfortable in his new home, he has to leave. Following clues and cars, he finally tracks down the two drug-fuelled lunatics back at the lake as they hold Claire hostage.

The result is never in doubt (of course it isn't), though the amount of carnage and damage likely to be created during the demoument is impossible to predict as Stark ramps up the pace. 

Excellent stuff, indeed, making me think that if Stark were an Olympic competitor, he'd be involved in something high octane with masses of adrenaline, nail-biting climaxes and streamlined perfection. I'm thinking Taekwondo or the 50m freestyle or artistic dancing 

A deadly edge, indeed and an extremely sharp one.  

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