THE MAN WITH THE GETAWAY FACE

Between 1962 and 1974, suspense-pro Donald E. Westlake churned out 20 short novels under the Richard Stark pseudonym--most of them appearing only in mass-market paperback (in the US), nearly all of them featuring a cool, steely professional criminal named Parker. (The Hunter, 1962, became the Lee Marvin film Point Blank.) Here, then, for the first time in US hardcover is #2 in the series--which begins as Parker, on the run from ""the Outfit,"" emerges from Dr. Adler's private surgery in Nebraska with a new face. His next stop? New Jersey, where a couple of old cronies are planning an armored car robbery. Unfortunately, however, one of the cronies has a moll who's planning a double-cross; so Parker--once he has neatly masterminded the heist--has to gun down the greedy wench. (Later he celebrates in the red-light district: ""He didn't get his kicks from hurting whores, it was just the only way he knew to get them interested."") And, meanwhile, there's another nasty problem to deal with: after Dr. Adler gets murdered back in Nebraska, his devoted bodyguard sets out for venegeance. . .with Parker as one of three suspect/targets. No-frills mayhem, thin but punchy--and likely to disappoint any Westlake fan who expects the irony and comic cleverness of his more substantial crime-tales.