🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Richard Stark
Donald E. Westlake was a prolific and award-winning mystery author, who throughout his lifetime managed to pen down more than 100 books and five screenplays using his manual typewriter. Mr. Donald Edward Westlake is considered as one of the most versatile and successful mystery writers of all time. He has not only received an Academy Award nomination for one of his screenplays, but he has also been awarded three Edgar Awards together with the Grand Master title by the Mystery Writers of America. Ever since Random House published his first novel, The Mercenaries in the year 1960, Mr. Donald Westlake had already authored under his real names and pseudonyms including Richard Stark, Samuel Holt, Tucker Coe and Edwin West.
All Book Series by Richard Stark
Payback / Point Blank / The Hunter
Series opener · book 1 of 24 · published 1962
Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition
Book 4 of 6 · published 2011 Anthology · Darwyn Cooke
Slayground
Latest in the series · book 6 of 6 · published 2013 Anthology · Darwyn Cooke
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Richard Stark?
Donald E. Westlake was a prolific and award-winning mystery author, who throughout his lifetime managed to pen down more than 100 books and five screenplays using his manual typewriter. Mr. Donald Edward Westlake is considered as one of the most versatile and successful mystery writers of all time. He has not only received an Academy Award nomination for one of his screenplays, but he has also been awarded three Edgar Awards together with the Grand Master title by the Mystery Writers of America.
Which Richard Stark series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Parker series, the earliest of Richard Stark's multi-book series: it opens with Payback / Point Blank / The Hunter (1962) and runs to 24 books across 1962–2008, ending with Dirty Money (2008). Richard Stark's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.
How many books has Richard Stark written?
Richard Stark has 34 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1962 and 2013. Every one of them sits in one of 3 named series — the largest being the Parker series with 24 books.
In what order should Richard Stark's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Richard Stark's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Parker (1962–2008, 24 books), Alan Grofield (1967–1971, 4 books) and Parker Graphic Novels (2009–2013, 6 books).
How are Richard Stark's books organised into series?
This guide splits Richard Stark's 34 books into 3 named series, with no standalone titles: Parker (24 books, 1962–2008); Parker Graphic Novels (6 books, 2009–2013); Alan Grofield (4 books, 1967–1971).