The Dame: An Alan Grofield Novel

University Of Chicago Press, 2012. Paperback. Very Good. A copy that has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Donald E. Westlake is one of the greats of crime fiction. Under the pseudon ym Richard Stark, he wrote twenty-four fast-paced, hardboiled novels featur ing Parker, a shrewd career criminal with a talent for heists. Using the sa me nom de plume, Westlake also completed a separate series in the Parker un iverse, starring Alan Grofield, an occasional colleague of Parker. While he shares events and characters with several Parker novels, Grofield is less calculating and more hot-blooded than Parker; think fewer guns, more dames. Not that there isn't violence and adventure aplenty. . The Dame finds Grofi eld in Puerto Rico protecting a rich, demanding woman in her isolated jungl e villa, and reluctantly assuming the role of detective. A rare Westlake ta ke on a whodunit, The Dame features a cast of colorful characters and a sus penseful-and memorable-climax. With a new foreword by Sarah Weinman that situates the Grofield series within Westlake's work as a whole, this novel is an exciting addition to any crime fiction fan's library.