Butcher's Moon

Butcher's Moon is one of the longest and best Parker novels, and involves Parker's attempt to retrieve the abandoned amusement park loot from Slayground (1971). Parker enlists his charming accomplice (the actor-turned-thief Alan Grofield) in the job, only to discover the money has been taken by the local mafia. Obviously such an outcome is unacceptable to Parker, who gets his revenge on various mob-owned establishments. 

The book is just a joy from start to finish, with Stark/Westlake operating at the peak of his storytelling abilities. And his hard-boiled prose remains excellent:

Parker leaned far to the right, aiming the pistol out at arm’s length in front of him, the line of the barrel sighted on Shevelly’s head. Shevelly read his intention and suddenly thrust his hands out protectively in front of himself, shouting, “I’m only the messenger.”

“Now you’re the message,” Parker told him, and shot him.

Given the book’s length and the re-appearance of many characters from the 15 previous Parkers, it is clear that Butcher’s Moon was intended in many ways to be a consummation of the Parker novels to date — and the result is one of the richest and most satisfying of the series.