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Firebreak
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Plot Summary of Firebreak
"

Mysterious, Nov 2001, 23.95, 297 pp.
ISBN: 0892967110

    Parker has two jobs both critical to his well being. One is more along the line of his normal work. Parker is employed to steal stolen art treasures stored in a remote area of Montana. The “owner” Paxton Marino is a computer whiz billionaire so Parker knows he can expect anything and needs an electronic expert along for the ride.

    The other job is a bit more personal. Someone hired a pro to kill Parker. He needs to know who and why so he can concentrate on the art theft. The problem is over the years in his line of work Parker has made many enemies who would gladly urinate on his grave. As Parker makes inquiries through his underground connections, he soon realizes the art job resurfaced his name to some nasty people who simply detest him. Still Big Sky is calling and with the help of an electronic genius lunatic, Parker goes to work on purloining the art treasures.

    FIREBREAK is the typical Parker tale as the exciting story line is loaded with twists and turns yet the stark plot uses no unnecessary baggage. The tale belongs to Parker who seems relatively mellow compared to his maniacal sidekick (why trust this psychopath is beyond this reviewer). Still, this wild ride across the Northern Plains is an effective anti-hero thriller that proves Richard Stark under that name or as Donald Westlake can still be counted on for top-notch modern day noir.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Firebreak
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30%




Time/era of story: - 1980's-1999
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
The crook is.... - Get treasure/money from another criminal
Crime Thriller Yes
Crime plotlets: - search for valuable art/artifacts
Mostly a criminal POV story Yes
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - thief/con artist
Age: - 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use? - just the right amount
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - revenge
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Pacific NW

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
How many deaths? - 0 (not a murder mystery)
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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