By Sean Tuohy

For nearly 40 years, Donald Westlake thrilled us with daring heists, mob bosses, and his anti-hero Parker. But he never let himself get any of the credit. The majority of it went to Richard Stark, one of Westlake’s hardboiled alter egos.

His most famous creation was the tough-as-nails and smart-as-a-whip robber named Parker. The man could steal anything from anyone but do it with the kind of charm and wit that would leave Robin Hood taking notes.

One of Stark’s most well known novels is The Hunter, the first book in the long running Parker series. We meet Parker as he and his wife pull of a heist with would- be gangster Mal. Parker is doubled-crossed by Mal and his wife and left for dead. He returns to the city with revenge in his eyes. Parker takes on the Outfit, a nationwide crime group, to get his money back and kill the man who wronged him.

The Hunter was turned in to the experimental 1970s film “Point Blank” with Lee Marvin in the title role. It was again remade in the late 1990s with Mel Gibson playing Parker in “Payback.”

As I said, Westlake’s alter ego became more famous than he did. People around the world fell in love with Parker and Mr. Stark. In his novel The Dark Half, Stephen King named the central villain George Stark in honor of the author (the two were friends).

The world learned that Westlake was the real Richard Stark in the 1990s. Westlake passed away in 2008, but the storytelling he left behind features double-crossing dames, machine gun-toting gangsters, and stacks of cash ready to be robbed.

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By Sean Tuohy

Unlike what the title suggests, Nothing Lasts Forever has lasted quite a while. Published in 1979 by thriller author Roderick Thorp, the action-packed novel has stayed in publication over the years with a little help from the film adaptation…a little film called “Die Hard.”

Yes, the action film that spawned a multi-billion dollar film series and an action sub-genre was based on a novel. The tale of how Nothing Lasts Forever became "Die Hard" truly deserves its own book (It’s a classic Hollywood story that is filled with twist and turns).

Nothing Lasts Forever hits the ground running and follows ex-NYPD detective Joe Leland as he goes to L.A. to visit his daughter Stephanie, an executive at a massive oil company. The moment he arrives, the aged Leland finds himself at odds with his daughter, a free spirited woman who does drugs and is having an affair with her boss, Harry Ellis. Before father and daughter have time to connect, everyone’s favorite bad guy Anton “Little Tony the Red” Gruber and a group of terrorists seize control of the building and hold the partygoers hostage. Leland, shoeless and armed with only a Browning Hi-Power pistol, sneaks around building while trying to thwart the terrorists.

Besides the blockbuster-sized action, a lot of which is found in the film, Nothing Lasts Forever is very much a story of a tired and scared old man trying his best to keep himself and his family alive. Throughout the novel, Leland spends time reviewing his life, his relationships, and who he is as a man.

Nothing Lasts Forever is a great way to for “Die Hard” fans to see the blueprint for what became the iconic action series. Any lover of great action and well-crafted story will find Nothing Lasts Forever to be the perfect read.

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Tough Guy Lit: Donald Westlake, the Author With Many Names

Tough Guy Lit: Roderick Thorp’s Nothing Lasts Forever