Grofield stops an Assassination
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (May 2013) of the Macmillan paperback original (1967)

Richard Stark was one of the many pseudonyms of the prolific crime author Donald E. Westlake (1933-2008), who wrote over 100 books. The Stark pseudonym was used primarily for the Parker novels and their spinoff series, the Grofield novels. The Parkers are a hardboiled noir series but the Grofields have more of a lighter touch, often with humorous banter.

In The Damsel, Alan Grofield is still in Mexico and recovering from his injuries suffered during the Parker novel The Handle (1967). In his hotel, a 'damsel in distress' sneaks in through his window trying to escape her captors in an upper room. The two proceed to banter and lie to each other for an extended time about who they are, but Grofield eventually agrees to help her and the rest of the book has them travelling through Mexico to prevent an assassination. I liked the comic banter of the book but the actual plot seemed quite ridiculous. This is more of a buddie comedy / road trip romcom with a few perilous escapes and situations along the way. It is definitely not in the vein of the noir and hardboiled world of the Parker novels.

Narrator R.C. Bray does a good job in all voices in this audiobook edition.

The 4 Grofield books are all available for free on Audible Plus.

Trivia and Links
There is a brief plot summary of The Damsel and of all the Parker & Grofield books and adaptations at The Violent World of Parker website.

Although The Damsel's 2013 Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition shares the same cover art as the University of Chicago Press 2012 reprint, it does not include the Foreword by author Sarah Weinman. ( )

The first of the four Alan Grofield books, though according to the foreward of this edition, Alan has seen action, in print, a total of eight times! This one picks up right after the Parker novel "The Handle" and finds Grofield still shot up in Mexico. Then, a woman drops in to the open window of the hotel Parker left him in, and the fun begins! There are gunmen, an American doctor, an American politician, a despot General from the country of Guerrero, and two sons who 'switch' fathers! A twisty plot with good fun and decent action! I liked it much better than Alan's Canadian adventure in "The Blackbird"! Though, with Stark at the helm, you never can lose!

"Speaking of married," Grofield reminded her, "I still am."
She shook her head. "Not till we cross the border," she said. ( )

Read this because I'm working my way through the terrific Parker novels and this one begins immediately after The Handle. It's not that good. There's no moment--as there is in each of the Parker books so far--where things go sideways or the reader's mouth opens without saying anything. Stuff happens and then the book's over, all without any interesting dialogue. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't any good. ( )

Here, Grofield has left Parker and other conspirators, after pulling off a casino heist on a small island off the Texas coast. Grofield has a suitcase filled with money, a bullet wound in his back, and is sleeping most of the time in a Mexico City hotel as he tries to recover from his wounds. In his fifth story window bounds a beautiful pair of tanned legs: Elly. After some witty reparte about how she is just in time to scratch his back, it turns out that Elly is involved in some political
intrigue involving gangsters and assasinations and three or four tough guys are out to keep her from a rendevous in Acapulco.

This was about a three hour read. It was a smooth, quick reading tale that had Grofield and Ellie on the run from a group of tough gangsters as they tried to figure out how to get through the only road to the coast. It's really not like the Parker novels, but it is an excellent series in its own right. Although the underlying political plot is a little bit goofy, the story is well told and was enjoyable to read.

The relationship between Grofield and Elly is well paced and comical as they meet in his hotel room and both try to sell the other ridiculous stories about how they ended up there. She climbed out a sixth story window on a rope of bed sheets to escape an overprotective aunt and
he got an arrow in his back when a woman's husband showed up unexpectedly. The truth about who they are and how they ended up there takes a while to come out, but eventually Grofield signs on as
her escort through the Mexican mountains and jungles. All in all, a book well worth reading.
( )

Stark (aka Donald Westlake) is best known for his 'Parker' novels. 'The Damsel' is the first of four he wrote featuring Alan Grofield, one of Parker's occasional partners in crime.

The action picks up after the events of 'The Handle.' Grofield is recuperating from a gunshot in Mexico when he meets up with a young American woman being pursued by generic thugs. They escape, he eventually gets her to explain her situation, and he tries to come up with a plan to help her.

The structure is similar to the Stark uses with Parker: two acts setting up the action, a third act from the POV of the other players, and a final act wrapping things up. But Grofield is no Parker - he's less cold-blooded, more willing to lend a hand. And the story is not about pulling off a job so much as it is about Grofield rescuing the 'damsel' of the title.

I don't find Grofield as interesting a character as Parker. But the action moves at a decent clip and the prose is typical of Stark. It's an interesting diversion, but not classic in the same way as the 'Parker' books are. ( )