The Dame: An Alan Grofield Novel (The Alan Grofield Novels Book 2)

Donald E. Westlake is one of the greats of crime fiction. Under the pseudonym Richard Stark, he wrote twenty-four fast-paced, hardboiled novels featuring Parker, a shrewd career criminal with a talent for heists. Using the same nom de plume, Westlake also completed a separate series in the Parker universe, 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 Grofield in Puerto Rico protecting a rich, demanding woman in her isolated jungle villa, and reluctantly assuming the role of detective. A rare Westlake take on a whodunit, The Dame features a cast of colorful characters and a suspenseful—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. An action-packed whodunit set in San Juan by the crime fiction master and author of Point Blank. “A book by this guy is a cause for happiness” (Stephen King). Part-time actor-thief Alan Grofield has had his share of odd gigs, including a number of dangerous heists with a certain ruthless criminal named Parker. But nothing has been as dangerous, or as mystifying, as when he somehow finds himself playing bodyguard to a rich, demanding woman who’s in the midst of divorcing a notorious mobster. Holed up in her isolated jungle villa, Grofield can’t help wondering how he got there. Then someone gets murdered at the house, and Grofield’s job gets a lot more complicated. The second Alan Grofield novel by Donald E. Westlake writing as Richard Stark The Dame is a rare Westlake take on a whodunit, features a cast of colorful characters and a suspenseful—and memorable—climax. This edition includes a new foreword by Sarah Weinman. Alan Grofield is a part-time actor and part-time thief. When working on a heist with a guy named Parker, he's all business. On his own, he's ready for anything at all, especially if it involves a woman. The first time Grofield sees Belle Danemato at her villa in the Puerto Rican jungle, she makes him an offer he can readily refuse. The next time he sees her, she's dead. And her husband, mob boss B.G. Danemato, can't get it out of his head that Grofield is responsible. To get out of this alive, Grofield can take his chances against the mobster's men in the perilous depths of the rain forest or find the real killer without delay. B.G. expects blood, and he wants it yesterday Foul Play Press, an imprint of The Countryman Press, published four paperback reprints of Westlake's Grofield books.