Time Capsule: Criminals at Large & Parker

If you've glanced at the back cover of just about any edition of Richard Stark's Parker novels, you've probably seen the high praise from Allen J. Hubin of The New York Times, and a description that goes something like this: "the ruthless, unrepentant, singleminded operator in a humorless and amoral world." Or, maybe, the praise came from Anthony Boucher, and sounded a little like this: "nobody tops Stark in his portrayal of a world of total amorality."

Regardless of the exact wording, these reviews have been a mainstay of covers and dust jackets for decades. But where exactly do they come from? They've rarely been properly credited, and have almost never had a date attached to them beyond the nebulous attribution to The New York Times.

As it happens, Richard Stark was one of the usual suspects in the NYT's ‘Criminals at Large’ column – a weekly review of the latest crime fiction books – for years. Between 1963 and 1974, thirteen out of the original twenty novels were reviewed; favorably, as was the rest of Westlake's work, right up until the final quartet of books in the series. In fact, it was in this very column that Anthony Boucher first revealed Richard Stark’s identity as Donald Westlake.

‘Criminals at Large’, curiously, changed hands quite a few times. Originally started by Anthony Boucher in 1951, Allen J. Hubin took over the column after Boucher's untimely death, and once Hubin departed for the Star Tribune, a critic writing under the pseudonym of Newgate Callendar inherited ‘Criminals at Large’. With 'Callendar' at the wheel, the NYT's attitude towards Stark's work shifted overnight.

From Boucher’s discovery of the masterful Hunter,

to Hubin’s praise,

to Callendar’s lack of enthusiasm.

As some may know, The Newgate Calendar was a collection of moralizing stories about crime and criminals in 18th century England. Why, exactly, a crime fiction columnist would name himself after a historical work of literature set on pontificating about sin remains a mystery, but the man’s identity does not. According to his obituary, Newgate Callendar was none other than music critic and author Harold C. Schonberg – clearly not the biggest fan of Mr. Westlake’s work.

Despite those final dismissive thoughts from The New York Times, the reviews certainly provide a fascinating glimpse of how the Parker novels were received at the time of publication.

Below, you’ll find an archive of all thirteen NYT reviews: