The Outfit Audiobook By Richard Stark cover art

The Outfit

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Outfit

By: Richard Stark
Narrated by: John Chancer
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.56

Buy for $15.56

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

The Outfit was organized crime with a capital O. They were big. They were bad. They were brutal. And no crook ever crossed them and lived to enjoy it. Except Parker. So they wanted Parker dead, and a hit man proved they meant business. Too bad for the Outfit he missed. Ripping off the Outfit was the easy part of Parker's game. Going one-on-one with Bronson, the Outfit's Big Boss, was the hard part.

©1963 Richard Stark (P)2011 AudioGo
Hard-Boiled Suspense Mystery Fiction
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The Outfit

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    342
  • 4 Stars
    156
  • 3 Stars
    45
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    370
  • 4 Stars
    102
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    302
  • 4 Stars
    142
  • 3 Stars
    35
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Better than the movies

If you could sum up The Outfit in three words, what would they be?

Dark, gritty, entertaining

What other book might you compare The Outfit to and why?

Maybe some Dashiel Hammett novels, but much darker.

Have you listened to any of John Chancer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

He's no hero, but you want him on your side.

Any additional comments?

I'll be getting more of the series. Yes, they are dated but so are novels by Dash Hammett, Raymond Chandler and even Robert B. Parker.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unremorsefully cruel protagonist.

The self defining individualistic morals, entirely relative to the motivations of the character, creates the opportunity for a sympathetic psychopath, an immoral self server who appeals to our desire to “do whatever we want”

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The Outfit (mafia) sends a hitman to kill Parker.

Parker makes the Outfit sorry it ever tangled with him.

I’m enjoying these stories and find myself wanting to read one right after the other. Like potato chips, you can’t eat just one. These are about bad guys. They rob. They kill. They don’t go to jail. They’re smart. It’s fun to be in this world for a change. A few times I’m delighted or surprised with something. I liked the plot in this one.

The narrator John Chancer was ok.

This is book 3 in the 24 book series. It’s about 2/3 or less than a typical novel length. It’s better to read the first three books in order because they have a flow. In book 1 Parker clashes with the Outfit. In book 2 Parker gets facial plastic surgery so the Outfit can’t find him. In book 3 the Outfit knows about Parker’s surgery, so Parker takes action.

Genre: noir crime fiction

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Book 3 Parker is hunted by the mob

Parker has his straight identity discovered by the mob.
Wanting to be left alone, he goes on the offensive disrupting the mobs revenue stream, this topples the top man from his position, and the new boss makes peace with parker

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love Parker !!!

Such a great character in a wonderfully written series , and I’m just getting started on it !!
Excited to see how it goes

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love me some Noir

Another great instalment in the Parker series. Love the way the technique of heists and criminal organisations was explained.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Great Story in a Small Package

So happy I happened upon this very entertaining series. It’s like watching Netflix, one good show after another, and before you know it, you’ve gone through a couple of books. Enjoy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Potato Chips Without the Salt and Calories

In their way, the Parker stories are a glimpse into an alternate universe, where coordinated, seamless crimes go down without the aid of earpieces and night-vision goggles.

And since I grew up in that universe, they’re a trip down memory lane, too. Not that I was a teenage bag man. But I remember phones that didn’t fit in your pocket and Lincolns and Caddys with roughly the same level surface area as aircraft carriers.

But first and foremost, these books are mental potato chips (just Google up the original book jackets). As the series proceeds, the writing is getting stronger, with even occasional sallies of the trademark Westlake wit (albeit wry). If you're looking to be amused rather than elevated, entertained rather than enlightened, go for it. Like potato chips, an occasional indulgence is just fine.

Again, John Chancer weighs in with a well-nigh perfect performance.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

classic heist book

I loved it. short and sweet. pulp. just a great short story. I usually ho for the long reads but occasionally you need a good afternoon drama while you work on the house. this was perfect.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

I've had enough!

The story begins with Parker ducking and jumping behind the bed away from a silenced thirty-two caliber pistol. His gun wasn’t silenced and would make too much noise in the hotel so he threw it at the assassin hitting him between the eyes, knocking him out. After extracting information, Parker led him to the stairwell. Still woozy he started down. Parker heard him fall down the stairs. The Outfit aka Syndicate was still after him. Even with his new face, they had found him. Parker had had enough, he was going to put an end to this. He visited a dozen old friends and wrote two dozen letters along the route. He figured at least half of the people he contacted would take advantage of the timing. So much for the setup of the story. Handy arrived at the hotel, beckoned by Parker’s call. Handy was changing and it bothered him. Parker had no friends, no woman, and owned nothing. The men he knew were just that, men he knew and worked with from time to time. That’s the way he wanted it. Handy wanted to buy a diner, even work there nights cooking, and own something. When men started craving possessions and friendships it meant he was losing the leanness. It was a bad sign. Parker wanted to go see Bronson, asking Handy to go with him. You’ll have to discover the ending yourself. Another good story with interesting characters. I am liking this series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!