Here are the ones I know of: Max Alan Collins' Nolan series;
Disher's
Wyatt series; and, of course, Stark's (Westlake's) Parker
series (and,
sorta, his Grofield series). And then there are a lot of
one-shot
capers like White's The Killing. I'm interested in them, too,
but am I
unaware of any series?
Tying this somewhat to the discussion of hardboied going on,
I've always
found it fascinating that these crime series are really books
of
professionalism, all of these successful (anti?) heroes are
pure
professionals, just like the private eyes. Although they are
not as
"moral" as most of the private eyes, they do have their codes
(for
instance, the thought process each time Parker decides
whether or not to
kill someone, will it accomplish his goal or will it bring
more
trouble?). One of the main components of these books is
the
professional's disdain for amateurism--Parker tries to walk
away from
working with amateurs (although there is usually a
double-crosser in the
crew) and Wyatt has to be seriously in need of a job to be
forced to
work with one. There is this beautiful speech in the latest
Wyatt where
he expresses his contempt for what the professional criminal
has become,
basically just a bunch of junkies.
So, can anyone help me find more?
Thanks,
Mark
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