唐纳德·维斯特雷克（Donald Westlake，1933-2008），他是当之无愧的侦探小说之王，一生创作了一百多部小说，三次获得埃德加·艾伦坡奖，罕见的是，三次获奖分别斩获三个不同类型的奖项：最佳小说奖（1968）、最佳短篇（1990）、最佳电影编剧（1991）。被美国侦探作家协会（MWA）授予最高奖大师奖（Grand Master）他以理查德·斯塔克为笔名创作了派克系列，这个机智、灵敏、不按常理出牌、永远难以捉摸的主人公派克，成为冷硬派悬疑小说中最令人难忘的人物之一。

You probably haven't ever noticed them. But they've noticed you. They notice everything. That's their job. Sitting quietly in a nondescript car outside a bank making note of the tellers' work habits, the positions of the security guards. Lagging a few car lengths behind the Brinks truck on its daily rounds. Surreptitiously jiggling the handle of an unmarked service door at the racetrack.They're thieves. Heisters, to be precise. They're pros, and Parker is far and away the best of them. If you're planning a job, you want him in. Tough, smart, hardworking, and relentlessly focused on his trade, he is the heister's heister, the robber's robber, the heavy's heavy. You don't want to cross him, and you don't want to get in his way, because he'll stop at nothing to get what he's after.Parker, the ruthless antihero of Richard Stark's eponymous mystery novels, is one of the most unforgettable characters in hardboiled noir. Lauded by critics for his taut realism, unapologetic amorality, and razor-sharp prose style - and adored by fans who turn each intoxicating page with increasing urgency - Stark is a master of crime writing, his books as influential as any in the genre. The University of Chicago Press has embarked on a project to return the early volumes of this series to print for a new generation of readers to discover - and become addicted to.In "The Hunter", the first volume in the series, Parker roars into New York City, seeking revenge on the woman who betrayed him and on the man who took his money, stealing and scamming his way to redemption.