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Alan Grofield is a creation of best-selling American author, Donald E. Westlake under the pseudonym Richard Stark. He is the lead character in four of the novels that the author has written under the pen name Richard Stark and a supporting character in other additional four. The character made its first appearance in the book The Score which was published in 1964.
Order of Alan Grofield Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Damsel | 1967 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | The Dame | 1969 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | The Blackbird | 1969 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | Lemons Never Lie | 1971 | Description / Buy |
Grofield is a professional thief and career criminal, he is also handsome, and a womanizer and his main passion in life is the stage. However, his love of theatre does not extend to the cinema as he dislikes film acting and television despite the fact that TV and film roles could be so lucrative. The reason why he is a thief is to keep his summer stock company up and to run.
However, he could quit his second job if he could earn a living through his first but he finds his second job fulfilling as well. In the first novel in the series, Grofield meets Mary Deegan his future wife, an acting partner a hostage taken during a heist. She is also referenced in other books such as Lemons Never Lie, and she helps Grofield run his theatre and also serves as his leading lady.
Unlike his companion Parker, Alan Grofield is somehow an erratic character, and his epic adventures span from the fanciful James Bond style (The Dame, The Damsel, and The Blackbird) to the more hardcore crime narratives (Lemons Never Lie). The character is not mentioned in any of the author’s books after Butchers Moon, and from this point, it’s not known whether he is dead, imprisoned, or he has retired from his criminal activities.
ALAN GROFIELD AWARDS
Richard Stark was a three time Edgar Award Winner and is one of the few writers alongside William L. DeAndrea, and Joe Gores to win Edgars in three distinct categories.
BEST ALAN GROFIELD BOOKS
Below are best books in Alan Grofield Series written by bestselling author Richard Stark, The Damsel, and The Dame.
The Damsel: The Parker Series is one of the series authored by Donald Westlake using the pen name Richard Stark; the series consists of twenty-four novels featuring a humorless, and amoral professional criminal named Parker who is usually recruited by other criminals to carry out heists.
One of the Parkers most dependable henchmen in the Parker series is Alan Grofield who is featured in several novels. Grofield being an actor owns a small theater company, but since there is no enough money to keep the acting spirit up, he joins Parker and others in a bank robbery to bring in some additional cash. Grofield is somehow lighter and more reflective than Parker, and so in 1967, the author of Parker Series decided to give the character his book, The Damsel.
The eighth novel in the Parker series, The Handle, concludes after Grofield is injured. Parker then gets him to safety in a hotel in Mexico city and call a doctor to tend to him. Parker then returns to the United States leaving Grofield with some share of cash.
The Damsel, the first novel in Alan Grofield series, opens up at that point. We meet Garfield lying in his bed on the fourth floor of his hotel room. Moments later out of nowhere a beautiful young lady climbs through the window. She is running from someone and assumes that the room has no occupant since it is dark. However, Grofield surprises her and then commands to know what she is doing in his room.
It turns out that the lady is on a mission and some villains are attempting to stop her from accomplishing it. As the story deepens, it turns out that there is a lot of banter and a great deal of sexual chemistry between the woman and Grofield as they attempt to escape from the goons who are after them.
The Dame: This is the second novel in Alan Grofield series by Richard Stark. The events in this book take place not long after the heist in The Handle. It follows the adventures of Grofield in Jamaica and the central theme is a who-did-it murder, and as usual, this is something that Garfield would not care about except the fact that the victim’s husband is sure that he is it.
OTHER BOOK SERIES YOU MAY LIKE
If you love Alan Grofield series, you will find these two series ideal for you, “Parker” series by Richard Stark and “The Dublin Trilogy” written by bestselling author Caimh McDonnell.
What Is The Next Book in The Alan Grofield Series?
There doesn't seem to be an upcoming book in The Alan Grofield Series. The newest book is Lemons Never Lie and was released on January, 30th 1971.