Quick-ish: "The Soak" by Patrick E McLean

Quick-ish: The Soak by Patrick E. McLean, 2017, 9780997832310.

Lee Goldberg kept pluggin this online. He must really like the book because he even published it through Brash Books.

I really enjoyed this one. A big part of my enjoyment is that McLean takes Richard Stark's (Donald E. Westlake) Parker and makes him human. I've considered Parker to be a sociopath with his own defined set of rules. McLean has his character Hobbs following much of Parker's details: life-long robber who never went to prison, crooked Army Sergeant, long-time girlfriend met during a heist, living on a lake, either working or waiting to work, a defined set of ro rules and behavior. But, McLean's Hobbs is getting old. He needs to retire. Hobbs knows this because every one keeps telling him so. But, Hobbs has been living a life of rob-and-rest-and-rob-again for about 40 or 50 years. What else is he going to do?

The story starts with Hobbs waking up in a bed. He'd been in a coma for a while and, old John Doe that he was, he was stuck in a state hospital for the elderly. Hobbs has no money, no car, and no memory of what the hell is going on. Well, this is a crime novel. So, Hobbs kills and steals his way out of the hospital and hits the road. On the way his memory comes back and he starts going after the money he is missing.

Flashback to a 20-year-hacker and stepson of a mobster. Hacker wants to break into real crime. He researches armored cars and discovers that one route in Northern Florida regularly carries large amounts of cash. He pulls together all the online data and finds someone who can help him hook-up with in-person heisters. 

Cue Hobbs and Co. Hobbs gets the call that a job is available and the script follows a standard Stark format. Hobbs recruits other heisters, Hobbs does not want to work with the amateur Hacker, Hobbs and Co. plan things out, things go tits up, Hobbs gets even.

And that's just the thing. Hobbs, being like Parker, isn't always exactly out for revenge. Or even getting even. Being double-crossed or lied to by another crook or a crooked cop does not make Hobbs happy. For him the issue is more You Do Not Act This Way Without Consequences. People have transgressed and Hobbs will settle things.

I really enjoyed this and very much recommend it.