The Grofield Novels

Grofield is a part-time actor, part-time thief. He makes his colorful debut in the excellent The Score, charming the pants off a girl he’s holding hostage. He returns in The Handle, which immediately precedes his first solo adventure, The Damsel.

Parker readers are split in their assessment of the Grofield books. Many find the lighter tone of the first three to be off-putting, others just relax and enjoy the read.

For more on Grofield, see my entry on the first novel in the series, The Damsel.

Parker Novels featuring Grofield Year Grofield Solo Novels Year
The Score 1964 The Damsel 1967
The Handle 1966 The Dame 1969
Slayground 1971
Crossover with blackarrow
The Blackbird 1969
Butcher’s Moon 1974 Lemons Never Lie 1971

Grofield is also referenced in the first Dortmunder novel, The Hot Rock. Character Alan Greenwood at one point goes by the name Alan Grofield. He is not Alan Grofield–Alan Grofield doesn’t live in New York, for starters–but he’s most definitely a parody of Alan Grofield.