Book ~ "Stardust" (1990) Robert B. Parker

From Goodreads ~ When a Hollywood-based TV series schedules filming in Boston, Spenser smells trouble. When he signs up to protect the show's star, Jill Joyce, he knows it's on its way. 

First, there's Jill herself. She's spoiled, arrogant, drugged out -- made worse by fear. Someone is out to get her - does she imagine it, or is it real? 

Spenser monitors her neurosis, but finds evidence of harassment. It escalates to murder. Now begins the dangerous part - while the act may have ended, the murderer lingers on.

Spenser is a private detective in Boston.  Jill Joyce is a popular 40ish TV actress in a hit show and they are shooting it in Boston.  When she complains that she’s been receiving threatening phone calls, Spenser is hired as her bodyguard.  He is also supposed to figure out who is harassing her.  He starts to think that maybe she is making it all up to draw attention to herself ... until someone is murdered.  Spencer gets no help from Jill because she lies all the time and denies everything ... plus she's usually drunk and/or stoned so he's on his own to investigate.

I thought the story had potential as it sounded interesting but I didn't like it.  I hated Jill ... she was an awful unlikable person.  She was always drunk, smoking and doing drugs.  She kept coming onto Spenser and Hawk and then acting like a bitch when they turned her down (and then passing out).  Everyone knew she was like this but no one did anything about it.  I found her character unbelievable and way over the top.  I was glad when the story was over and I wasn't buying the "whodunnit" and why.

This is the seventeenth in the Spenser series (there are currently 46, with the last six written by Ace Atkins after Parker's death in 2010).  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I'd read many of the books over the years and recently started reading them from the beginning of the series ... my intent was to get through the series.  I read the first seventeen in the last couple of months and need a Spenser break.  It was sad to see a progression of bad storylines and lame and annoying characters.

I did like the writing style ... I found it humorous at times.  Spenser is a tough guy with a wisecracking sense of humour.  It's written in first person perspective in Spenser's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

I'm not a fan of Susan, Spenser's love interest ... she has become picky and princessy as the series progressed.

Book ~ "Playmates" (1989) Robert B. Parker

From Goodreads ~ Spenser smells corruption in a college town. Taft University's hottest basketball star is shaving points for quick cash. All manner of sleaze - from corrupt academics to hoods with graduate degrees - have their fingers in the pot. 

Spenser's search takes him from lecture halls to blue collar bars and finally into a bloody confrontation with almost certain death. But Spenser saves an arrogant young athlete - even though it nearly kills him to do it.

Spenser is a private detective in Boston. When the Taft University school newspaper reports a rumour there is point-shaving going on in the basketball team, Spenser is hired to find out if it's true.  He determines that the star player, Dwayne, is doing just that.

When Spenser confronts Dwayne about it, he discovers that Dwayne is illiterate but has a caring girlfriend.  Rather than turn Dwayne in and ruin his (and the girlfriend's) future, Spenser instead decides to stop the people who are profiting from Dwayne's actions.

This is the sixteenth in the Spenser series (there are currently 46, with the last six written by Ace Atkins after Parker's death in 2010).  I've read many over the years (and have liked the series) and have started reading them from the beginning of the series.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.

I thought the story was interesting with Spenser trying to protect a kid who didn't want to be protected, especially after Spenser kept stressing that Dwayne is an adult.  I would have been inclined to let Dwayne take care of himself and accept the consequences of his actions, especially since Dwayne was involved in Spenser almost being killed.  He wasn't grateful for anything Spenser did.

I liked the writing style ... I found it humorous at times.  Spenser is a tough guy with a wisecracking sense of humour.  It's written in first person perspective in Spenser's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

I'm not a fan of Susan, Spenser's love interest ... she has become picky and princessy.  Though Spenser and Susan have been together for about 15 years, they talk like teenagers about their relationship, which I don't find realistic given their age and how long they've been together ... "I love you."  "I love you."  "I love you more."  "No, I love you more."  "I can't imagine my life without you."  "I can't imagine MY life without YOU."

Book ~ "Crimson Joy" (1988) Robert B. Parker

From Goodreads ~ A serial killer is on the loose in Beantown and the cops can't catch him. But when the killer leaves his red rose calling card for Spenser's own Susan Silverman, he gets all the attention that Spenser and Hawk can give. 

Spenser plays against time while he tracks the Red Rose killer from Boston's Combat Zone to the suburbs. His trap is both daring and brave and gives the story a satisfying climax.

Spenser is a private detective in Boston.  Two of his cop friends come to him for help find a serial killer who is targeting black women and leaving a red rose, hence the nickname the "Red Rose Killer".  Spenser can do things that the cops can't.  Plus one of the cop friends received a letter from the killer claiming to be a cop so none can be trusted right now.  When the killer leaves a rose for Susan, Spenser's long time love interest, it gets personal and Spenser assumes the killer is one of Susan's clients (too much of a coincidence for me).

We find out who the serial killer is about three-quarters of the way in and the remainder of the book is Spenser trying to trap him without getting Susan killed in the process.

This is the fifteenth in the Spenser series (there are currently 46, with the last six written by Ace Atkins after Parker's death in 2010).  I've read many over the years (and have liked the series) and have started reading them from the beginning of the series.  Though it is part of a series, for the most part it works as a stand alone.

I liked the writing style ... I found it humorous at times.  Spenser is a tough guy with a wisecracking sense of humour.  For the most part, it's written in first person perspective in Spenser's voice, which has been the norm for all the Spenser stories.  In this one, it's also in first person perspective in the killer's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

I haven't been a fan of Susan since Valediction and Catskill Eagle (the eleventh and twelfth in the series).  That's when I started disliking her and finding her annoying ... she has become picky and princessy.  Though Spenser and Susan have been together for about 15 years, in this book they talked like teenagers about their relationship, which I don't find realistic given their age and how long they've been together ... "I love you."  "I love you."  "I love you more."  "No, I love you more."  "I can't imagine my life without you."  "I can't imagine MY life without YOU."

Book ~ "Taming a Sea-Horse" (1986) Robert B. Parker

From Goodreads ~ Nice girls don't. But blond, beautiful April Kyle does. She's a hooker hooked on the wrong guy - and she's on her way to trouble. So is Spenser. 

Looking out for April has landed him in the crud of Times Square. It's not a long way to big-business boardrooms where blood money get laundered into long green, sex is a commodity and young girls are the currency.

Spenser is a private detective in Boston.  Four years ago, he had placed a teenage hooker named April with Patricia Uttley, who ran a a high class escort service in New York.  Patricia advises Spenser that April has fallen in love with a pimp and has left her employ.  She wants Spenser to make sure April is okay.

Spenser finds Aprils but she wants to be left alone.  But Spenser can't/won't let it go, especially when April disappears and he's on the hunt to try to find her.  This leads him to discover that hookers are bought and sold and he won't give up until he finds April again.

This is the thirteenth in the Spenser series (there are currently 46, with the last six written by Ace Atkins after Parker's death in 2010).  I've read many over the years (and have liked the series) and have started reading them from the beginning of the series.  Though it is part of a series, for the most part it works as a stand alone.

Susan, Spenser's love interest of 10+ years, is annoying as she's now picky and princessy.  In A Catskill Eagle, the twelfth in the series, we discovered that Susan has been cheating on Spenser before she had broken up with him and that book focused on him rescuing her from her new boyfriend.  To me, that's pretty heavy duty.  But apparently Spenser has forgiven her and they have moved on.

We first met April and Patricia in Ceremony, which was written in 1982.  At that time, April was a teenager and a hooker with no prospects.  Since she wanted to remain a hooker, Spenser connected her to Patricia so she could work for a classier establishment and be groomed by Patricia ... I had found the ending of that book a bit unbelievable.  It sounds like April didn't appreciate what she had and took off with her sleazy boyfriend who was also pimping her out.  I had a hard time believing this too ... I would have thought April would have matured by now and been a classier hooker.

I liked the writing style ... I found it humorous at times.  Spenser is a tough guy with a wisecracking sense of humour.  It's written in first person perspective in Spenser's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

Book ~ "Pale Kings and Princes" (1987) Robert B. Parker

From Goodreads ~ Wheaton is a typical New England small-college town, not the sort of place for drugs and murder. But when a reporter gets too inquisitive, he finds both - the latter on his own.

Spenser's call comes when the local cops work a cover. He needs help to solve this one - Hawk for back-up and Susan for insight on the basics of jealousy, passion and hate!

What the trio finds is a cutthroat cocaine ring, where drugs have value supreme and human life has none at all. 

Spenser is a private detective in Boston.  Following the murder of a reporter in Wheaton, Massachusetts, he is hired by a newspaper to investigate the death.  The police suspect the reporter was killed because he was having an affair with someone in the town.  As Spenser starts to investigate, he discovers that cocaine is one of the main industries there and the death may be drug related.  He doesn't get much help from the Wheaton police because they are owned by the rich and powerful local drug lord.

This is the fourteenth in the Spenser series (there are currently 46, with the last six written by Ace Atkins after Parker's death in 2010).  I've read many over the years (and have liked the series) and have started reading them from the beginning of the series.  Though it is part of a series, for the most part it works as a stand alone.

I liked the writing style ... I found it humorous at times.  Spenser is a tough guy with a wisecracking sense of humour.  It's written in first person perspective in Spenser's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

I found it ended really quickly.  There was some build-up and then it was done and Spenser was back home and able to enjoy a decent meal again.

I didn't mind Susan, Spenser's love interest, in the earlier books in the series.  I disliked her in Valediction and Catskill Eagle (the eleventh and twelfth in the series).  I found her annoying in this one and the future ones I've read as she has started to get picky and princessy.

Book ~ "A Catskill Eagle" (1985) Robert B. Parker

From Goodreads ~ In the detective business, Spenser sometimes has to bend the law. Other times, to break it. But he lives by his own inviolate rules. And he loves just one woman - even though she is the one woman he's just lost.

So when Susan's desperate letter arrives, Spenser doesn't think twice. His best friend, Hawk, faces a life sentence. And Susan has gotten herself into even bigger trouble. Now Spenser has to free them both ... even if it means breaking his own rules to do it.

Spenser is a private detective in Boston.  He receives a letter from the love of his life and former girlfriend, Susan Silverman.  She had abruptly moved to the West Coast recently.  She said that his friend and associate, Hawk, is in jail and she needs help.

While in the West Coast, Susan had started a relationship with Russell Costigan.  Spenser flies to California and breaks Hawk out of jail.  They then started to track Russell down so they can rescue Susan.  This gets them involved with a government agency who agree to help them as long as Spenser and Hawk them in return.

This is the twelfth in the Spenser series (there are currently 46, with the last six written by Ace Atkins after Parker's death in 2010).  I've read many over the years (and have liked the series) and have started reading them from the beginning of the series.  Though it is part of a series, for the most part it works as a stand alone.

I liked the writing style ... I found it humorous at times.  Spenser is a tough guy with a wisecracking sense of humour.  It's written in first person perspective in Spenser's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

I wasn't crazy about this story.  Susan had kicked Spenser to the curb in the last book after being together for more than ten years so she could "find herself" yet she had started going out with Russell even before she had broken up with Spenser.  Spenser jumps to help her and no qualms about killing people to do it.  Then we have to suffer through their conversations about how he loves her and will apparently forgive her for cheating on him and leaving him for someone else ... and she loves him yet she loves Russell but wants to be with Spenser.  And Spenser is willing to do illegal things to ensure she is safe and she doesn't seem to have any issues with this.  I was never a Susan fan and didn't mind her in the first few books in the series.  I found her annoying in this one and the last one (and the future ones I've read).

It was definitely a different time when this story was written ... Spenser and Hawk were able to fly and rent cars using stolen ID and credit cards.

Book ~ "Valediction" (1984) Robert B. Parker

From Goodreads ~ The most dangerous man to cross is one who isn't afraid to die. But the most deadly is one who doesn't want to live. And Spenser has just lost the woman who made life his #1 priority.

So when a religious sect kidnaps a pretty young dancer, no death threat can make Spenser cut and run. Now a hit man's bullet is wearing Spenser's name. But Boston's big boys don't know Spenser's ready and willing to meet death more than halfway.

Spenser is a private detective in Boston.  The book opens with Susan, Spenser's girlfriend of ten plus years, getting her PhD after spending time away in Washington.  Then she announced to Spenser that she had a job in San Francisco and was moving there tomorrow, with no regard to his feelings.  What?!  Not acceptable behavior after dating for more than ten years.

In the meantime, Spenser is hired by Tommy Banks to find his girlfriend, Sherry, who was apparently kidnapped by a cult church.  Spenser finds Sherry but she says she is happy being with the church and wants to be left alone.  In the course of his investigation, Spenser discovers that the church may be involved in money laundering with a construction company it's been lending money to.

This is the eleventh in the Spenser series (there are currently 46, with the last six written by Ace Atkins after Parker's death in 2010).  I've read many over the years (and have liked the series) and have started reading them from the beginning of the series.  Though it is part of a series, for the most part it works as a stand alone.  Paul, who we first met in Autumn (the seventh in the series), is back but there isn't a lot of explanation about who he is and how he is connected to Spenser.

I liked the writing style ... I found it humorous at times.  Spenser is a tough guy with a wisecracking sense of humour.  It's written in first person perspective in Spenser's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

I found the interaction between Spenser and Susan annoying ... they spoke often on the phone about how much they loved each but they can't be together.  They were both moping like they were teenagers and it got old really quickly.  And Spenser was going on and on about it to his friend, Hawk, and Paul.  When Susan abruptly left Spenser, he jumped right into dating and the next day he and the woman he is dating are in love (though he still loves Susan).  Really?!  And he also referred to loving Candy, who we met in A Savage Place ... he was her bodyguard and they'd slept together once.  Really?!  I wasn't buying any of it.

Book ~ "The Widening Gyre" (1983) Robert B. Parker

From Goodreads ~ The adoring wife of a senatorial candidate has a smile as sweet as candy and dots her "i's" with little hearts. A blond beauty, she is the perfect mate for an ambitious politician, but she has a little problem with sex and drugs - a problem someone has managed to put on videotape.

The big boys figure a little blackmail will put her husband out of the race. Until Spenser hops on the candidate's bandwagon.

But getting back the tape of the lady's X-rated indiscretion is a nonstop express ride to trouble - trouble that is deep, wide and deadly. 

Spenser is a private detective in Boston and has been hired to head up the security detail for Congressman Meade Alexander as he runs for the Senate.  The congressman confides to Spenser that he is being blackmailed by someone who wants him to drop out of the senate race.  The congressman's wife, Ronni, drinks too much and there is a sex tape of her and a much younger man.  As Spenser investigates, he discovers who is blackmailing Alexander and sets out to stop them and get Ronni's tape back so it can't be made public.

This is the tenth in the Spenser series (there are currently 46, with the last six written by Ace Atkins after Parker's death in 2010).  I've read many over the years (and have liked the series) and have started reading them from the beginning of the series.  Though it is part of a series, for the most part it works as a stand alone.  Paul, who we first met in Autumn (the seventh in the series), is back but there isn't a lot of explanation about who he is and how he is connected to Spenser.

I liked the writing style ... I found it humorous at times.  Spenser is a tough guy with a wisecracking sense of humour.  It's written in first person perspective in Spenser's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

Susan, Spenser's girlfriend of ten years, is away in Washington going to school, which creates a distance between them, literally and romantically.  They are disconnected and Spenser is out of sorts about it.  When they get together, they discuss this relationship in great detail.

Book ~ "Ceremony" (1982) Robert B. Parker

From Goodreads ~ Pretty teenager April Kyle is in grown-up-trouble, involved with people who'd beat her up for a dollar and kill her for five. Now she's disappeared, last seen in the Combat Zone, that side of Boston where nothing's proper, especially the sex for sale.

With Hawk, his sidekick, Spenser takes on the whole X-rated industry. From a specialty whorehouse in Providence to stylish Back Bay bordellos, he pits muscle and wit against bullets and brawn until he finds what he's looking for: April Kyle, little girl lost.

Spenser is a private detective in Boston and has been hired by the Kyles to find their missing teenage daughter, April, who they suspect is working as a prostitute.  Spenser finds April and she is indeed working as a prostitute.  Though Spenser isn't making her go home, she takes off from him.  As Spenser keeps digging, he discovers the person of influence behind providing teenage girls for prostitution and also the making of porno movies and he is determined to shut him down.

This is the ninth in the Spenser series (there are currently 46, with the last six written by Ace Atkins after Parker's death in 2010).  I've read many over the years (and have liked the series) and have started reading them from the beginning of the series.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  This book had an interesting but seedy premise and I didn't find the ending believable.

I liked the writing style ... I found it humorous at times.  Spenser is a tough guy with a wisecracking sense of humour.  Though this book was written and is set in 1982, it didn't seem that dated (there is reference to the "fuzz" and "bread", though).  It's written in first person perspective in Spenser's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

Book ~ "A Savage Place" (1981) Robert B. Parker

From Goodreads ~ TV reporter Candy Sloan has eyes the color of cornflowers and legs that stretch all the way to heaven. She also has somebody threatening to rearrange her lovely face if she keeps on snooping into charges of Hollywood racketeering. 

Spenser's job is to keep Candy healthy until she breaks the biggest story of her career. But her star witness has just bowed out with three bullets in his chest, two tough guys have doubled up to test Spenser's skill with his fists, and Candy is about to use her own sweet body as live bait in a deadly romantic game - a game that may cost Spenser his life.

Spenser is a private detective in Boston and has been hired to be a bodyguard for television reporter Candy Sloan in Los Angeles as she investigates a corrupt movie studio.  Candy suspects it's the mob who is behind it.  As they start investigating, people start getting killed.  Spenser tries to convince Candy to go to the police with what she knows but she keeps holding back because she wants to break the story and get the glory to advance in her career.

This is the eighth in the Spenser series (there are currently 46, with the last six written by Ace Atkins after Parker's death in 2010).  I've read many over the years (and have enjoyed the series) and have started reading them from the beginning of the series.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.

I wasn't crazy about this book. I didn't find Candy very likable at all and wasn't overly sympathetic when there was violence against her.  I found there were a lot of male characters and was confused as to who was who and what they did and why.  To be honest, I gave up caring and trying to keep them straight.  Plus Spenser cheats on Susan Silverman (who has no presence in this book) but justifies it because there's no emotion involved ... it's just fun ... and she's allowed to do the same.  I found this to be conflicting because in previous books the two of them are always going on about how much they love love love each other.

I liked the writing style, though ... I found it humorous at times.  Spenser is a tough guy with a wisecracking sense of humour.  Though this book was written and is set in 1981, it didn't seem as dated as the earlier ones.  It's written in first person perspective in Spenser's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

Book ~ "Early Autumn" (1980) Robert B. Parker

From Goodreads ~ A bitter divorce is only the beginning. First the father hires thugs to kidnap his son. Then the mother hires Spenser to get the boy back. But as soon as Spenser senses the lay of the land, he decides to do some kidnapping of his own. 

With a contract out on his life, he heads for the Maine woods, determined to give a puny 15-year-old a crash course in survival and to beat his dangerous opponents at their own brutal game.

Spenser is a private detective in Boston and has been hired to protect Paul, a fifteen-year-old, who is in the middle of a custody battle between his parents, Patty and Mel.  Neither parent really wants him but neither wants to let the other parent have him.

To protect Paul, Spenser takes him in and helps him mature by teaching him boxing, exercise and weight-lifting and together they build a cabin.  In the meantime, Spenser has to figure out how to get Paul's parents to back off and leave Paul alone so he can figure out what kind of life he wants.

This is the seventh in the Spenser series (there are currently 46, with the last six written by Ace Atkins after Parker's death in 2010).  I've read many over the years (and have enjoyed the series) and have started reading them from the beginning of the series.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.

I liked the writing style ... I find it humorous at times.  Spenser is a tough guy with a wisecracking sense of humour.  Though this book was written and is set in 1980, it didn't seem as dated as the earlier ones.  It's written in first person perspective in Spenser's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

Book ~ "Looking for Rachel Wallace" (1980) Robert B. Parker

From Goodreads ~ Rachel Wallace is a woman who writes and speaks her mind. She has made a lot of enemies - enemies who threaten her life. 

Spenser is the tough guy with a macho code of honor, hired to protect a woman who thinks that code is obsolete. 

Privately, they will never see eye to eye. That's why she fires him. But when Rachel vanishes, Spenser rattles skeletons in blue-blooded family closets, tangles with the Klan and fights for her right to be exactly what she is. He is ready to lay his life on the line to find Rachel Wallace. 

Rachel Wallace is a writer, lesbian and feminist activist.  When she receives threats, she hires Spenser to be her bodyguard.  Their personalities and ideologies clash and Rachel fires Spenser.  When she is kidnapped, Spenser feels duty-bound to try to find her because had he behaved as she wanted, he never would have been fired and she wouldn't have been kidnapped.  Spenser's investigation leads him to an organization that is anti-communist, anti-gay and affiliated with the local Ku Klux Klan.

This is the sixth in the Spenser series (there are currently 46, with the last six written by Ace Atkins after Parker's death in 2010).  I've read many in the series over the years (and have enjoyed the series) but I can't remember where I'd jumped in.  I know I hadn't started at the beginning so have started reading them from the beginning of the series.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.

I liked the writing style ... I find it humorous at times.  Spenser is a tough guy with a wisecracking sense of humour.  This book was written and is set in the early 1980s so is dated with some of its references and lingo.  Rachel was too angry and unbelievable to me with her hatred of all men.  It's written in first person perspective in Spenser's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

Book ~ "The Judas Goat" (1978) Robert B. Parker

From Goodreads ~ Spenser has gone to London - and not to see the Queen. He's gone to track down a bunch of bombers who've blown away his client's wife and kids. His job is to catch them. Or kill them. His client isn't choosy.

But there are nine killers to one Spenser - long odds. Hawk helps balance the equation. The rest depends on a wild plan. Spenser will get one of the terrorists to play Judas Goat - to lead him to others. Trouble is, he hasn't counted on her being very blond, very beautiful and very dangerous.

Spenser is a private investigator in Boston and has been hired by Hugh Dixon, a millionaire, to find the nine members of a terrorist group that bombed a London restaurant where he and his family had been dining.  His wife and daughters are killed and he was left a paraplegic.

Spenser heads to London to start his investigation.  He finds some of the members and hires his friend, Hawk, to help him find the others.  This takes them from London to Copenhagen to Amsterdam to the Montreal Olympics.

This is the fifth in the Spenser series (there are currently 46, with the last six written by Ace Atkins after Parker's death in 2010).  I've read many in the series over the years (and have enjoyed the series) but I can't remember where I'd jumped in.  I know I hadn't started at the beginning so have started reading them from the beginning of the series.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.

I liked the writing style ... I find it humorous at times.  Spenser is a tough guy with a wisecracking sense of humour.  This book was written and is set in the late 1970s so is dated with some of its references and lingo.  It's written in first person perspective in Spenser's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

I wasn't crazy about this book.  I thought the storyline was uninteresting and boring.  And I found it hard to believe that Spenser got away with killing or injuring as many people as he did worldwide yet there was no ramifications.  While I don't mind that Spenser is dating Susan Silverman, I find their conversations unbelievable.  They are in love, have been dating for a few years, yet talk to each other like they are teenagers (they are about 40).  I like the friendship between Spenser and Hawk but it is tiring at times with Spenser talking like the rich white plantation owner and Hawk talking like the indentured slave (Hawk is black).  I found Kathie, one of the terrorists, to be an unbelievable character when she is "given" to Spenser and becomes submissive throwing herself at Spenser and then Hawk (her terrorist group is against blacks).

Book ~ "Promised Land" (1976) Robert B. Parker

From Goodreads ~ Spenser is a wisecracking former boxer turned private investigator and he is just settling into his new office when enters Harv Shepard, a beleaguered businessman who is looking for someone to help locate his runaway wife. 

So begins "Promised Land", the fourth novel by Robert Parker, that follows the exploits of his cerebral but tough character, detective Spenser. Why Harv Shepard's wife abandoned her family and exactly where she has gone comprise only half the intrigue in this story, though Spenser soon discovers that Harv is a man in deep trouble, involved with a crooked loan shark and tangled in an ailing business venture.

Spenser is a private investigator in Boston and has been hired by Harvey Shepard to find his wife, Pam, who has left him and their children.  Spenser quickly finds her but she doesn't want to go home.  He promises her that he won't force her to return to her husband and he won't tell Harvey where she is.  Then she contacts him when she gets into some trouble she can't handle and hadn't anticipated.

When Spenser finds Hawk, a former boxing competitor from years ago, threatening Harvey, he suspects that Harvey is involved with a loan shark named King Powers.  Spenser must work out a plan which will get both Pam and Harvey out of the trouble they are in and get them back together.

This is the fourth in the Spenser series (there are currently 46, with the last six written by Ace Atkins after Parker's death in 2010).  I've read many in the series over the years (and have enjoyed the series) but I can't remember where I'd jumped in.  I know I hadn't started at the beginning so have started reading them from the beginning of the series.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.

I liked the writing style ... I find it humorous at times.  This book was written and is set in the late 1970s so is dated with some of its references and lingo (for example, the police are called the "fuzz", etc.) but it as still fun to read.    It's written in first person perspective in Spenser's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing (King Powers likes to use the "F-bomb").

Spenser is a tough guy with a wisecracking sense of humour.  He has been dating Susan Silverman (who he met in the second book) for a few years at this point and they express their love for each other in this book.

Book ~ "Mortal Stakes" (1975) Robert B. Parker

From Goodreads ~ Everybody loves a winner and the Rabbs are major league. Marty is the Red Sox star pitcher, Linda the loving wife. She loves everyone except the blackmailer out to wreck her life.

Is Marty throwing fast balls or throwing games? It doesn't take long for Spenser to link Marty's performance with Linda's past ... or to find himself trapped between a crazed racketeer and an enforcer toting an M-16.

America's favorite pastime has suddenly become a very dangerous sport, and one wrong move means strike three, with Spenser out for good!

Spenser is a private investigator in Boston.  He has been hired by the Red Sox to find out if their lead pitcher, Marty Rabb, is on the take.  As Spenser investigates (he poses as an author writing a book about baseball), he discovers a blackmail plot involving pimps, a high class madam and a loan shark ... Marty's wife, Linda, had lived a secret life before she'd married him.

This is the third in the Spenser series (there are currently 46, with the last six written by Ace Atkins after Parker's death in 2010).  I've read many in the series over the years (and have enjoyed the series) but I can't remember where I'd jumped in.  I know I hadn't started at the beginning so that's why I decided to read them from the beginning.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.

I liked the writing style ... I find it humorous at times.  This book was written and is set in the 1970s so is dated with some of its references and lingo.  With no Internet, Spencer has to do a lot of legwork manually.  And it's amazing how much information he's given by just calling someone (I doubt it would be that easy with today's privacy laws).  It's written in first person perspective in Spenser's voice.

Spenser is a tough guy with a wisecracking sense of humour.  He can be a slimy dog at times, though, when he's admiring the ladies.  In this book, he is dating  and sleeping with both Brenda Loring (who he met in the first book) and Susan Silverman (who he met in the second book).  Neither women have a big presence in this book but it seems like he is leaning more towards Susan because he can talk to her the way he can't with Brenda.  As a head's up, there is some swearing.

Book ~ "God Save the Child" (1974) Robert B. Parker

From Goodreads ~ Appie Knoll is the kind of suburb where kids grow up right. But something is wrong. Fifteen-year-old Kevin Bartlett disappears. Everyone thinks he's run away - until the comic strip ransom note arrives. 

It doesn't take Spenser long to get the picture - an affluent family seething with rage, a desperate boy making strange friends ... friends like Vic Harroway, body builder. Mr. Muscle is Spenser's only lead and he isn't talking ... except with his fists. But when push comes to shove, when a boy's life is on the line, Spenser can speak that language too.

Spenser is a private investigator in Boston.  He has been hired to find Kevin Bartlett, a missing 15-year-old boy, by his parents.  At first no one is sure whether Kevin was kidnapped or ran away (he comes from a dysfunctional home and may have had enough).  Eventually his parents receive a ransom note.  Kevin's parents pay the randsom but Kevin isn't returned.  As Spenser investigates, he discovers a link between Kevin and a body builder named Vic Harroway.  Did Harroway kidnap Kevin or is Kevin with him willingly?

This is the second in the Spenser series (there are currently 46, with the last six written by Ace Atkins after Parker's death in 2010).  I've read many in the series over the years (and have enjoyed the series) but I can't remember where I'd jumped in.  I know I hadn't started at the beginning so that's why I decided to read them from the beginning.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.

I liked the writing style ... I find it humorous at times.   This book was written and is set in the 1970s so is dated with some of its references.  It's written in first person perspective in Spenser's voice.  Spenser is a tough guy with a wisecracking sense of humour.  In this book, he meets and gets together with his longtime love interest, Susan Silverman (she's not annoying in this book).    As a head's up, there is some swearing.

Book ~ "The Godwulf Manuscript" (1973) Robert B. Parker

From Goodreads ~ Spenser earned his degree in the school of hard knocks, so he is ready when a Boston university hires him to recover a rare, stolen manuscript. He is hardly surpised that his only clue is a radical student with four bullets in his chest. 

The cops are ready to throw the book at the pretty blond coed whose prints are all over the murder weapon but Spenser knows there are no easy answers. He tackles some very heavy homework and knows that if he doesn't finish his assignment soon, he could end up marked "D" - for dead.

Spenser is a private investigator in Boston.  He has been hired by the president of a university to recover the Godwulf Manuscript, a medieval book of great historical and literary importance, which is being held for ransom for $100,000.  The head of campus security suggests investigating a radical student group and their secretary, Terry Orchard.

After talking to Terry and her boyfriend, Dennis, Dennis ends up murdered and Terry is framed for the murder.  As Spenser investigates to find out where the manuscript is and who killed Dennis, he discovers there may be mob and drug connections.

This is the first in the Spenser series (there are currently 46, with the last six written by Ace Atkins after Parker's death in 2010).  I've read many in the series over the years and I can't remember where I'd jumped in.  I know I hadn't started at the beginning so that's why I decided to read number one.  For the most part, I've enjoyed this series.  Spenser's girlfriend, Susan, hasn't entered the storyline at this point ... I find her extremely annoying.

I liked the writing style ... I find it humorous at times.  It's written in first person perspective in Spenser's voice.  Spenser is a tough guy with a wisecracking sense of humour.  I bet he'd be a fun guy to sit and have a beer with.  It was interesting to read a book that was written and set in the early 1970s.  How times have changed!  No Internet, no cell phones, hippies, no tolerance for gays and people were smoking anytime and anywhere.  As a head's up, there is some swearing.

Book ~ "Sixkill" (2011) Robert B. Parker

From Amazon ~ On location in Boston, bad-boy actor Jumbo Nelson is accused of the rape and murder of a young woman. From the start the case seems fishy, so the Boston PD calls on Spenser to investigate. The situation doesn't look good for Jumbo, whose appetites for food, booze, and sex are as outsized as his name. He was the studio's biggest star but he's become their biggest liability.

In the course of the investigation, Spenser encounters Jumbo's bodyguard: a young, former football-playing Native American named Zebulon Sixkill. Sixkill acts tough but Spenser sees something more within the young man. Despite the odd circumstances, the two forge an unlikely alliance, with Spenser serving as mentor for Sixkill. As the case grows darker and secrets about both Jumbo and the dead girl come to light, it's Spenser - with Sixkill at his side - who must put things right.

This was the last Spencer novel that Parker completed before he died last January.

The story was good. I like the introduction of Zebulon "Z" Sixkill, Junior's ex-bodyguard who Spencer takes under his wing. I imagine had Parker lived, there would have been more stories about him and I would have been okay with that. I liked their interaction ... it was reminiscent of his conversations with Hawk who has for reasons disappeared in the last few books.

As always, the character of Susan annoys me. Spencer loves to cook and eat and Susan always makes a point of just nibbling on a piece of lettuce or an olive. She seems like a snotty bitch and I can't see why anyone as easy going as Spencer would have the patience for her. Also, I didn't see the need for them to yet again discuss their relationship in such great deal. They have been together forever and it seems like they always have to have the same conversation about how dangerous his job is and she loves him as he is.

All in all, I enjoyed this book and would recommended it. I read that there will be ghost writers carrying on with the Spencer character ... should be interesting to see how that works out.

Book ~ "Painted Ladies" (2010) Robert B. Parker

From Amazon ~ In this posthumously published novel, the Boston PI tries to retrieve a priceless work of art and deals with the rarefied and nasty world of academics. Thirty-seven novels later, Spenser can still nail a person’s foibles on first meeting, still whip up a gourmet meal in a few minutes, still dispatch the thugs who haunt his office and his home, and do it all while maintaining a fierce love of Susan Silverman and English poetry (which he quotes frequently and always to good effect). The plot this time spins off from Spenser’s shame over the murder of a client, a college art professor who asked him to provide backup during a delicate ransom exchange for a rare seventeenth-century Dutch painting. Spenser, ever true to his modern-day chivalric code, cannot let himself off the hook for the professor’s death. His investigation unveils the professor’s avocation as a sexual predator of coeds, and it digs deeply into both the world of art theft (reaching back to Nazi thefts of great European works).

I've been reading Parker's Spencer series for years and have enjoyed them. Over the years, though they are entertaining, they have gotten fluffier.

The story was interesting and could have been meatier. The pages that are thick, the type is large and there is a lot of white space to give you the illusion that it's a big story in a big book. The characters were bland and the ending seemed to be wrapped up quickly. Perhaps Parker's estate (he died in January 2010) wanted to put out another Spencer novel and this was all they had. It almost seemed like the book wasn't finished.

Susan, Spencer's love interest, is still as annoying as ever. I missed Hawk (he was apparently in Asia) as I like his interaction with Spencer.

It sounds like I'm not recommending this book and that isn't the case. I enjoyed it for what it was ... a light fluffy quick read with an amusing character.

Book ~ "Rough Weather" (2008) Robert B. Parker

From Amazon ~ Spenser, the redoubtable Boston PI, struts his stuff in this 36th entry in the series, but may leave some readers wondering if his ethics will bear even casual examination. When Heidi Bradshaw hires Spenser to support her at her daughter's wedding on Tashtego Island in Buzzards Bay, MA, an old nemesis of Spenser's, the Gray Man, who almost killed Spenser in Small Vices (1977), also shows up on the island. Spenser is unable to prevent the kidnapping of the bride or the deaths that attend it. Assisted by a cadre of familiar players, Spenser persists in trying to find the missing bride in spite of warnings from the Gray Man. The trademark banter and snappy dialogue may seem more forced than natural. Spenser displays his machismo in dealing with a muscle builder and his detective skills in figuring out the Gray Man's connections to the case. A troubling conclusion produces one resolution and the promise of further consequences in the next installment.

The Spencer novels used to be more indepth and deep but have gotten fluffier over the years. Nevertheless, this was a fun book to read. I enjoy Parker's writing style.

I like Spencer ... he's funny, sarcastic and a bad ass. His pal, Hawk, was in most of the book too and the interaction between Spencer and Hawk is funny. Alas, Susan, Spencer's longtime girlfriend was also in the book and was as annoying as every.

There were references to past plotlines and characters that I either didn't know or didn't remember but he didn't dwell too much on them. It would have been nice to have a bit of detail/history.

There are only three Spencer novels after this one ... Parker died in January 2010 and his last one will be published next year.