Parker, Robert B. Books - Page 2

Blue Screen (Sunny Randall)

Robert B. Parker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 65 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Just Dull 2 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book isn't awful it just never drew me in. Both the main characters are regulars from other Parker books. After this I have no desire to try either of them again. I like Parker but these two were both too bland. I read it on a working vacation to Europe and I can't even say this was good "killing time" type reading.

First Parker book ever, and probably the last. 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I've never read Robert B. Parker before and I settled on Blue Screen because it was available at the library on short notice, and I needed an audio book for a trip the next day. As a reader, I'm always weary of jumping into the middle of a series. Will I be lost because I haven't read the previous books? Will I care about or understand the main characters? In Blue Screen, Sunny Randall is hired by Buddy Bollen to watch over and protect Erin Flint. Buddy is a mega rich dotcom millionairre who owns the fictional Connecticut Nutmegs, a major league baseball team. Erin Flint is a beautiful woman. Every one agrees on that. She is Buddy's girlfriend and has starred in many B-movies that he's produced. Erin is also a pretty good athelete and a first class jerk to be around.

Buddy wants Sunny to protect Erin because he feels Erin may be in danger because Buddy plans on having her be the center fielder for his major league team. Okay. I need to stop right there. This is a pretty big plot point. I've read a lot of fiction and most have outrageous and unrealistc plots that the author never the less makes believable because of his writing talent. The idea of a movie star jumping in and playing in the majors is one of the most laughable, ridiculous things I've ever read in a novel. What's sad is that Parker believes it could happen. Sunny and other characters continuously ask those who supposedly know, including Jesse Stone, if Erin could make it. They all seem to say, sure, but it would be difficult. This whole plot point, a 35 year old actress suddenly playing in the majors totally ruined the novel for me. This isn't mentioned in the summary on the back of the book, or I wouldn't have even started reading it. Baseball is one sport where even the best college players have to work their way up through the minors. Most players hit their prime in their 20s. Thirty-five is over the hill. Baseball isn't a sport you can just pick up by spending a few months in a batting cage hitting against college kids.

Okay, enough of that rant. How is the rest of the book? Well, the plot is typical thriller stuff that includes pimps, murder, thugs and the mob. In fact, the plot, aside from the baseball angle, is comepletely underwhelming. There is no hook here. Nothing to compel you to turn the page. Sunny hooks up with Jesse Stone and they begin a relationship. Sunny is still attached to her ex-husband Richie and seems to think in her deluded mind that she has a chance with him although he is married and expecting a child. For such a short book, there was way too much relationship with Stone and Sunny. The dog Rosie and its biscuits drove me crazy, and the chat with the psychiatrist during the last fifth of the book about sex was absolutely pointless. Parker sets up an interesting character in Erin during the first half of the book, then seems more interested in having Stone and Sunny talk about sex for the latter half.

I probably won't read any more Parker books. The entire 35 year old actress as a major league center fielder soured me early on on the book. Then the bad parts of the rest of the novel seemed to stick out all the more and my dislike seemed to snowball. I'm sorry, but this is one series I can't recommend. Novels featuring his other characters may be different, so I may try one of those out again in the future.

Editorial Review:

Sunny Randall, "Boston's leading lady gumshoe" (New York Daily News), returns as hired bodyguard for the spoiled, and possibly dangerous, prize female client of a sleazy producer. This time, she gets a little help from Parker's popular character Jesse Stone, making a guest appearance here

Night Passage

Robert B. Parker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 68 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Fans often feel uneasy when the creator of a popular character ventures into new turf, and sometimes their trepidation is justified. But readers of Robert B. Parker's immensely popular Spenser series can breathe a sigh of relief: while Night Passage doesn't feature Spenser, his usual gang of associates, or a Boston setting, it's vintage Parker--fast, witty, suspenseful, and engaging. Told in short, crisp chapters, it's the story of Jesse Stone, a 34-year-old ex-cop who just lost his L.A. policeman's job and his marriage due to a drinking problem. The book opens as Stone leaves California for his new job as chief of police in the picturesque town of Paradise, Massachusetts.

But Paradise isn't as placid as it seems--in fact, it's a festering mass of petty corruption, right-wing militia, sexual scandal, and bad guys who favor strong-arm tactics. Night Passage boasts a delicious, classic setup: the lone lawman, new in town, must make his stand to clean the place up. Stone has been picked for the job because the town fathers figured he'd be weak and malleable; as he gradually pulls himself together, it turns out they have a surprise in store. Stone's qualities may remind you of Spenser's--he's taciturn, fearless, good-looking, and compassionate--and in the end the plot's pleasing complexities get resolved a bit simply. But Robert B. Parker is in fine form in Night Passage, with his smart-aleck wit under control and his prose at its economical best. Spenser fans and Parker neophytes alike will find plenty to enjoy here. And the setting is, after all, not far from Boston--dare we hope for a Spenser-Stone meeting in future books?

Appaloosa

Robert B. Parker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 71 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A richly imagined novel of the Old West, as spare and vivid as a high plains sunset, from one of the world's most talented performers.

It was a long time ago, now, and there were many gunfights to follow, but I remember as well as I remember anything the first time I saw Virgil Cole shoot. Time slowed down for him. Always steady, and never fast . . .

When it comes to writing, Robert B. Parker knows no boundaries. From the iconic Spenser detective series and the novels featuring Sunny Randall and Jesse Stone, to the groundbreaking historical novel Double Play, Parker's imagination has taken readers from Boston to Brooklyn and back again. In Appaloosa, fans are taken on another trip, to the untamed territories of the West during the 1800s.

When Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch arrive in Appaloosa, they find a small, dusty town suffering at the hands of renegade rancher Randall Bragg, a man who has so little regard for the law that he has taken supplies, horses, and women for his own and left the city marshal and one of his deputies for dead. Cole and Hitch, itinerant lawmen, are used to cleaning up after opportunistic thieves, but in Bragg they find an unusually wily adversary-one who raises the stakes by playing not with the rules, but with emotions.

This is Robert B. Parker at his storytelling best.

Back Story (Spenser)

Robert B. Parker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 67 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In this 30th entry in one of mystery fiction's longest-running and best-loved series, Spenser--the tough yet sensitive Boston private eye with no first name--takes on an unsolved murder nearly three decades old. The client, an actress, is a friend of Paul Giacomin, Spenser's surrogate son (who first appeared in 1981's Early Autumn). Her mother was slain by leftist radicals at a bank holdup in 1974, and now she wants to know who fired the shot. As Spenser digs into the past, he soon learns that powerful people on both sides of the law want the case left alone--badly enough to kill.

These death threats provide a fine excuse for Hawk, Spenser's extremely scary (yet sensitive) bad-guy pal, to tag along in nearly every scene as bodyguard. The interaction of the two friends is one of this series's familiar pleasures, as is the presence of Susan Silverman, Spenser's longtime love interest. Another pleasure is Parker's stripped-down prose, a marvel of craftsmanship as smooth as 18-year-old Scotch. (Plus we get the first meeting between Spenser and Jesse Stone, hero of another Parker series.) Alas, the whole enterprise feels a little tired. The plot never generates much sustained suspense, and the author's adoration for his central characters renders them at times almost cartoonesque. Still, Back Story is excellently prepared comfort food, even if it isn't five-star cuisine. --Nicholas H. Allison

Sudden Mischief (Spenser)

Robert B. Parker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 54 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Sudden Mischief, the 25th Spenser novel, finds Robert B. Parker's seemingly ageless sleuth once again engaging Boston's bad guys and sorting out life's moral dilemmas, all (or mostly) in the name of love. When Spenser's girlfriend, psychiatrist Susan Silverman, asks him to investigate charges of sexual harassment leveled against her ex-husband, Brad Sterling, the detective agrees, though the assignment "shows every sign of not working out well." As the sexual harassment allegations melt like April snow, Sterling drops out of sight, a dead body appears in his office, and Spenser discovers a murky slush of clues that suggest Sterling's work as a marketing genius for local charities has been a front for some truly despicable criminal activities. As always, the more-than-slightly-shady Hawk is on hand to help Spenser sort the good from the bad, but Spenser is left to his own devices when it comes to making sense of the emotional havoc the case creates in his relationship with Susan. And what devices they are: emotionally mature and physically dynamic, Spenser once again proves himself as detective, friend, lover, and human being as Sterling's reappearance forces Susan to examine her past and her conscience while searching for her own autonomy. As always, Spenser endures as an intelligent, ethical, and poetic private eye, even if his endless middle age seems a bit supernatural. Parker's nimble, Spartan prose suits a character who carries his years in wisdom rather than body fat. If the heart of any truly great detective series is a truly great detective, Sudden Mischief and the rest of Parker's Spenser novels surely fit the bill. --L.A. Smith

Cold Service (Spenser)

Robert B. Parker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 105 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Characters have lost their roots 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I have read all of the Spenser books up to this one, and always enjoyed them as a change from my normal reading. They are always witty, quick and I like the characters. But this book has begun the spin into the zone of the unreal. The plot is not realistic. The doors all open without hestation, the knowledge is gained without sweat, the friends are coming out of the woodwork to help, Hawk and Spenser are taking on a huge organization in Marshport but there is no drama from it. The characters of Hawk and Spenser have crossed the line - once they were the outcasts, the rebels on a cause, now they are the mainstream with police, mob and the FBI helping and looking the other way. It's too much.

The story starts after Hawk is gunned down and moves to his convalescence. The psychologist in Susan and Spenser is front and center on the emotional rehabilitation. A little more of Hawk is revealed and that sets up a conundrum: With this information, as small as it is, is it too much? Has Hawk become too human? Not sure that I like knowing more about him.

The verbal banter is still topnotch and the wisecracking enjoyable. The storyline, while a very large stretch, is still entertaining. I hope that Parker comes back to the roots of the characters and gets away from this type of plot in the next Spenser.

Editorial Review:

When his buddy Hawk is beaten within an inch of his life, Spenser infiltrates a ruthless mob in the name of friendship--and revenge.

Pastime (Spenser)

Robert B. Parker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

This is one of the Better Spensers 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I've read most of Robert B. Parker's books, and this is definitely one of the better ones. This novel is technically a sequel to an earlier novel called EARLY AUTUMN, but you don't have to read that book to enjoy this one.

The plot of this novel is nothing special, but PASTIME is unique because it reveals a lot of details about Spenser's early life. This novel also marks the first appearance of Pearl the Wonder Dog, who has appeared in many subsequent Spenser books. Parker obviously loves dogs, and the passages of this novel describing Pearl's behavior are very funny.

I'm not a huge fan of most of the Spenser books after 1990, but this is definitely one of the stronger ones. If you like Parker's writing style, you should find this book a lot of fun, and it's short enough to read in one sitting.

Editorial Review:

Certain that his mother's shady boyfriend is behind her disappearance, Paul Giacomin calls upon the skills of Spencer to help him find his missing mother. Reprint. AB. PW.

Stardust (Spenser)

Robert B. Parker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Well, at least he can write 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Two stars because Parker is able to write, zero for plot (what plot?) characters(Puh-leeze). I tripped over this in the library needing an easy read. What amazes me is that this was apparently a popular series in the 80's. So much for the 80's. Spenser and Susan are so superior to the rest of the human race we should all be ashamed. They are witty, they are sensitive, they are honest, they are loving, they are perfect. As a natural offshoot of this they are tiresome, they are snide, they are racist, they are class-driven in their outlook and tastes. They are, frankly, very creepy. Anyway I guess something happens in the novel, I was too sick to stay around.

StarBust 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I usually enjoy the Spenser books, but "Stardust" was really disappointing. I didn't like the Jill character at all, so it was impossible for me to care about her and/or what happened to her. Too bad Spenser didn't walk away from this case at the get-go.

Also, is anybody else sick of Susan's perfection? And the way she eats - or doesn't eat, I guess would be more correct - makes me cringe.

I'll go on to the next Spenser and hope it's better than this one, and also hope that Spenser and Susan don't go to any restaurants.

Editorial Review:

Spencer is assigned to protect a TV star in a mission that takes him to murder and beyond. 2 cassettes.

Playmates

Robert B. Parker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

How far will Spenser go to help somebody? 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

When Spenser is hired to investigate allegations of point shaving by members of the Taft university basketball team, he quickly realizes there is much more to this than meets the eye. With the help of several friends and contacts, he finds that point shaving is, in fact, occurring and tracks down the source to the best player on the team - Dwayne Woodcock. However, Dwayne refuses to acknowledge this, or the fact (as Spenser soon learns) that he cannot read. Spenser, being a sucker for hard-luck cases, despite the fact, as he says, that Dwayne is "arrogant, but he's surly," decides that he wants to help Dwayne and at the same time track down whoever is holding Dwayne's strings and clip them off.

As usual, this means Spenser ticks off a lot of people and has a couple attempts on his life, thwarted, as usual, with the assistance of Hawk.

I enjoyed this book - not only was it an interesting look into the lives of basketball players and the pressures that university professors may face to make sure they can remain on the team, but also the 80s in general. The description of the clothing and hair was so typical of what I remember that I laughed out loud at several points in the book just from remembering how ridiculous we all used to look.

Definitely don't miss this, especially if you're a fan of Robert Parker and/or Spenser.

Editorial Review:

Spenser, America's favorite iron-pumping, gourmet-cooking private eye, smells corruption in college town. Taft University's hottest basketball star is shaving points for quick cash, and if Spenser doesn't watch his own footwork, the guilty parties will shave a few years off his life. HC: Putnam.

Thin Air (Spenser)

Robert B. Parker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

How well do any of us know one another? 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

When Spenser agrees to help his friend Frank Belson (a cop) when Belson's wife - Lisa St. Claire - goes missing, and try to track her down - do him a favor, so to speak. Among the first things that Spenser discovers is that Lisa St. Claire is not her name. Apparently she has lived a rather checkered past - Spenser worries that telling Belson this will not be a favor at all. Finally following a trail to Proctor, well North of Boston, Spenser calls on Chollo (from L.A.) to come East and lend his assistance, since Proctor is mostly Latino and Spenser hopes Chollo's presence will help grease the wheels, so to speak. Things quickly go from bad to worse and before he knows it, Spenser goes from a simple job of tracking down a missing wife, to overthrowing a local government.

Definitely an edge-of-your seat book, this one alternated between Spenser's POV and Lisa's - the chapters where we hear Lisa's voice are all in italics and, unlike the main body of the book, stated in third person rather than first - which definitely fits in with the concept, as her abductor dehumanizes her by constantly filming her and playing back the films in her room. It was an interesting way to differentiate between the characters and I think it worked nicely.

This was a great chapter in the Spenser series - too bad I didn't get it reviewed in the proper order. It ended up falling in between the seats in my husband's car en route from the hospital one day and I just found it there a couple days back. So, here you go. Enjoy!

Editorial Review:

When Lisa St. Claire, the beautiful young bride of a Boston police detective, vanishes mysteriously, Spense joins the search for the missing woman, following a perilous trail that leads him to a sociopathic ex-lover and into a deadly confrontation with Lisa's past. Reprint. NYT. PW.