Parker, Robert B. Books - Page 4

Sea Change

Robert B. Parker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 65 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

More like Sea Sickness 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

All of the women in this novel are never seen in any way other than sexual. Supposedly professional female police officers are coming on to Jesse Stone over the phone before they even meet him and in conjunction with the story's theme, it makes you wonder if Parker and his editor are a little dense not to see the contradiction between Stone's repugnance at the treatment of the "victim women" in the story and his willing treatment of the "normal women." Jesse Stone needs to end his relationship with his ex-wife if for no other reason than compassion for the reader. They have one of the most vapid, uninteresting relationships around and then they dissect it endlessly. I understand why my husband said he skipped every chapter with the ex-wife in it. It was also tiring of hearing that Stone hadn't had a drink in almost a year--he has the same conversation with every character. First, why would you tell an almost stranger that you're in AA, especially people you are cultivating a professional relationship with? It's not the AA part that is disturbing, but the character's total lack of boundaries and knowing what is too much information to share with a stranger. The state cop says that marriage is tough for cops because they bottle up their emotions and get bitter when their wives are gone and they have no one to talk to. It made me wonder if the guy was paying any attention because Stone can't seem to shut up about how he feels--he blabs about his ex, his drinking, and seeing a shrink. Also Stone isn't a great cop. My first thought when the murder victim and her sisters were introduced was sexual abuse based on their behavior. A good cop would've realized it very early on and no cop says "stat rape" they just say "statutory" because there is no other statutory crime, so everyone knows it is rape. I like the Tom Selleck tv movies of the books, but the books themselves no so great.

Editorial Review:

A battered body washes ashore in Paradise, Massachusetts, during the town's biggest event - Race Week. Jesse's investigation takes him to Florida, and back, while his private life takes him back to his ex-wife.

Sudden Mischief (Spenser)

Robert B. Parker

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

The Accidental Therapist. Spenser's Sigmund Sofa Shines Susan's Spirit. Self-Actualization Be Done. 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

SUDDEN MISCHIEF, # 25 in the Spenser series, provided another prime work up on the Man/Woman relationship scene, dealing with ex-hubby scars, Susan's turtle-snap moods, and a new-and-improved conversational skill from Dr. Sigmund Spenser. I'm roaring onward toward the end of the series with continued amazement at how many miasmas of human angst Parker has been able to muck into, for Spenser to clarify and deodorize; and how many relationship scenes and character cards he can lay bare on any table, with Spades called true.

Opening what I might term "The Pandora in The Relationship," a scene between Spenser and Susan slipped suddenly from the most comfy of cozy, with humor set and staged on-a-roll ... to sour milk, paused peace, and stomach knots. I felt that hit along with Spenser, possibly more than any other emotional toll taken in the series (except when Susan left in VALEDICTION, # 11 in the series). The way Spenser worked with and through the situation was a perfect expression of ... not of psychological actualization ... but of the wisdom of a dynamically-operating human maturity. This scene and Spenser's "self-talk" in understanding the dense drama underlying Susan's behavior took the reader ozone holes beyond the trite advice to "roll with the punches."

I particularly enjoyed the few glove punches of tribute to X-Files here, in the slight, playful change in the style of humor between Hawk and Spenser, and in the Lone Gunman computer geek. SUDDEN MISCHIEF was another example of the cultural evolutionary intrigue contained in this triple-decade-running series. In this one and in a few previous recent offerings readers were also given hints of the beginning of The-Waitress-Hurry-Rush-Syndrome, which appeared to have begun in the nineties.

In SUDDEN MISCHIEF Spenser stepped up to the tallest measure of being Susan's hero, savior, Knight-in-Shining Armor, and her Shrink. Acting as her shrink, Spenser's jangled the jargon from the popular surge of psycho-self-help books which carried "come-communicate" concepts from the 70's and 80's into the 90's. Spenser's part of every dialogue with every character seemed to have suddenly altered in MISCHIEF in a manner which felt somewhat but not totally, tongue-in-cheek. The alteration came through the famous style of the Shrink's SILENCE, the true listening mode ... of no response ... to stretches of out-loud contemplations from whomever happened to be the partner in repartee (or payer of shrink-wrap fees). I enjoyed the fact that the dialogues often took place over meals or in interesting restaurants, so that when Spenser worked the no response deal, he replaced the saved mouth motion with warm, moist bites of fresh, spongy bread, and savored the yeasty flavor. Usually his comment in that venue went something like, "I took a bite of .... It was good."

Spenser did the shrink silence with as much perfection as he has done all else. Even so, one of the reasons for success of his perfection was his ability to see (and note) his and Susan's flaws here. And, Susan's self-actualization scene in chapter 48 was truly incredible in Parker's perfection of process of her coming to that catharsis, with Spenser providing support in an awesomely effective way of stand-aside-but-be-ready.

As noted above, it appeared to me that the humor had changed slightly in this one, with appetizer overtures in recent previous offerings as well. Some of the conversational fun-poking definitely seemed to have taken on a warmly entertaining edge of the X-Files, Fox Mulder type.

The combo of these subtle changes continued to herald the "Signs of the Times," reinforcing my sense of one of the major values in this series being its feathered function as a cultural-evolution-landmark for the 70's, 80's, 90's, and 00's.

Sometimes series authors have espoused a wish that they could get out of the limitations of a genre and write something "significant." Parker has repeatedly and unfailingly honored his series genre, while packing his products with the ultimate in literary significance. Possibly the greatest gift in this accomplishment is that readers can choose to see this significance (and be awed by it). Or, they can merely let go of cares and worries, and be entertained by pure escape fiction.

I wonder if RBP was born on the precise point of an Annular Solar Eclipse, to have continually generated and successfully manifested so much primal, pivotal creativity. Or maybe ... like today ... Robert B. Parker was born during a Blue Moon peaking full in the company of Jupiter and Vesta (the asteroid). All I know about that is that he was born in 1947 (or 48?), a Baby Boomer like many of us.

Another man, born in 1928, wasn't a Baby Boomer, nor an author, yet he reminds me of Parker, in the sense of the above described type of continued creative generation and manifestation. See the Amazon Short, I Worked: A True Story

Immensely thankful for fascinating feats such as these,
Linda G. Shelnutt

Editorial Review:

Spenser's back. And Susan's ex is quaking in his boots...

Susan Silverman's ex doesn't call himself "Silverman" anymore--he's changed his name to "Sterling." And that's not the only thing that's phony about him. A do-gooding charity fundraiser, he's been accused of sexual harassment by no less than four different women. And not long after Spenser starts investigating, Sterling is wanted for a bigger charge: murder...

"Sparkling."--Detroit Free Press

"A highly satisfactory addition to a well-rounded series."-- Houston Chronicle

"Smooth as silk."-- Orlando Sentinel

"A corker."-- Buffalo News

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.

Shrink Rap (Sunny Randall)

Robert B. Parker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 53 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Vintage Parker--The Third Sunny Randall Book 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Robert B. Parker's Sunny Randall makes her third appearance. The first two are, in order of publication, Family Honor and Perish Twice. In this novel, private investigator Randall is hired as the bodyguard of Melanie Joan Hall, a famous romance novelist who has a series of appearances and book signings. The problem is that her ex-husband, Dr. John Melvin, a psychiatrist, seems to be stalking her. Sure enough, he shows up at her signings. When he makes a scene at one by pulling his blood-covered hands along a store window, we know he's a bit unbalanced. So does Sunny.

Sunny decides to do more than just protect Melanie Joan, and she goes undercover as Dr. Melvin's patient. At the same time, she hires another shrink so that she can discuss her investigation of Melvin. However, in both sessions, she finds, to her chagrin, that she has a variety of emotional issues regarding her own ex-husband, her former police captain father (retired), and her mother. Worse yet, as she investigates Melvin further, she discovers that he might be guilty of a great deal more than stalking.

"Shrink Rap" is one of Parker's better detective novels and bears his hallmarks. (In fact, snippets of dialog seems identical to dialog in the Spenser novels.) The suspense builds slowly at first but picks up significantly about half way through the book, so anyone planning to get a good night's sleep should make sure he or she does not start the second half right before bedtime. Among the Sunny Randall novels, this one ranks up there with Spare Change as the best.

Editorial Review:

Sunny Randall is hired to protect a bestselling novelist from her ex-husband. He's not only a stalker...he's a shrink. And when Sunny becomes his patient, she discovers as much about herself as she does about the criminal mind...

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.

Perish Twice (Sunny Randall)

Robert B. Parker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 65 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

what happened? 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I've never wrote a review but i wanted to share some comments. I read the first book in the series and i liked it but Perish Twice left me less than impressed. Am I the only one who wants to know what happened to Millie from the first book? There should of been at least some mention of her in the second book, since she was still living with her at the end of the last one. And why does this investigation end pretty much the same as the last one? I guess I'll read one more but if it doesn't get better it will probably be the last one.

Minor Parker 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is the second book in the "Sunny Randall" series and is far inferior to the first. The plot of PERISH TWICE is pretty negligible and at least half of the book is devoted to the personal life of Sunny's friend and sister, neither of whom are particularly sympathetic.

Sunny's sister, in particular, is a thoroughly annoying caricature of a character. She is unlikable in a two-dimensional sense, lacking any sort of texture or depth. All of the scenes involving this character are almost painful to read. I wasn't entertained by these scenes in the least.

This book is mildly entertaining because Parker knows how to write good dialogue. I was also curious to see who committed the crime. But in the end, you can find identical dialogue and similar plotlines in other Parker novels that are far superior to this one. My advice is to skip this particular story unless you are a Parker completist. Instead, read the first Sunny Randall novel FAMILY HONOR, the first couple of Jesse Stone books, and the first ten or so Spenser books.

Editorial Review:

Spenser creator Robert B. Parker returns with his newest heroine, Boston P.I. Sunny Randall, coming to the aid of three very different women in three very dangerous situations. One is for business. One is for a friend. One is for family. And all could be fatal...

Melancholy Baby (Sunny Randall Novels)

Robert B. Parker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 40 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Quick, Enjoyable Read 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Boston college student Sarah Markham is convinced that she was adopted and hires PI Sunny Randall to find out the truth. Sarah's parents insist that she isn't adopted but they say they can't find her birth certificate and they both refuse to take a DNA test. The Markham's are so vague and uncooperative when Sunny questions them she is sure they are lying and sets out to find the truth about Sarah's birth. Sunny is also finding out some truths about herself - her ex-husband is getting married and she sees a psychiatrist (Susan Silverman of Robert Parker's Spenser series) to deal with her conflicted feelings about her, her ex, and her parents.

This is the first non-Spenser Robert Parker book I've read and I was a bit apprehensive thinking Sunny would just be Spenser in a skirt. I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, Sunny has some of the same characteristic traits as Spenser, including being a dog owner and having a sidekick she can call on if she's in trouble (gay Spike is Sunny's Hawk). But Sunny is a more complex character than Spenser and her visits to Susan Silverman, interspersed with her search for the truth about Sarah's parents, add a dimension to this book that's missing from the Spenser series. While it's interesting and refreshing to see Susan Silverman from the viewpoint of someone other than Spenser, Parker's a little too in love with his own character and his repetitive descriptions of Susan's manicured nails wear thin very quickly. Parker's writing is mostly dialogue driven and doesn't vary much beyond "I said", "he said", and "she said". Still, Parker has a keen sense of humor and his new character, Detective second-grade Eugene Corsetti, is a perfect example of Parker at his best.

This was a quick, enjoyable book to read.

Editorial Review:

When Sunny Randall helps a young woman locate her birth parents, she uncovers the dark truth about her own past.

Widow's Walk (Spenser)

Robert B. Parker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 83 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Sometimes you have to wonder how Robert B. Parker keeps his mojo working. . . . There is a trick to keeping the faith with an old hero. In an age of shifty heroes with shaky values, he has created a hero who can still stand up for himself-and us." (The New York Times Book Review)

When fifty-one-year-old Nathan Smith, a once-confirmed bachelor, is found in his bed with a hole in his head made by a .38-caliber slug, it's hard not to imagine Nathan's young bride as the one with her finger on the trigger. Even her lawyer thinks she's guilty. But given that Mary Smith is entitled to the best defense she can afford-and thanks to Nathan's millions, she can afford plenty-Spenser hires on to investigate Mary's bona fides. Mary's alibi is a bit on the flimsy side: She claims she was watching television in the other room when the murder occurred. But the couple was seen fighting at a high-profile cocktail party earlier that evening, and the prosecution has a witness who says Mary once tried to hire him to kill Nathan. What's more, she's too pretty, too made-up, too blonde, and sleeps around-just the kind of person a jury loves to hate.

Spenser's up against a wall; leads go nowhere, no one knows a thing. Then a young woman, recently fired from her position at Smith's bank, turns up dead. Mary's vacant past suddenly starts looking meaner and darker-and Spenser's suddenly got to watch his back.

With lean, crackling dialogue, crisp action, and razor-sharp characters, Widow's Walk is another triumph.

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.

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.