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The celebrated series continues as a troubled teenager accused of a
horrific crime draws Spenser into one of the most desperate cases of his
career.
Lily Ellsworth-erect, firm, white-haired, and stylish-is
the grand dame of Dowling, Massachusetts, and possesses an iron will and a
bottomless purse. When she hires Spenser to investigate her grandson Jared
Clark's alleged involvement in a school shooting, Spenser is led into an
inquiry that grows more harrowing at every turn.
Though seven people were
killed in cold blood, and despite Jared's being named as a co-conspirator
by the other shooter, Mrs. Ellsworth is convinced of her grandson's
innocence. Jared's parents are resigned to his fate, and the boy himself
doesn't seem to care whether he goes to prison for a crime he might not
have committed.
Book
review
Any new installment in
Parker's long-running series starring tough, wisecracking Boston PI Spenser is a
pleasure, and this time out high-maintenance girlfriend Susan Silverman is out of town, giving readers
unfettered Spenser face time.
The wealthy Lily Ellsworth hires Spenser to prove the innocence of her
grandson, Jared Clark, accused of a Columbine High School-style shooting
that has left five students and two teachers dead. Jared has confessed to
the crime, and Spenser faces major opposition from local law enforcement
officials, school authorities, dysfunctional parents, opposing lawyers and
deadly gang-bangers.
As always, Spenser solves the case in a surprising manner, shoots some
bad guys and has several attractive women offer him sex, all of which he
handles in his proficient, wisenheimer way. Susan's German shorthaired
pointer Pearl gets a lot of attentive babysitting, but longtime sidekick
Hawk is nowhere in evidence. Those who have stuck with Spenser as Parker
invented (and set loose) other case-crackers will be rewarded once again
with another solid installment in this fine, enduring
series.
Author
introduction
Robert B. Parker has long been
acknowledged as the dean of American crime fiction. His novel featuring
the wise-cracking, street-smart Boston private-eye Spenser have earned him
a devoted following and reams of critical acclaim, typified by R.W.B.
Lewis' comment, "We are witnessing one of the great series in the history
of the American detective story" (The New York Times Book Review). Robert
Parkers most recent bestsellers include his SPENSER novel, BACK STORY and
DEATH IN PARADISE, his third JESSE STONE novel. His first western, GUNMANS
RHAPSODY was published in 2001. His previous Spenser novel, HUGGER MUGGER,
was a national bestseller in the Spring of 2000. He also had a national
bestseller with PERISH TWICE, his second Sunny Randall novel.
Parker's other works include the classic POODLE SPRINGS, a novel
completed from an unfinished manuscript begun by the late Raymond
Chandler, and PERCHANCE TO DREAM, the sequel to Raymond Chandler's THE BIG
SLEEP. Ironically, Parker wrote about Chandler in a chapter of his
doctoral thesis about the evolution of the American Hero, beginning with
the colonial period and ending with the twentieth century mystery writers.
As fate would have it, Parker has now become one of the best of them:
"Robert B. Parker has taken his place besides Dashiell Hammett, Raymond
Chandler, and Ross MacDonald" (The Boston Globe).
Born and raised in Massachusetts, Parker attended Colby College in
Maine, served with the Army in Korea, and then completed a Ph.D. in
English at Boston University. He married his wife Joan in 1956; they
raised two sons, David and Daniel. Together the Parkers founded the Pearl
Productions, a Boston- Based independent film company named after their
short-haired pointer, Pearl, who has also been featured in Parker's last
few novels. He and Joan now live in the Boston area.
Parker began writing his Spenser novels in 1971 while teaching at
Boston's Northeastern University. Little did he suspect then that his
witty, literate prose and psychological insights would make him
keeper-of-the-flame of America's rich tradition of detective fiction.
Parker's fictional Spenser inspired the ABC-TV series Spenser: For Hire.
More recently, his Spenser novels, SMALL VICES and THIN AIR were made into
television films for the A&E network. |
