Rating: 
Summary: One more hit in the Spenser series
Review: Robert B Parker has a knack for bringing the reader right into the story he is telling. I have always been a fan of the TV series "Spenser for Hire" and listening to Joe Mantegna read Mr. Parker's work is one of the best combinations of reader and writer I have listened to in a long time.Spenser has been hired to find out who murdered Mary Lou Buckman's husband in the wealthy desert town of Potshot. It is believed that a gang of misfits called The Dell is responsible but the more Spenser looks into it, the less he believes this to be true. Also, there are ties between The Dell, the murder and several people of the town's citizens. Is the sheriff really a good guy, what's the real estate agent up to, and what is a movie producer doing in this small town? A group of the Potshot's leaders comes to Spenser and asks him to rid them of The Dell. In order to this, Spenser hires several of his own thugs. Each has his own special personality; - a Mexican, a gay, a Native American and of course, Spenser's favorite partner, Hawk, along with several others who have mob connections. Mr. Mantegna has the ability to give each character his own voice so the listener has no trouble knowing who is speaking. Spenser's long time squeeze, Suzanne is more than a little worried as he begins this case. Mr. Parker's tells of the desert heat and makes it feel real. He paints a picture in words of the mountains and the people and the listener can visualize them in his/her mind from his well written descriptions. He has created each character in such a way that makes you think you might know a person like that. The final chapter brings everything to a close but not in the way a reader might expect. Potshot is a story that is hard to put down until the reader finishes the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Spencer becomes a bad guy.
Review: I listened to this via CD. Joe Mantegna does a tremendous job. The story is a bit of a departure. Spencer acts more like a bad guy than the detective of his previous novels. I enjoyed the story. However, It got bogged down when dealing with the Dell. The interplay of Spencer's gang is reminiscent of the dialog between Samuel Jackson and John Travolta in Pulp Fiction. I am looking forward to the next novel.
| 
