Sudden Mischief

Rating:
Summary: Spenser's a known quantity -- and therein lies the fun
Review: Spring brings in its train a new Baseball season and a new Spenser novel, so it's appropriate that the aborning baseball season is mentioned in Robert Parker's latest, "Sudden Mischief." Like Baseball, Spenser novels offer colorful and diverting variations within a very predictable form, and are utterly entrancing to those who understand their innate appeal. (Another parallel: The weakest recent entry in the series, "Thin Air," featured a designated hitter for Hawk.) Because the characters are so memorable and sharply-drawn, the plot of a given novel need be little more than an afterthought to appeal to true believers -- and this is certainly true of "Sudden Mischief." Those in search of a densely-plotted mystery should look elsewhere. For those -- like myself -- whose Spring ritual involves snatching up the latest Spenser on the day it's available, reading it in one eager pass, and lending it to a similarly addicted friend, "Sudden Mischief" will be smoothly satisfying. They may even find themselves unconsciously repeating Spenser's lietmotif from the novel: "This thing shows every sign of not working out well for me...."

Rating:
Summary: I like Susan, but . . .
Review: Susan asks Spenser to help out her ex-husband. During this course of this, we learn about her childhood, which she pries out of herself bit by angst-ridden bit. From the way she gets worked up, you would think her early life was like Frank McCourt's, but it wasn't. It was a yawn. The plot? I don't read these novels for the plot. I read them to spend time with three old friends who are way cool, live in the city I know best, say things I wish I'd thought of, get into situations I couldn't handle, drink better booze than I can afford, and wear white hats (as well as other stylish garments).

Rating:
Summary: ANOTHER WONDERFUL PIECE OF PARKER ESCAPISM
Review: Mr Parker continues to do what he does best, offer a source of "male escapism". Mr Parker write his novels not for literary brilliance but for pleasuring the male ego. "Sudden Mischief" continues the well proven theme of a tough but sensitive detective. Mr Parker's scene description ability makes it very easy to place one's self at the scene as though it is a site that is visited on a daily basis. He will never win the Pulitzer for a novel but Roberrt B. Parker's Sudden Mischief continues Spenser's antics, adventures, and escapades while maintaining a strong "grin factor". Highly recommended reading for a good time.

Rating:
Summary: No room in the end!
Review: I see that I am not the only person becoming more and more dissappointed with the Spenser books. Spenser has contradicted himself in this latest stab in the series. There was no climax to this book. The boy scout Spenser allows Susan's ex to just simply run off when he has brutually murdered two people, one being a woman with the excuse of "they will catch up to him soon". For Spenser, who has just about always portrayed that "someone has got to pay", dissappointing doesn't come close to describing this debacle. I had been put off with the book from the first two or three pages and it didn't get much better throughout. But the end, there is no room for such crap!

Rating:
Summary: Spenser is a character who has aged as gracefully.
Review: There are certain things that I look forward to each spring, and one of them is the next installment with Spenser. In Sudden Mischief, Parker has again woven a remarkable vision of an aging gumshoe. I am delighted with the fact that Spenser's vignettes are taken in real time. We visit with these characters a year after the events of Small Vices, which took place a year after the happenings of Chance, etc. Where I some chafe at the lack of action and shoot-em-up diversion with each successive book, I have enjoyed following a maturing hero and heroine who continue to learn about themselves and what it means to be in a committed relationship, given the parameters of their respective careers, pasts, families (or lack thereof) and friends. Parker is a proven master at creating dialogue that virtually sizzles and crackles on the page, and that alone is reason enough to devour each new installment. Whether it's lunch with the ever-yummy Rita Fiore, donuts with Hawk or a chance encounter with a blue-blooded attorney-turned-law-school professor, Spenser is a wizard at the snappy comeback and witty aside. I particularly admire Parker's confidence in allowing his character to be strong enough to not step in the middle of a fracas in order to accomplish even more in the process. Once again, as I came to the final page, I was saddened that there would be no more Spenser for another year. The anticipation already is beginning to build.

Rating:
Summary: Ready for Retirement???
Review: While Sudden Mischief is better than some other recent efforts, it looks like Mr. Parker and his characters have run out of steam. Not unreasonable since Spenser is a veteran of the Korean War. I have read and enjoyed the entire series of Spenser novels but have becoming increasingly disappointed with lack of energy the recent novels have demonstrated. I'm afraid that Sudden Mischief is the last Spenser novel I'll ever purchase. Guess it's time to find a new author with less focus on the food/beverages and more focus on the action.

Rating:
Summary: One of the better, if not best of the most recent Spensers
Review: Spenser is back, but this time it's not about him. Susan, although she isn't "on screen" a lot, dominates this book. It is Spenser's feelings for her that motivate him to help a man who he would much rather hit. Good banter with Hawk and Quirk. The point of it all though, is that we learn a great deal about Susan. If you're a Susan fan (I am) you'll love it, if not, you'll hate it. Not as Good as Small Vices (The best Spenser book ever, in my opinion) but a good read.

Rating:
Summary: Better than the recent average
Review: I'm not as pessimistic as "judge" above. Yes, Parker slipped badly in the early 90s - I was particularly annoyed by several short books with very wide margins. But this and the last entry ("Small Vices") were much improved. In both these books Spenser and Susan deal with substantive issues in their relationship: whether or not to adopt a child in the first, and Susan's silence about her past and her loyalty and committment to men not worthy of her in this one (Spenser, of course, both does and does not fit that category.) Where Parker is lacking is precisely those places that Judge identifies - Spenser's wonderful relationships with the supporting cast, and the excellent characterizations found there. I read these books as much for Hawk and Belson and Quirk, and the more of them the merrier. At least Rachel Wallace makes a cameo here. Another significant shortcoming is the waste of a truly worthy white-collar foe for Spenser, a visciously corrupt Brahmin lawyer/judge who meekly shows up at the end and writes a check.... Boo! You'd be hard pressed to beat the climaxes of both this book and Small Vices, though. I found them gripping and beliveable, and Spenser's restraint both times it quite impressive. Get it from the library, or wait for the paperback, however - I haven't bought Parker in hardcover since "A Catskill Eagle."

Rating:
Summary: Save your money, find a new author
Review: Spenser is back. And it's too bad. Better to remember him as he was. Not as bad as "Chance", but just about as bad as "Thin Air". Parker ran out of new ideas right around "Paper Doll" and though "Walking Shadow" fought bravely, Spenser is dead. Or should be. Does anybody care about Susan's childhood? Does anyone want to hear the line about Hitler liking dogs again? NO. Spesner fans want Spenser and Hawk in motion. They want the glory days of Spenser breaking Hawk out of jail. Susan's ex-husband shows up in this one, and she sends him to Spenser for help. Appearances by series favorites Quirk, Rachel Wallace, Lee Farrell and Tony Marcus don't do enough to assuage the irritation felt by the long'time fan. Don't even think about looking for Frank Belson. What a waste of paper.

Rating:
Summary: Better than the recent average
Review: I'm not as pessimistic as "judge" above. Yes, Parker slipped badly in the early 90s - I was particularly annoyed by several short books with very wide margins. But this and the last entry ("Small Vices") were much improved. In both these books Spenser and Susan deal with substantive issues in their relationship: whether or not to adopt a child in the first, and Susan's silence about her past and her loyalty and committment to men not worthy of her in this one (Spenser, of course, both does and does not fit that category.) Where Parker is lacking is precisely those places that Judge identifies - Spenser's wonderful relationships with the supporting cast, and the excellent characterizations found there. I read these books as much for Hawk and Belson and Quirk, and the more of them the merrier. At least Rachel Wallace makes a cameo here. Another significant shortcoming is the waste of a truly worthy white-collar foe for Spenser, a visciously corrupt Brahmin lawyer/judge who meekly shows up at the end and writes a check.... Boo! You'd be hard pressed to beat the climaxes of both this book and Small Vices, though. I found them gripping and beliveable, and Spenser's restraint both times it quite impressive. Get it from the library, or wait for the paperback, however - I haven't bought Parker in hardcover since "A Catskill Eagle."