Rating: 
Summary: Excellent! Parker in top form!
Review: Those who read last year's Spenser novel, Chance, were bored to death with the seemingly endless jargon. But Parker has reedemed himself threefold with "Small Vices." An excellent, comic read, Parker exposes Spenser at his sardonic best, all the while keeping the plot moving at a break-neck pace, the dialogue vernacular, and the settings vivid, but brief. Good work Mr. Parker. Aside from his Spenser novel, Parker fans may enjoy his non-genre police saga, All Our Yesterdays. That was a true gem of a novel, too! But read Small Vices and buy it in paperback
Rating:
Summary: Parker on top form
Review: Throughout the Spenser series, Robert B. Parker has consistently shown himself to be an excellent writer. Often, however, the quality of the story isn't up to the same standards. In Small Vices, however, it is.This is, I dare say, the best Spenser novel to date. Chance, Parker's previous contribution to the series, was a disappointment. But like a weak jab setting up the knockout uppercut, Small Vices is top-notch. There's mystery here, highly compelling characters (including perhaps the most interesting Spenser adversary to date), social commentary, excellent dialogue, several strong social themes, and, most of all, page-turning suspense. And, unlike most suspense works, the finish wasn't a disappointment. Parker's work is best read as part of the series. However, this still rates four stars as a stand-alone work. You lose out on a lot of the history behind some of the characters, but it's still basically whole. Maybe Parker, like Spenser, finally got off the decaf. If so, I hope he stays off. Sometimes, a small vice can be a good thing. Dan
Rating:
Summary: Parker on top form
Review: Throughout the Spenser series, Robert B. Parker has consistently shown himself to be an excellent writer. Often, however, the quality of the story isn't up to the same standards. In Small Vices, however, it is. This is, I dare say, the best Spenser novel to date. Chance, Parker's previous contribution to the series, was a disappointment. But like a weak jab setting up the knockout uppercut, Small Vices is top-notch. There's mystery here, highly compelling characters (including perhaps the most interesting Spenser adversary to date), social commentary, excellent dialogue, several strong social themes, and, most of all, page-turning suspense. And, unlike most suspense works, the finish wasn't a disappointment. Parker's work is best read as part of the series. However, this still rates four stars as a stand-alone work. You lose out on a lot of the history behind some of the characters, but it's still basically whole. Maybe Parker, like Spenser, finally got off the decaf. If so, I hope he stays off. Sometimes, a small vice can be a good thing. Dan
Rating:
Summary: Good moving story. Had romance and mystery.
Review: Very Good! I really enjoyed listen to this book on audio. Really kept my attention. I really enjoyed the interaction between Hawk and Spencer. I am a big fan of the TV show Spencer for hire, so this is right up my alley.
Rating: 
Summary: Spenser is old and Parker is tired
Review: What a sleeper. Being a Spenser fan is a bit like being a fan of The Who - no matter how worn the product, I rush out and consume it. But tried and true fans will surely be disappointed, as you likely were with Chance and Thin Air. The brilliance of Catskill Eagle is long dead, though it showed briefly in Walking Shadow. There are many of us who think it's time for Susan to die. That might breath some life back into the series. And it's time for co-eds to stop hitting on Spenser every time he walks into a bar. Some authors freeze their characters in time. Parker did not, and should recognize that a 60 year-old with several gunshot wounds, scar tissue on his eyes and a oft-broken nose is not the kind of guy that the buxom girl in the college bar wants to sleep with. This book was way too close to Valediction. Parker is running out of story lines. This book is for serious fans only, and even then I'm not so sure.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent and Original
Review: When "Small Vices" begins you think that Spenser's biggest problem is going to be that Susan Silverman wants to adopt a baby and our hero does not. Spenser is hired by former assistant DA Rita Fiore to look into the conviction of career criminal Ellis Alves for killing Melissa Henderson, a Pemberton College coed. Alves' former attorney thinks he might have been framed and Fiore's law firm is footing the bill to find out the truth. Of course our hero meets with mondo resistance: Melissa's parents are outraged, the investigating cop is irate, the witnesses are not being forthright, and some thugs show up to warn Spenser to drop the case. If that last one was not enough to tell Spenser that something is up, the case does not make sense at face value. But as he gets closer and closer to the truth, a new person shows up to warn Spenser off. The "Grey Man" is a hired assassin, and people who know them both warn our hero that this might be the one man who can take him. After a first hit fails, Spenser continues to investigate while playing a game of cat and mouse with the Grey Man. That is when things get catastrophic. For the first time, Spenser has to depend on Susan, Hawk and the inner circle for the support and strength necessary to get through some very hard times. From time to time in Robert B. Parker's novels, Spenser takes a fall: clients have been killed, souls have not been saved, and the less said about Susan leaving him the better. But "Small Vices" provides a new level of personal trauma for our hero. This twist revitalizes the standard elements in Parker's series wherein Spenser searches for the truth and then has to determine what to do with that knowledge to make things right. In Spenser's world there are always hard choices to be made and "Small Vices" contains some of the hardest ones he has ever had to make. After all, you have to remember Susan wants to adopt a baby. "Small Vices" is one of the very best novels in the series, but please remember that you really should read these books in order as the dynamics of the key relationships and the addition of new members to the cast of merry men is an important part of what is going on. As always, these books are perfect for the commuter life style. With the rides to and from work, with lunch thrown in for good measure, you can read these in a day or two.
Rating:
Summary: Spenser finally comes up against someone who might be better
Review: When "Small Vices" begins you think that Spenser's biggest problem is going to be that Susan Silverman wants to adopt a baby and our hero does not. Spenser is hired by former assistant DA Rita Fiore to look into the conviction of career criminal Ellis Alves for killing Melissa Henderson, a Pemberton College coed. Alves' former attorney thinks he might have been framed and Fiore's law firm is footing the bill to find out the truth. Of course our hero meets with mondo resistance: Melissa's parents are outraged, the investigating cop is irate, the witnesses are not being forthright, and some thugs show up to warn Spenser to drop the case. If that last one was not enough to tell Spenser that something is up, the case does not make sense at face value. But as he gets closer and closer to the truth, a new person shows up to warn Spenser off. The "Grey Man" is a hired assassin, and people who know them both warn our hero that this might be the one man who can take him. After a first hit fails, Spenser continues to investigate while playing a game of cat and mouse with the Grey Man. That is when things get catastrophic. For the first time, Spenser has to depend on Susan, Hawk and the inner circle for the support and strength necessary to get through some very hard times. From time to time in Robert B. Parker's novels, Spenser takes a fall: clients have been killed, souls have not been saved, and the less said about Susan leaving him the better. But "Small Vices" provides a new level of personal trauma for our hero. This twist revitalizes the standard elements in Parker's series wherein Spenser searches for the truth and then has to determine what to do with that knowledge to make things right. In Spenser's world there are always hard choices to be made and "Small Vices" contains some of the hardest ones he has ever had to make. After all, you have to remember Susan wants to adopt a baby. "Small Vices" is one of the very best novels in the series, but please remember that you really should read these books in order as the dynamics of the key relationships and the addition of new members to the cast of merry men is an important part of what is going on. As always, these books are perfect for the commuter life style. With the rides to and from work, with lunch thrown in for good measure, you can read these in a day or two.
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