Double Deuce

Rating:
Summary: Hawk Takes the Lead
Review: This Spenser episode features a despairingly growing problem of gang violence in the big city ghettoes. The book opens with the shooting murder of a 14-year-old girl and her baby daughter, the victims of a drive-by attack. From this incident the local black community have said enough's enough and asks Hawk for help and, in turn, Hawk asks Spenser to join him.

Their mission is to drive the local gang from the project they have been terrorising. This project is known to the locals as Double Deuce. To achieve their goal, Hawk and Spenser devise one of their brilliant plans which is rather reminiscent of poking an ant nest with a stick to see what happens.

I thought this was a case of a great opportunity that just wasn't fulfilled to it's potential. We got to know Hawk a lot better in this book due to the much larger role he plays in the job, and this was a terrific treat. Unfortunately, a good proportion of the book degenerates into a posturing standoff between Hawk and the gang leader as they tried to prove who was the tougher man.

That being said, any Spenser book is an enjoyable read thanks to the snappy dialogue delivered with a wry sense of humour. The banter between Spenser and Hawk is always one of the highlights of a Spenser story. Once again, I enjoyed the comfort of disappearing into Spenser's world, even if I was a little let down by a few aspects.

Rating:
Summary: Great focus on Hawk
Review: This was the first Spenser novel I ever purchased. Since I've always been a fan of Hawk's from the old "Spenser: For Hire" TV show, I was rather pleased to see that he'd received most of the focus despite the whole Spenser series being told first-person by Spenser. Being from the greater Boston area, I also liked being taken on a virtual tour of the more questionable areas of the city, especially since cities like New York or LA tend to get more focus in detective fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Great focus on Hawk
Review: This was the first Spenser novel I ever purchased. Since I've always been a fan of Hawk's from the old "Spenser: For Hire" TV show, I was rather pleased to see that he'd received most of the focus despite the whole Spenser series being told first-person by Spenser. Being from the greater Boston area, I also liked being taken on a virtual tour of the more questionable areas of the city, especially since cities like New York or LA tend to get more focus in detective fiction.