Rating: Summary: Good, not great Review: I always enjoy spending time with Spenser and Susan, so I enjoyed this adventure. However, it's not one of the series' best. I figured out the mystery long before the end, perhaps even before Spenser, and knowing who dunnit so early on took some of the fun out of it. And I missed Hawk. But most of all, I had a hard time with the Clive family. The sisters had such sad, empty lives, and the story took them nowhere towards a happy ending.
Rating: Summary: Disappointed! Review: I was disappointed with this Spenser novel. I found Spenser to be more arrogant than usual. The plot took a couple unneccesary twists. "Whodunit" was the obvious character.
Rating: Summary: He's been better. Review: Well it wasn't awful but Robert Parker has surely lost the need to write tight, well-crafted, believable novels. My thought on reading this was that he wanted to write off the expense of a trip to Georgia and so dashed off a book in that locale one lazy weekend. For readers new to the Parker mysteries, go back to the early Spenser books; they are far superior in terms of story, pace, and relationships. The newer books are witten in black and white; there are no grays or shadows in the characters or story.
Rating: Summary: Ends with a whimper - not a bang Review: As I have indicated in other reviews of this author, I am new to Mr. Parker and started with his first two novels about Sunny Randall. This was my first experience with Spencer. I found it less than satisfying. Perhaps it is because I have read a bit too much of him lately that I didn't appreciate the constant wise-cracking on the way to trying to solve the crime. Perhaps it was because everything seems to come so easily to Spencer, no matter how out-gunned or out manned. You never believe he is in any danger and in point of fact, he is not. Hired by a wealthy Georgian to find out who is shooting his race horses (without any real explanation as to how that would come about given the geography involved) Spencer finds the Yankee conception of a wealthy Southern family...totally dysfunctional, sexually aberrant and heavily into alcohol and adultery. After Daddy gets shot and killed, Spencer is taken off the case by the Managing Daughter, only to be hired back on by the deceased's current paramour who has an interesting little 22 year old secret of her own. Spencer returns to Georgia and proceeds to do his thing in running down the killer. The ending is totally unsatisfying - abrupt - little explanation and questions left hanging. Seemed like Parker needed to get the manuscript in the mail quickly. I think I shall give this writer a rest and I hope it will do us both good.
Rating: Summary: Parker wilts in Dixie Heat Review: Parker's latest installment in the Spenser series finds our hero south of the Mason-Dixon. Unfortunately for the reader, it is Parker and not Spenser who seems to wilt in the Georgia heat. For the most part, Hugger Mugger is filled with all of the ingredients that readers enjoy in a Spenser novel, i.e. action, interesting characters, and humor. As with other books by Parker, readers will find this easy to get into the story and a fast read. The ending however, seems poorly crafted and comes somewhat abruptly (with Stephen King-like suddeness!). One wonders whether Parker was tiring of writing this story or was perhaps distracted by his new Sunny Randall series. If you are new to Spenser, I would suggest Double Deuce or Pale Kings and Princes.
Rating: Summary: Standard Spenser novel Review: Someone is shooting horses at Three Fillies Stables in Lamarr, Georgia and Spenser is hired to find out who and why. But no clues are forthcoming and he stumbles around until the man who hired him, Walter Clive is found murdered. And then Spenser is taken off the case and sent back to Boston. But, never one to let a client down, even a dead one, Spenser goes back to unravel the who and the why of it with the help of gay bouncer Tedy Sapp. This is not one of the better Spenser novels, but even a mediocre Spenser is better than most of today's mystery fiction. The dialogue, as always, is razor sharp and Parker's supporting characters are as good as ever. Like most Spenser novels this is just plain fun to read. If you like Spenser you'll want to read this one. If you haven't read Spenser before I'd recommend starting with one of the earlier ones like "The Judas Goat" to get a real feel for the character.
Rating: Summary: Role Reversals! Review: Spenser is hired to find out who is shooting at horses at the thoroughbred stables of Walter Clive, The Three Fillies (named for his three daughters). He's not excited about the assignment, but he needs the money. Traveling to rural Georgia, he gets to meet Hugger Mugger (a 2 year old who is potentially the next Secretariat) and the screwiest bunch of people in the South since Faulkner stopped writing about strange Southern families. Spenser makes no progress, someone is killed, and Spenser is fired. In the next scene he is back in Boston taking a case to get rid of a nanny's stalker for the mother of the child the nanny cares for. The real problem is much different than what it seems and Spenser helps all concerned. This story may seem like a mere interlude but it is important as a foreshadowing for understanding the primary story line . . . so pay attention! Then Spenser has a new client who hires him to solve the human murder. Now the story gets into normal Spenser mode with lots of asking questions, breaking heads, and getting help from friends. The unraveling of the story reveals many interesting plot complications that show a lot about the character of the people involved. You'll love this part of the story! Since Robert Parker has written so many Spenser novels, and most people have read quite a lot of them, this book requires a more complicated rating system than most to be helpful to the experienced Spenser reader. While even a bad Spenser novel (if such a thing were to ever occur) would still get a high overall rating, the books require comparisons to each other so you will be prepared for the experience ahead. First, the best part of this book is the plot. Parker obviously went to a lot of trouble to create a plot that meant that people were the opposite of what they seemed like on the surface. And the plot works. But let me warn you, the book starts off very slowly. The first 111 pages are really just the introduction to the novel. You may find it a little boring in that section. I know I did. Think of it as character development, because that it what it is for (for the characters in the book, and for patience as an aspect of your character). Second, Parker has written some truly delicious lines and just dropped them in here and there to remind you what a fabulous writer he can be. These are usually descriptions, and seem to capture everything in a moment. The ones in this book are about as good as his quips get. Third, Parker likes irony. This book is more full of irony than perhaps any other in the series. If you hate irony, you won't like this book very much. He even has the characters making ironical hints about irony, just in case you miss the point. I love irony, and therefore I thought this was one of his best books overall. Fourth, there is no Hawk. For many, that will mean the book can only be so good. Tedy Sapp, the gay ex-cop turned bar bouncer, plays that role. I thought this worked well, but for those who live for Hawk it isn't quite the same. Fifth, Susan gets to do much more than usual. She's out doing a little detecting with Spenser in some of my favorite haunts in San Francisco. The Susan role is well above average for her. Sixth, this book also seems to be a satire on the Dick Francis books. Spenser makes fun of all the things that Dick Francis would be making frightening or important. I thought it was wickedly funny . . . and I am a devoted Dick Francis fan. Seventh, Spenser as Superman is built up more than usual. Parker obviously wants you to think about what it would be like to live without fear. I think he got the point across well. Eighth, Parker has done an unusually good job of using comments by characters to foreshadow future events, like the fools do in Shakespeare. This added a wonderful depth for developing the plot around the concept that character flaws are destiny. This was a terrific stylistic addition. Ninth, on the downside, Parker continues his overuse of food references as context. In this one, you read more about Coca-Cola and doughnuts than you want to. Please, Robert Parker, we get it. Just do each one once or twice per book! On the other hand, he used more restraint and variety in describing feeding carrots to horses and that worked very well. Should you miss this book if you are a Spenser fan? Are you kidding? Not a chance! After you have finished reading the book, think about places in your life where other people may not be as they seem. How can you find out what they are really like? Then, if you dare, think about something you are afraid to do that you should do, and ask yourself what you would do if you were Spenser. Then imagine you are Spenser and give it a shot. You may make some interesting progress as a result. You could become irresistible.
Rating: Summary: Loved It! Loved It! Loved It! Review: Spenser has got to be my absolute favorite fictional character. I have never been disappointed in any of Mr. Parker's books about Spenser and I was not disappointed in this one. I truly enjoyed every minute of the book. Just wish it could last for a much longer time than it does. It just does not take long to read these books.
Missed Hawk, but enjoyed meeting Tedy Sapp. Hope he will return.
Rating: Summary: Not bad... Review: Having read almost all in the Spenser series, this latest installment is, of course, a must read. Very interesting plot that falls a little short due to 1) Lack of Hawk, 2) No gourmet wizardry, 3) Too many references to Coca-Cola, 4) Minimal fisticuffs. It also seemed to me that the Susan/Spenser relationship was sweetened a bit much by the pair literally crying over the phone about how much they missed one another (Spenser's away on the case). C'mon guys, you've been separated plenty of times before - it's not the end of the world!
Rating: Summary: Who's Chandler's Heir? Review: Not many graduate students see their dissertations lead to a steady slot on the best seller list. But that's what happened to Robert Parker, whose latest Parker novel "Hugger Mugger" continues almost thirty years of writing novels widely compared to Raymond Chandler's. Chandler is of course the gold standard in American crime fiction, which is why "Chandleresque" is the ultimate accolade, though it seems to be used as often these days as the film reviewer's "Has Oscar written all over it." Still, Robert Parker does have a pretty strong claim to being Chandler's "heir." Before Parker started writing his best-selling novels, Chandler was the subject of his dissertation. Later, the Chandler estate asked Parker to complete an unfinished Chandler manuscript--"Poodle Springs"--and he's even written a sequel to Chandler's "The Big Sleep." Many readers will know Parker's books from their TV adaptation in Robert Urich's popular "Spenser: For Hire." Parker is famed for his lean prose and sharp dialogue, and "Hugger Mugger" won't disappoint you there at all, even though Spenser's sidekick Hawk isn't present this time out. Parker's been hired in "Hugger Mugger" by Walter Clive, a rich and powerful Georgian stable owner, to find out why his horses are being shot. Armed with his cynicism, and aided by his psychoanalyst girlfriend Susan's advice, Boston-based Parker wades into the murky depths of local corruption and the bizarre family dynamics of the tanned, gleaming teethed Clive family, which is full of "drunks, liars, and fornicators." The contrast of tough but tender Parker with all the southern gentility and corruption is a good one, as is his steady devotion to Susan with the murky relationships he finds among the Clives. "Hugger Mugger's" humor is wry, the story compelling, the writing icepick sharp. If at times the repartee can seem overly stylized--given that almost everyone is equally quick-witted--the book moves so swiftly thanks to the terse dialogue and short chapters that it's hard to object. Parker may have the better track record in terms of sales and renown, but in the Chandler sweepstakes, my money's still on the Amos Walker mysteries written by Loren D. Estleman. ...
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