Rating: 
Summary: A great book and I'm not even finished reading it yet!
Review: This is my first Spenser novel and my first Robert B. Parker novel. Parker's writing style is sparse, quick and fun. It's an easy read and so far, thoroughly enjoyable. Last night A&E aired Thin Air, a made for TV Spencer movie. I was going from watching spencer to reading spencer. Robert B. Parker now ranks up there with my other favorite authors, Trevanian, Conor Creggan and Donald E. Westlake. I'm glad that I discovered Parker so late as there is so many old books I can back and read!
Rating:
Summary: Parker at his best
Review: This is one of my two favorite Spenser books (The other is A Savage Place.) Early Autumn was the first Parker book I ever read and also the first suspense/mystery. My parents and brothers all read Spenser but I shunned them, preferring scifi. I was desparate for a read one summer night and my mother pressed this on me, saying "You'll like this if you just give it a chance" I was 15 and I read it that night, reporting back to her bedroom and saying, "Next Book! More! More!" This book is about Spenser's surrogate fathering of a lost 15 year old boy named Paul who is a pawn in his own life. It is sort of a coming of age novel, but really not because it is told from Spenser's perspective like all the Spenser books. This is one of my favorite books of all time. I highly recommend it to any Spenser fan or to any one who remembers 15 and that lost in your own life feeling.
Rating:
Summary: One of his best
Review: This is probably my favorite Spencer, and favorite Parker. It goes the farthest in explaining what Spencer's moral code is and what it means to live life by a code. If Parker was a little more patience with his writing and willing to go deeper, this could almost be a work of moral philosophy.
Rating:
Summary: One of his best
Review: This is probably my favorite Spencer, and favorite Parker. It goes the farthest in explaining what Spencer's moral code is and what it means to live life by a code. If Parker was a little more patience with his writing and willing to go deeper, this could almost be a work of moral philosophy.
Rating:
Summary: Surrogate Father Spenser for Hire
Review: This is the seventh novel in Robert B. Parker's Spenser series and by now it is quite clear that whenever you start one of these stories the question is what is the new twist this time around. You can never call one of these novels an unconventional Spenser novel because they all tend to be unique in some key way. in "Early Autumn" our hero is hired by Patti Giacomin to find her son Paul, kidnapped by his father. Spenser finds Paul almost immediately and it quickly becomes clear that neither parent really cares about the boy, who is just a pawn in the wake of an ugly divorce. Paul needs someone to teach him, well, just about everything (except how to shrug; the kid does that really well in response to every question asked by Spenser). "Early Autumn," a metaphor for a 15-year old kid who has to grow up really fast, finds Spenser talking more than any of the previous books, although at the end his detective skills will again come into play. A large chunk of the book is Spenser and Paul talking about a whole bunch of different topics. In doing so, Spenser explains his view of the world, a task usually left to Susan Silverman. There is also an unforgettable twist as Hawk lends a hand at a key moment. As always, Parker's novels are quick reads, perfect for commuting or nice hot baths.
Rating:
Summary: my all-time favorite spencer book
Review: This was my very first spencer book I read. I was a teenager at the time and felt somewhat connected to the kid. I have re-read this book at least 2-3 times and never get tired of it. I have read virtually every other book the Parker has written. I strongly recommend it.
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