Rating: 
Summary: Spenser and Baseball!
Review: Against the backdrop of baseball Spenser finds himself undercover and investigating the Sox's top pitcher. This is third in the Spenser series and features Spenser without much of the normal cast of characters that surround him in later books--nonetheless--it is classic Spenser with all the usual wit. Susan and Spenser do seem to connect on a higher level late in the book. He is able to confide in her. In the aftermath of the case Susan pegs Spenser's moral makeup right on. My favorite instance of this is later in the book when Susan says, "Two moral imperatives in your system are never to allow innocents to be victimized and never kill people except involuntarily." The plot in this is as exciting as ever. If you like this, I'd recommend trying one of Troy Soos baseball mystery series as well.
Rating:
Summary: Spenser and Baseball!
Review: Against the backdrop of baseball Spenser finds himself undercover and investigating the Sox's top pitcher. This is third in the Spenser series and features Spenser without much of the normal cast of characters that surround him in later books--nonetheless--it is classic Spenser with all the usual wit. Susan and Spenser do seem to connect on a higher level late in the book. He is able to confide in her. In the aftermath of the case Susan pegs Spenser's moral makeup right on. My favorite instance of this is later in the book when Susan says, "Two moral imperatives in your system are never to allow innocents to be victimized and never kill people except involuntarily." The plot in this is as exciting as ever. If you like this, I'd recommend trying one of Troy Soos baseball mystery series as well.
Rating:
Summary: Starting to get hooked on Spenser
Review: I am starting to like these books more and more. It is interesting to see what topic he will use in the plot. The first book, the setting was a college campus and a missing manuscript. The second one was a missing 14 year old and this one was about baseball. Spenser is hilarious. A very likeable character. The only thing I don't like about the series so far is the relationships with the women in his life. Too casual. Maybe it was a sign of the times (the 70's) but I feel like he uses the secretary and the school guidance counselor for a little more than sex and a good meal. Even so, Im going to read more. He intrigues me.
Rating:
Summary: Starting to get hooked on Spenser
Review: I am starting to like these books more and more. It is interesting to see what topic he will use in the plot. The first book, the setting was a college campus and a missing manuscript. The second one was a missing 14 year old and this one was about baseball. Spenser is hilarious. A very likeable character. The only thing I don't like about the series so far is the relationships with the women in his life. Too casual. Maybe it was a sign of the times (the 70's) but I feel like he uses the secretary and the school guidance counselor for a little more than sex and a good meal. Even so, Im going to read more. He intrigues me.
Rating: 
Summary: The best of the Spenser series
Review: It's been a while since I've read this, but it's always been my favorite. Spenser wisecracks, gets tough, and does his usual business. This is probably the set-up to the Parker formula, with Spenser coming up with a plot to rope all the villains together. Except in this novel, Spenser actually feels remorse. It's something that always bothered me about the Spenser series, he can kill without caring, but in this novel (as in CATSKILL EAGLE) Spenser feels the death in the pit of his stomach. A great read. If you haven't read Parker yet, this is the one!
Rating:
Summary: The best of the Spenser series
Review: It's been a while since I've read this, but it's always been my favorite. Spenser wisecracks, gets tough, and does his usual business. This is probably the set-up to the Parker formula, with Spenser coming up with a plot to rope all the villains together. Except in this novel, Spenser actually feels remorse. It's something that always bothered me about the Spenser series, he can kill without caring, but in this novel (as in CATSKILL EAGLE) Spenser feels the death in the pit of his stomach. A great read. If you haven't read Parker yet, this is the one!
Rating:
Summary: HIgh Stakes Indeed
Review: Mortal Stakes, the third in the Spenser series, is wonderful on many levels. It is more than just about baseball and blackmail and a lone wolf PI taking on underworld thugs. It is also about relationships: between couples, between business partners, between a sports idol and his fans and also his teammates. Parker handles all of these relationships well, with the plot twisting down to a somewhat surprising end: the hero is not who you think! Excellent read - I highly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Best of the Early Spenser!
Review: Of the three early Spenser novels I've read recently, I found I liked this one over God Save The Child and The Godwulf Manuscript. I think mainly because Spenser is realizing just how right Susan is for him and how much she understands him and what he does. The other aspect I enjoyed was that he felt so sick about luring in and killing those two men. It just makes him so human. I like that in my detectives. Sensitivity combined with the ability to kill..A very exciting read..I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: Great character development for Spenser
Review: Spenser's third book is his first foray into the "someone's fixing the game" story. He's put on the case by Healey (from "God Save") and is looking into the Red Sox and trying to figure out if someone's fixing the game. He drinks Miller (argh) and while he talks about "Susan Silverman" he's also seeing "Brenda Loring" (always the full name). Susan's given him a birthday and xmas present so it's been a little while since the last book. Spenser goes out to Illinois and New York on some tracking, but the rest of the story centers around Boston. He confronts a loan shark and his watchdog, asks Lt. Quirk for help. He tries to help out the trapped instead of doing what he was hired to do, which is fun, to watch his moral code develop and strengthen. Very strangely, though, Spenser sets up two people to be killed. Remember, Spenser is the guy who a few years later later won't shoot a truly bad guy who is a mortal threat to him - just because the guy is unarmed and on the floor. For him to be deliberately setting up the death of two guys is a little on the edge of his "morality scale". He's like a colt growing into a horse - he's at that slightly awkward stage, but you can see the huge potential just around the corner. My thoughts - I like the "inside the action" stories, where you learn about something in detail. It's neat hearing about how baseball works at Fenway, and the locations are all right around Boston. However, it's bizarre that book 2 was so solidly "Susan Silverman" while this one shows Brenda and only mentions Susan in bits until the end. Spenser still drinks heavily as he almost "doubts what he's doing" - he doesn't have the self confidence of later books. He's unsure about confronting the loan shark. He drinks Miller!! He sets up the bad guy so he can kill him. Hmmmmmmm.
Rating:
Summary: Great character development for Spenser
Review: Spenser's third book is his first foray into the "someone's fixing the game" story. He's put on the case by Healey (from "God Save") and is looking into the Red Sox and trying to figure out if someone's fixing the game. He drinks Miller (argh) and while he talks about "Susan Silverman" he's also seeing "Brenda Loring" (always the full name). Susan's given him a birthday and xmas present so it's been a little while since the last book. Spenser goes out to Illinois and New York on some tracking, but the rest of the story centers around Boston. He confronts a loan shark and his watchdog, asks Lt. Quirk for help. He tries to help out the trapped instead of doing what he was hired to do, which is fun, to watch his moral code develop and strengthen. Very strangely, though, Spenser sets up two people to be killed. Remember, Spenser is the guy who a few years later later won't shoot a truly bad guy who is a mortal threat to him - just because the guy is unarmed and on the floor. For him to be deliberately setting up the death of two guys is a little on the edge of his "morality scale". He's like a colt growing into a horse - he's at that slightly awkward stage, but you can see the huge potential just around the corner. My thoughts - I like the "inside the action" stories, where you learn about something in detail. It's neat hearing about how baseball works at Fenway, and the locations are all right around Boston. However, it's bizarre that book 2 was so solidly "Susan Silverman" while this one shows Brenda and only mentions Susan in bits until the end. Spenser still drinks heavily as he almost "doubts what he's doing" - he doesn't have the self confidence of later books. He's unsure about confronting the loan shark. He drinks Miller!! He sets up the bad guy so he can kill him. Hmmmmmmm.
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