Rating: 
Summary: One of the worst in the Spenser series
Review: Echoing what the previous reviewer wrote, I, too, pick up the latest Spenser novel on the day it debuts. However, let me also warn you that this novel is SLOW. This is a shame because Parker built the series on action, wit, and interesting plots. By the end of "Widow's Walk," I was ready to walk off a cliff from boredom. Not only couldn't I keep all of the characters straight, I didn't care about them and actually was glad when they were killed.You can read plot summaries in other reviews, so for my part I'll let you in on another weakness of the novel: too much dialogue. Maybe it's just me, but Mr. Parker's description is getting extremely thin, and his obsession with detailing the clothing of characters is tiresome. If you're looking for a good Spenser read, try one of the following: "Looking for Rachel Wallace," "A Catskill Eagle," or "Small Vices." These three are excellent. I will still arrive at the bookstore early next March, but I can only hope that his next installment will be better.
Rating: 
Summary: Parker does it again!!
Review: Spenser is back in this gripping tale of a woman accused of murdering her husband. The usual characters return, a curious blend of cops and robbers blended together with Bob Parker's lucid writing style, and laugh-out-loud wit. A must for an Spenser fan, but if you're just starting out with Spenser, start earlier...
Rating: 
Summary: "Walk," don't run, to get this new Spenser mystery.
Review: The wealthy husband of a extremely stupid woman dies mysteriously and she's the only obvious suspect -- but is she smart enough to have done it? Spenser is hired to find out the truth and uncovers a scheme involving blackmail, fraud, and deceit. Spenser has gotten older over the years, a fairly uncommon thing for a series star. (Most of them, it seems, age about as fast as a giant redwood.) It hasn't really slowed him down any; he's still pretty fast with his fists for a guy who must be close to seventy. His near-senior status is reflected, though, is his calm, even dull relationship with his long-time flame Susan. There used to be real spark between those two, but that fire burned out long ago. Better, as always, is Spenser's relationship with his trusty outlaw partner Hawk. Hawk was the original psychotic sidekick with a heart of gold, and he remains one of the best of the lot. He doesn't have much to do this time out, other than follow Spenser around and make sure nobody kills him, but it's still nice to see what he's up to. "Widow's Walk" doesn't match up to the best books of the series,... but it provides a pleasant diversion. Reviewed by David Montgomery...
Rating:
Summary: Spenser Returns!!!
Review: Robert B. Parker brings back his lovable hero Spenser for the 29th time in this latest book, a great private eye caper concerning a lascivious wife accused of murdering her husband. Spenser's gang of cops and robbers make their usual appearances, adding funny, sharp dialog to a lightning fast plot. Fans of Spenser will appreciate the return of lucid descriptions, and laugh out loud humor, while newer fans will discover another reason to check out the past storyline. All in all, a great read!
Rating:
Summary: The Boston Red Sox of Private Cops
Review: Decades ago with his GODWULF MANUSCRIPT, Robert B. Parker largely reinvented the mystery sub-genre of the tough-guy private eye novel. He showed us all how to update this traditional American prototypical character for today's sensibilities, and Parker's Spenser has earned a place among the most popular of our age's PIs. As does his beloved Red Sox, Parker sends a fresh Spenser mystery onto the field of play every year. Each spring, Spenser seems like a championship creation. Every novel is consistently thrilling, witty, unpredictable, and, in the end, a bit heartbreaking. This series is obviously written by a Red Sox fan. One knows when they begin that in the end all will not be idyllic. WIDOW'S WALK fits this Spenser mold perfectly. Parker is amazingly consistent. In this novel, Spenser is hired by Rita Fiore (an series semi-regular)to help build her defense for her client Mary Smith. Mary's husband, Nathan, of Mayflower lineage, is murdered. Mary, his much younger and terribly unfaithful, widow is everyone's, including Rita's, favorite suspect. Spenser springs into action. Pearl the Wonder Dog is on hand. Susan is here, and, of course, so is Hawk. WIDOW'S WALK has all we have grown to expect from Parker's series. The witty dialog snaps rapidly throughout. Parker's social observations are astute. The true origin of the crime rests with a real estate scam. As one reads WIDOW'S WALK, one has to hope that this year the Red Sox will actually find a way to win the World Series in October. The last time Parker's team won it, the Series was played in September. WIDOW'S WALK is an excellent novel.
Rating:
Summary: Old Story
Review: Parker is such a good writer, it's a shame he is so hung up on the winey, self-centered Susan Silverman character. The story was a little too twisted this time. Not really enough focus on the plot. Not his best!
Rating:
Summary: Reliable Fare
Review: This is the typical Spenser novel - same great characters: Spenser, Susan and Hawk + good story line and humor. Parker does smart tough guy dialogue as well as anyone. Spenser's self-deprecating humor always rings true. So why only three stars? There is nothing to distinguish this book from any of the other Spenser novels. The plot was fairly good, but so are all of the books in this series. It is -as are all the Spenser novels - goos light reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Beantown banker goes down...
Review: ... but will the widow walk? Spenser gets hired by the widow's defense attorney to help clear her of murder. She's about as young and dumb as Anna Nicole, and obviously lies when Spenser questions her. Meanwhile, another bank employee, a broker, and a hitman go down in a hail of bullets, and Spenser is being watched by a couple of fat guys in bad suits driving big black cars. Spenser enlists the help of faithful sidekicks Hawk and Vinnie, to protect himself and shadow the numerous suspects in this twisted tale of immorality. This one is packed with solid action, and Spenser's wry humor.
Rating: 
Summary: Save your time and money
Review: Ho hum. There was a time when Spenser novels were fun and a little bit interesting. That was when Parker cared to find an original plot and to inject just a bit of suspense or make us care about his hero. Not so any more. Each Spenser book becomes a bit more of a self-parody. Parker likes to have Spenser trade black jokes with Hawk (safe because Hawk is black); then he trades gay jokes with a gay guy; women jokes with women; etc. Parker can't think of any new jokes, and this is tired...very tired. To be interesting, Spenser needs to be less cute and more dangerous. The plot doesn't hang together, nobody we care about is in any real danger, there's nothing new here--even Boston is kind of "sketched in" like the characters. Want to read somebody good? Read Block or Connelly. Parker's problem is all summed up neatly in the new picture on the back of the book. For years, Parker used a picture of him trying to look tough with shades, a doberman, a baseball jacket and hat. We knew he wasn't tough, but at least he was trying. Now they have a new jacket picture--he loooks like your old fat uncle...the one who used to play tricks on you at family reunions. This new book is like that: old, tired, unfunny, a bit obnoxious. Save your money, save your time.
Rating:
Summary: A bit tired, but still worthwhile
Review: I agree with those that feel that the Spenser series has seen its best days. Maybe Parker realizes that also, and is using the dog Pearl's aging as a plot device hinting that time is catching up with all the characters. Yeah, Spenser must be about 70...Hawk too, and Susan not far behind. Quirk and Belsen must be ready to retire from the police department, and is that a transistor radio Vinnie Morris is always listening to, or a hearing aid? Still this isn't a bad book and spending two or three hours with it is more enjoyable than most of what you'll find on TV. Maybe some of Spenser's readers are tiring also. I saw a couple of reviews written by those who seemed to have lost out on who killed Nathan, and others who didn't see the significance of Susan's client who commits suicide compared to the possibility of Nathan's suicide, or her feeling of failure because of her client's suicide compared to Spenser's failure to protect a character who came to him for protection. All of the above shows that Parker hasn't lost it yet, but I fear he's tiring. This Spenser book does have a surplus of characters, even after a larger than usual number of them get killed. So what am I saying? I'm saying that this is a must for Spenser addicts, but only because it is Spenser. However, it is rather pedestrian and it may be that your strongest emotion in reading the book is regret that Pearl is indeed getting pretty old.
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