I always enjoy the Parker books with Spencer and his other characters, love the Jesse Stone movies with Tom Selleck too. Kind of like comfort food for the head. Alas, no more Parker books but I haven't read them all yet !

This was a hard book to read at times.
First Susan wanting a baby way past her middle age is an odd choice. Her work seems the most important thing to her and I can’t see her dedication to a baby. She’s much too narcissistic. Second Spenser and his dogged pursuit of the truth almost ended in his death. That was a brutal scene. His 9 lives are almost up. Hawk is a true friend and that part in Santa Barbara is why this book is getting 3 ⭐️s. I was at zero before that

The crusading knight in the form of the private detective Spenser takes a most unusual case from the hottest lady lawyer in town, Rita Fiore. One-and-a-half years earlier, a black man with a long record named Ellis Alves was convicted of the murder of a white female college student named Melissa Henderson. Her father is the owner of eight banks and the case was a simple one where Rita simply overpowered the young public defender opposing her.
However, over time the case against Alves has begun to take on an odor to Rita, so her firm is hiring Spenser to investigate the case to affirm/refute his guilt. While it is hard for anyone to work up any sympathy for Alves, the point is to do what they can to make sure that justice is done.
As he generally does, Spenser starts asking around, annoying people, but not really learning anything. Hawk is involved from the beginning, providing opportunity for amusing dialog. When four toughs come to Spenser’s office in an attempt to dissuade him from the case, it is fortunate that Hawk happened to be there. Even though the opposition had four to their two, the opposing thugs understood that it would not be a fair fight.
The situation grows dire when a man called the “Gray Man” informs Spenser and Susan that he has been hired to make sure the case ends. He is a man that is more than Spenser’s equal in a fight, when asked, Gino Fish tells Spenser that he would not send even Vinnie Morris to take him on because he thought that Vinnie could not handle him alone.
The Gray Man also makes a threat against Susan and it is here where Spenser’s friends come forward. Vinnie, Hawk, Belson, Quirk and others all take turns guarding Susan while Spenser continues his hunt for the solution.
This story, like so many involving an action hero, is made by the strength and power of the villain. For the first time, Spenser’s opponent is better than him in taking down his adversary, forcing Spenser to use guile. Yet, the victory is not easy, it is literally one won by mere inches.

I haven't read a Robert B. Parker book for a while. I do enjoy them, though they are a bit formulaic. This one involves Spenser looking into the death of a coed after the perpetrator has been sent to jail. He is now supposed to find out if the man in jail has really committed the crime. This gives a new perspective on solving a case. I had forgotten how much of a violent tough guy Spenser is. I now won't have to read another one for a while.

Former assistant DA Rita Fiore—the one with the great legs and “first rate hips”—has moved on to private practice, and she wants Spenser to look into an old murder case she once prosecuted—and won. Rita has begin to suspect that the defendant Ellis Alves was framed, and wants Spenser to learn if there is any real basis for her suspicions.

Spenser sets down to work, ruffles feathers, turns over rocks, and before long has made somebody extremely mad, mad enough to want him dead. Even worse, this person—whoever they may be—has money to hire the best, and soon Spenser is being stalked by The Gray Man, the greatest challenge of his career.

This is one of the best of the later Spensers. There are some nice cameos from some of my favorite Spenser characters—Patricia Utley, Paul Giacomin, Gino Fish—and Spenser/Susan is less irritating than usual, for, instead of engaging in the usual ritual of fantastic sex and mutual affirmation, they have something substantial to decide: whether or not to have a child.

But that wouldn’t be enough by itself to draw me in. It is The Gray Man, a cold-blooded hitman both similar to Spenser yet unlike him, a man thoroughly his equal, that brings a special excitement to the tale and a new vulnerability to our beloved hero. That’s what drew me in.

Having read this over a decade ago, it wouldn't normally make the re-read list. However, the dad enjoyed the last Parker book I gave him, so I thought I'd try another, and like any helicopter parent, I had to read it first.

This is the one where Spenser's hot red-headed friend Rita--who is also an incredibly good lawyer--asks him to find out the truth for a case she and another new lawyer are feeling a bit guilty about, though they both did their jobs. A low-life black man was arrested for the murder of a white female college student, but nothing about the case seems right.

It's notable for its casual insight into racial and economic issues--only scratching the surface, but still notable for the genre. Also notable for going waaaaay off the rails after someone hires the Grey Man to kill Spenser, which leads to an arc of vengeance plot  resulting in a number of chapters that literally have nothing to do with the murder. Also notable for Susan's temporary journey into insanity when she decides she wants to adopt a child (I love how these two are in their late 30s/early 40s forever).

Still, it's not Parker's worst. I'll pass it on to dad, but I'm guessing it will not be as enjoyable as the last book. Two and a half stars.

Another good and intriguing book, of course, but also another round of me wanting to scream and throw things with what bothers me about these books. Susan is still annoying, but I've accepted this as never going to change even as I want to smack her across the head. There is one big thing about this book that drove me bonkers. This book is more than 50 chapters long and it takes most of it for what's in the blurb about Spenser being near-fatally injured to actually happen. If it's in the blurb, I expect it to occur fairly early in the book. Especially when it's not a long book to begin with. It builds suspense, yes. But there's a difference between building suspense and making your reader want to throw things, including the book. This one nearly got to that point for me. As I said, I enjoyed the book despite the problems. I want to continue with the series. I love Spenser and his interactions with his world and the characters within it too much to give it up.

This was my first Spenser book, and also one of my first audio books.

I've always loved mysteries and private detectives, so I figured I'd at least like the story, but I was dubious about the narrator: Burt Reynolds? How good of a job could he do?

The answer was: an excellent job. I've listened to four different narrators for this series, two of whom I actively disliked as narrators and refused to listen to (thank goodness I only borrowed them!) Burt Reynolds was actually perfect for this book, because he had the cadence and feel of the writing down perfect.

And then there is the story itself, which is truly one of my favorites.

Spenser is hired to see if a career criminal was railroaded for the murder of a beautiful young co-ed. No one thinks Ellis Alves belongs back on the streets, but things about the case just don't add up, and that means someone else has gotten away with murder.

What makes this book so very good is just how complex and complicated Spenser is, how hard he works, and how loyal he is and how that inspires loyalty in others.

This story also have one of the most realistic rehab stints I'd ever seen up to that point, and Parker does an incredible job showing just how hard Spenser had to work, as well as just how long it took him to get better.

Although some Spenser books are little more than private eye gumshoe stories, this one is complicated and messy and all about how life is also both of those things.

Also, Spenser is just fun.

Since my name was anathema at Pemberton, I had to employ guile. I called the alumni office and said my name was Anathema and I was with the IRS.

“We have an income tax refund for Ms. Glenda Baker, which has been returned by the postal service. Would you have a more recent address for her?”

“What did you say your name was?”

“Anathema,” I said. “Pervis Anathema, refund enactment agent.”

If you've never read a Spenser book, this is an excellent place to start, even though it's in the middle of the series. If you've read the books or watched the TV show, I encourage you to enjoy the audio version (even if the production quality is kind of weak).

I won't go so far as to say that this was the all time best Spenser novel, but it may just be the quintessential Spenser novel- the best for readers who are already Spenser fans, chock full of just about every reoccurring character who's ever appeared in the series. A little like Jimmy Stewart in 'It's a Wonderful Life,' ol Spense finds out how many friends really care about him and how much when a high priced hit man puts him in a comma.

They're talking about making one of the books into a movie or reviving a TV series based on these books. My wife thinks Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson could play Spenser. It took me a while but I'm warming up to the idea. He's the right size and funny enough. Thing is, there will never be another Hawk besides Avery Brooks, who played him in the 80's TV show.

Rita comes to Spenser to investigate a murder conviction that she prosecuted but now has doubts about whether he was framed. As he starts looking into it he is threatened to drop the case but continues on. Lots of fast paced action with many twists and turns and a surprise ending. Another fun Spenser read.

Spenser is hired by a rookie public defender who feels that her client was framed for murder. Spenser starts to check it out and if it walks like a duck, it must be a duck. Soon Spenser gets warnings to back off. The guy in jail has a long rap sheet so who cares if he’s in jail. Spenser agrees that the guy is bad but does not hold with corruption. There is a lot of money involved so the perps think they can get away with it. An assassin is hired to nail Spenser.
Lots of action. It was touch and go for awhile. This is the best Spenser novel I’ve read.

This book in the series is a little different. Spenser nearly dies from gunshot wounds. It takes nearly a year hiding away across country with Susan and Hawk for him to work himself back to normal. Then he goes back, finds the guy who shot him, makes him confess to the cops and name the guy who hired him to do it. It's a subtly spelled out exposé on corrupt rich people who think they can get by with anything.