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Spenser #36
Rough Weather
Rough Weather (Spenser Mystery)
A high society wedding ends unhappily ever after in this mystery starring Boston PI Spenser—“the timeless hero of American detective fiction” (The New York Times Book Review).
Hired as a bodyguard at an exclusive wedding, Spenser witnesses an unexpected crime: the kidnapping of the young bride, which opens the door for murder, family secrets, and the reappearance of an old nemesis.
A high society wedding ends unhappily ever after in this mystery starring Boston PI Spenser—“the timeless hero of American detective fiction” (The New York Times Book Review).
Hired as a bodyguard at an exclusive wedding, Spenser witnesses an unexpected crime: the kidnapping of the young bride, which opens the door for murder, family secrets, and the reappearance of an old nemesis.
294 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
605 people are currently reading
1625 people want to read
About the author
Robert B. Parker
482 books2,270 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database named Robert B. Parker.
Robert Brown Parker was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works were the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character in the mid-1980s; a series of TV movies was also produced based on the character. His works incorporate encyclopedic knowledge of the Boston metropolitan area. The Spenser novels have been cited as reviving and changing the detective genre by critics and bestselling authors including Robert Crais, Harlan Coben, and Dennis Lehane.
Parker also wrote nine novels featuring the fictional character Jesse Stone, a Los Angeles police officer who moves to a small New England town; six novels with the fictional character Sunny Randall, a female private investigator; and four Westerns starring the duo Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. The first was Appaloosa, made into a film starring Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen.
Robert Brown Parker was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works were the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character in the mid-1980s; a series of TV movies was also produced based on the character. His works incorporate encyclopedic knowledge of the Boston metropolitan area. The Spenser novels have been cited as reviving and changing the detective genre by critics and bestselling authors including Robert Crais, Harlan Coben, and Dennis Lehane.
Parker also wrote nine novels featuring the fictional character Jesse Stone, a Los Angeles police officer who moves to a small New England town; six novels with the fictional character Sunny Randall, a female private investigator; and four Westerns starring the duo Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. The first was Appaloosa, made into a film starring Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 573 reviews
October 14, 2019
This is how I summed up the novel ten years ago, soon after it was first published:
The best Spenser novel in years, featuring Spenser's most dangerous menace, The Gray Man. This novel is somewhat unusual in that it is is a Why-Done-It (we know from the beginning who done it), and Susan is less irritating than usual. All in all, nicely done.My view of it today is less favorable. Ten years ago, I was continually waiting, with hope, for a another first-class Spenser (the good ones in those last Parker years were few and far between), and I was seduced by a first-class opening and the presence of the Gray Man into thinking a superior adventure had arrived.
The opening (which made me think of Hammett's superb "Gutting of Cuffingnal") is certainly gripping: a wedding on a private island--during a terrific storm--that turns into a bloodbath and a kidnapping, all overseen by the professional killer known as "The Gray Man,' the coldest and most efficient of Spenser's alter egos. Spenser, who was hired to be there, is mortified that he couldn't do anything to stop it. He becomes his own client, and vows to find the kidnapped bride, but what he soon learns makes him wonder: was this really a kidnapping at all?
So far, so good, But much of the rest of the book seems alternately static and meandering, and occasionally--although this sounds contradictory--it manages to be both. Much of it consists of interviews in rooms, many of them without any dramatic tension. And the ending--as in many later Spenser--is unsurprising and perfunctory.
Rough Weather has its pleasures. Hawk is here, and Tony Marcus, and many of Spenser's law enforcement pals: Healy and Quirk, plus Einstein (FBI), and Iverson (CIA). But, even for a die-hard Spenser fan, those familiar pleasures aren't pleasing enough.
June 8, 2021
In this 36th addition to the 'Spenser' series, the private detective deals with abduction and murder. The book can be read as a standalone, though familiarity with the characters is a bonus.
*****
As the story opens, beautiful socialite Heidi Bradshaw glides into Spenser's Boston office to engage his services.
Heidi tells the private detective that her daughter Adelaide is getting married on her private island, Tashtego, in a few days. With come hither glances, the sexy diva goes on to explain that she's separated from her husband and needs a 'substitute man' for the weekend celebration - presumably to watch out for trouble.
Heidi offers Spenser a large fee to attend the affair, even though the island has a professional security service. Spenser agrees to go, and arranges to bring his longtime girlfriend -psychologist Susan Silverman - to the festivities. Susan packs enough clothes to fill Bloomingdale's and off they go. 👗🕶
On the day of the wedding, Spenser and Susan are shocked to see Spenser's longtime nemesis, Rugar (The Gray Man) stroll into the venue.
They hope Rugar won't make any trouble, but no such luck. During the ceremony, Rugar's cohorts arrive in a helicopter, and - before long - shots are fired, people are dead, and newlywed Adelaide is kidnapped.
Spenser is shocked, because this kind of flamboyant abduction isn't Rugar's style. The Gray Man is a pro, and his crimes are usually less showy. So what's up? Is the kidnapping a cover for something else? The picture gets even murkier when there isn't an immediate ransom demand for the bride.
Spenser, who's upset about the crime occurring on his watch, is determined to find out what's going on - and to rescue Adelaide. Spencer starts investigating, with backup from his tough-as-nails friend Hawk.
The two men learn that Heidi has always been a gold-digging vamp; that the socialite's various husbands need looking into; that Adelaide is a troubled girl; that a lot of money is at stake; and more.
After Spenser starts making inquiries, a bunch of thugs try to kill him and Rugar phones to warn him off. This is followed by the brutal murder of another person of interest. Nothing will stop Spenser, though, until he gets answers, and hopefully the girl.
As usual, Spenser and Hawk exchange lively humorous repartee - which is always a highlight of these books.
The two bruisers also get into scrapes with the bad guys, and (of course) come out on top.
In the course of the story, Spenser, Susan and Hawk hang out and play with Blanche (the bulldog).
They also have lively conversations; exchange opinions about the crimes; drink some bubbly; dine out; etc. They go to an Italian eatery where Hawk enjoys his chop; Spenser has his usual pasta Bolognese; and Susan nibbles a salad. (I'd be surprised if Susan eats more than 600 calories a day.) I always enjoy these scenes of the characters' normal, everyday activities.
Susan and Spenser's love affair, and the accompanying banter and intimacy, is going strong. 🧡 I could do with a bit less of this, but it's a boon for romance lovers.
The novel is a good addition to the series, with plenty of excitement and suspense. I'd recommend it to mystery readers, especially fans of the Spenser books.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....
May 31, 2018
★ ★ 1/2
The return of another villain, as often happened at this point in Parker’s career. The Gray Man was first introduced eleven years earlier as a professional killer who came as close as anyone to actually ending Spenser’s life. In his second appearance he acted more as a paid associate. This time out he exists solely to contrast with Spenser; they are moral opposites with a degree of mutual respect. Accordingly, their conflicts happen on multiple levels. Surprisingly, there is an actual narrative near the beginning of the book. Because of the presence of a monsoon, it was impossible for the usual sketching of scenes. Not so surprisingly, there were some good character bits and psychological exploration--standard Parker--but also standard with the second half of his career, no clear, satisfying ending. The story simply peters out.
March 11, 2025
“The home, too, is called Tashtego. My husband was a great fan of Moby Dick. I am having an event there in late October, which will be attended by some of the most important and glamorous people in the world.”
“And naturally, you want me to be one of them.” — Spenser, being hired by Heidi Bradshaw
I’m very much in disagreement with those who rate this as a ho-hum Spenser entry, or worse. I put off reading this later entry in the series because the premise told me there would be a lot of the eye-rollingly vain and pretentious Susan Silverman in this one, whom I can’t stand. Spenser, stuck on her in cloying fashion after Catskill Eagle, when he should have dropped her like a bad habit, alludes to her utter pretension being a problem in Hugger Mugger: once through the voice of a long-time friend of hers, and once when Spenser points out that she would abandon her car at the station and walk home, rather than dirty her hands pumping her own gas. Alllrighty then!
Now that I’ve gotten around to reading Rough Weather, however, I’m sorry I didn’t read it much earlier. I really liked it. A lot. Within any good detective/nystery series, at some point there is enough colorful history and a multitude of regular and semi-regular characters for a writer to simply write a great story that isn’t a traditional mystery at all, but a story based on the characters and history. In essence, this is an entertaining novel with Spenser and that history. The narrative of this one reverberates back trough the entire series, rather than any single story-line, so is possibly best enjoyed by long-time fans. Rough Weather can’t be judged or rated by stand-alone perimeters, because it’s Parker tidying up loose ends, as he did with the April Kyle trilogy in the powerful and poignant Hundred-Dollar Baby.
Just as in Stardust, another good entry that has too big a dose of Susan Silverman, what Parker is hired to do is rather vague, both to him and the reader; the reader gets to try to figure it out at the same time as Spenser. We also get to experience the posh wedding, the hurricane that hadn’t been predicted to descend on Tashtego, and the bloody kidnapping of the young bride by non other than the Gray Man, the ever dangerous spook-for-hire who nearly killed Spenser in Small Vices, and helped he and Hawk in Cold Service, etc.
Spenser can do nothing but watch at first, but the rough weather provides an opportunity for him at the same time it plays havoc with the Gray Man’s plans. The Gray Man (Rugar) is nothing but adaptable and resilient, but so is Spenser, who manages to rescue Susan and survive. But the bride-to-be, Heidi Bradshaw’s daughter, has been taken. By Rugar. Which makes no sense at all.
Spenser of course can’t let it go, because it happened on his watch. This leads to a warning, and a heavy-duty attempt on his life. But it was from someone outsourced, which is also not Rugar’s style. This creates more confusion, and raises only more questions about Rugar’s involvement in something so messy and outlandish. None of what happened makes any sense, but that there is mortal danger at play, is without doubt :
“If I remember right, at the depths of Dante’s Inferno,” I said, “Satan is frozen in ice.”
“It’s as if Rugar has no soul,” Susan said.
“Probably doesn’t,” I said. “Got a couple of rules, I think, but soul is open to question.”
Spenser senses something wrong in Heidi’s reaction to her daughter’s kidnapping, so he begins to look into her marry-rich-and dump them lifestyle, uncovering a ruthless sexuality. Someone comments that she could @#*%* the hinges off a fire door. Spenser eventually discovers the slightest possibility of a connection between Rugar and one of Heidi’s wealthy husbands. But it’s vague, and proves nothing. The fact remains that this wasn’t a Rugar type of operation at all. So what’s really going on?
We get some Hawk in this one, including a nice Thanksgiving with the trio. It has been noted by some that in an early entry, Spenser tells Susan that Hawk isn’t the kind you invite to Thanksgiving dinner. But their relationship has grown since that early entry, and at this juncture in Rough Weather, Hawk and Spenser are together 24/7 due to the threat of the Gray Man. It’s perfectly logical, and not contradictory at all to the previous entries.
Quirk, Healy, Tony Marcus, Einstein and Iverson from previous books have fun moments and exchanges with Spenser in this one, which is always enjoyable. Parker is always a fast read, his narratives peppered with wonderful dialog and exchanges with characters we’ve come to know over the years. Even the lesser, somewhat less resonating entries, sans a small few, are wildly entertaining and enjoyable. That said, I can’t remember the last time I flew through a Spenser novel this fast. The reason wasn’t the fast-flowing, ever readable narrative which is Parker’s trademark. You always get that with Parker. It was the story itself. I was interested, compelled to keep reading.
Less than midway through Rough Weather I had a pretty good idea of the reason for Lugar’s involvement, his “connection” to the events, but it was interesting learning the entire picture at the end. The secondary story of how messed up the young kidnapped woman was, and why, added an additional layer to the story. How it came about may have not been how some wanted it to, but I had no problem with it whatsoever.
I didn’t have any problem at all with the ending to this one, in fact, or the ending to Hugger Mugger, another one with very mixed reviews and loads of criticism in regard to the conclusion. Yes, it’s untidy, but also fitting, perhaps even a touch poignant. Like Spenser asked Hawk, “What would you have done?” Hawk’s answer is to do the same thing Spenser has done. Highly recommended as enjoyable entertainment.
“And naturally, you want me to be one of them.” — Spenser, being hired by Heidi Bradshaw
I’m very much in disagreement with those who rate this as a ho-hum Spenser entry, or worse. I put off reading this later entry in the series because the premise told me there would be a lot of the eye-rollingly vain and pretentious Susan Silverman in this one, whom I can’t stand. Spenser, stuck on her in cloying fashion after Catskill Eagle, when he should have dropped her like a bad habit, alludes to her utter pretension being a problem in Hugger Mugger: once through the voice of a long-time friend of hers, and once when Spenser points out that she would abandon her car at the station and walk home, rather than dirty her hands pumping her own gas. Alllrighty then!
Now that I’ve gotten around to reading Rough Weather, however, I’m sorry I didn’t read it much earlier. I really liked it. A lot. Within any good detective/nystery series, at some point there is enough colorful history and a multitude of regular and semi-regular characters for a writer to simply write a great story that isn’t a traditional mystery at all, but a story based on the characters and history. In essence, this is an entertaining novel with Spenser and that history. The narrative of this one reverberates back trough the entire series, rather than any single story-line, so is possibly best enjoyed by long-time fans. Rough Weather can’t be judged or rated by stand-alone perimeters, because it’s Parker tidying up loose ends, as he did with the April Kyle trilogy in the powerful and poignant Hundred-Dollar Baby.
Just as in Stardust, another good entry that has too big a dose of Susan Silverman, what Parker is hired to do is rather vague, both to him and the reader; the reader gets to try to figure it out at the same time as Spenser. We also get to experience the posh wedding, the hurricane that hadn’t been predicted to descend on Tashtego, and the bloody kidnapping of the young bride by non other than the Gray Man, the ever dangerous spook-for-hire who nearly killed Spenser in Small Vices, and helped he and Hawk in Cold Service, etc.
Spenser can do nothing but watch at first, but the rough weather provides an opportunity for him at the same time it plays havoc with the Gray Man’s plans. The Gray Man (Rugar) is nothing but adaptable and resilient, but so is Spenser, who manages to rescue Susan and survive. But the bride-to-be, Heidi Bradshaw’s daughter, has been taken. By Rugar. Which makes no sense at all.
Spenser of course can’t let it go, because it happened on his watch. This leads to a warning, and a heavy-duty attempt on his life. But it was from someone outsourced, which is also not Rugar’s style. This creates more confusion, and raises only more questions about Rugar’s involvement in something so messy and outlandish. None of what happened makes any sense, but that there is mortal danger at play, is without doubt :
“If I remember right, at the depths of Dante’s Inferno,” I said, “Satan is frozen in ice.”
“It’s as if Rugar has no soul,” Susan said.
“Probably doesn’t,” I said. “Got a couple of rules, I think, but soul is open to question.”
Spenser senses something wrong in Heidi’s reaction to her daughter’s kidnapping, so he begins to look into her marry-rich-and dump them lifestyle, uncovering a ruthless sexuality. Someone comments that she could @#*%* the hinges off a fire door. Spenser eventually discovers the slightest possibility of a connection between Rugar and one of Heidi’s wealthy husbands. But it’s vague, and proves nothing. The fact remains that this wasn’t a Rugar type of operation at all. So what’s really going on?
We get some Hawk in this one, including a nice Thanksgiving with the trio. It has been noted by some that in an early entry, Spenser tells Susan that Hawk isn’t the kind you invite to Thanksgiving dinner. But their relationship has grown since that early entry, and at this juncture in Rough Weather, Hawk and Spenser are together 24/7 due to the threat of the Gray Man. It’s perfectly logical, and not contradictory at all to the previous entries.
Quirk, Healy, Tony Marcus, Einstein and Iverson from previous books have fun moments and exchanges with Spenser in this one, which is always enjoyable. Parker is always a fast read, his narratives peppered with wonderful dialog and exchanges with characters we’ve come to know over the years. Even the lesser, somewhat less resonating entries, sans a small few, are wildly entertaining and enjoyable. That said, I can’t remember the last time I flew through a Spenser novel this fast. The reason wasn’t the fast-flowing, ever readable narrative which is Parker’s trademark. You always get that with Parker. It was the story itself. I was interested, compelled to keep reading.
Less than midway through Rough Weather I had a pretty good idea of the reason for Lugar’s involvement, his “connection” to the events, but it was interesting learning the entire picture at the end. The secondary story of how messed up the young kidnapped woman was, and why, added an additional layer to the story. How it came about may have not been how some wanted it to, but I had no problem with it whatsoever.
I didn’t have any problem at all with the ending to this one, in fact, or the ending to Hugger Mugger, another one with very mixed reviews and loads of criticism in regard to the conclusion. Yes, it’s untidy, but also fitting, perhaps even a touch poignant. Like Spenser asked Hawk, “What would you have done?” Hawk’s answer is to do the same thing Spenser has done. Highly recommended as enjoyable entertainment.
September 24, 2014
Wealthy Heidi Bradshaw made her money the old fashioned way, by marrying and divorcing rich men. She wants Spenser to escort her to her daughter’s wedding on a ritzy private island she owns even thought she already has a security force. Spenser takes the job and brings his girlfriend Susan along. Shortly after they arrive on the island, Spenser sees an old frenenemy of his. Rugar (a/k/a The Gray Man) is an international assassin who very nearly killed Spenser once although the two eventually made a sort of peace.
Does Spenser alert the security forces that a very dangerous man is on the island? Does he urge his client to postpone the wedding until he can figure out why Rugar is there? Does he demand any clarification as to why he was hired? Does he call the cops or any of the many thugs he knows to come back him up against one of the most dangerous men he ever faced? Does he put his pain-in-the-ass girlfriend on a boat back to the mainland to make sure she’s out of danger?
He does none of these things.
So when Rugar uses a helicopter to land a small army on the island during the wedding despite a rising storm, then kills several people and kidnaps the bride, Spenser isn’t exactly prepared for the situation, but he does manage to eventually escape Rugar’s men.
With the helicopter unable to take off while the storm is going on, does Spenser pull a Die Hard and kill off all of the bad guys? Does he try to get to a radio or find some other means of calling for help? Does he try to lead the rest of the wedding guests or the woman paying him to safety?
He does none of these things.
What he does is to go rescue Susan (but only Susan) from the bad guys and hides in a barn all night with her until the Rugar and his guys leave with the bride once the storm breaks.
This isn't exactly Spenser’s finest hour.
It’s kind of a shame because the set-up of having Spenser trapped alone on an island with a bunch of mercenaries and one of his deadliest foes could have been a pretty entertaining action story that broke up the stale formula of the later books. Instead of Spenser channeling his inner John McClane, the early chapters are just used as an excuse for Spenser to do his usual thing after that. He runs around trying to figure out who would hire Rugar to kidnap the bride while getting into the psychological issues and ugly personal histories of those involved. Even the potential rematch of Rugar Vs. Spenser is short changed in this story.
Parker tried to explain away why Spenser is so nonchalant about the appearance of Rugar on the island at first and works very hard to rationalize his behavior once things get bloody. Realistically, running and hiding is the smart thing to do so I can understand that part of it.
However, these types of PI novels aren't supposed to be about realistic behavior in the main characters. If they were, it’d be just stories about some boring people running a bunch of background checks on their computers. I read this sub-genre for larger than life heroes going above and beyond the call of duty. Hiding until the bad guys leave may be what most of us would do, but I expect more from a fictional bad ass like Spenser.
Frankly, he just seems like kind of an idiot in this one.
Up next: I finally close out this endless cycle of bitching with the one Spenser I haven’t read, Chasing the Bear.
Does Spenser alert the security forces that a very dangerous man is on the island? Does he urge his client to postpone the wedding until he can figure out why Rugar is there? Does he demand any clarification as to why he was hired? Does he call the cops or any of the many thugs he knows to come back him up against one of the most dangerous men he ever faced? Does he put his pain-in-the-ass girlfriend on a boat back to the mainland to make sure she’s out of danger?
He does none of these things.
So when Rugar uses a helicopter to land a small army on the island during the wedding despite a rising storm, then kills several people and kidnaps the bride, Spenser isn’t exactly prepared for the situation, but he does manage to eventually escape Rugar’s men.
With the helicopter unable to take off while the storm is going on, does Spenser pull a Die Hard and kill off all of the bad guys? Does he try to get to a radio or find some other means of calling for help? Does he try to lead the rest of the wedding guests or the woman paying him to safety?
He does none of these things.
What he does is to go rescue Susan (but only Susan) from the bad guys and hides in a barn all night with her until the Rugar and his guys leave with the bride once the storm breaks.
This isn't exactly Spenser’s finest hour.
It’s kind of a shame because the set-up of having Spenser trapped alone on an island with a bunch of mercenaries and one of his deadliest foes could have been a pretty entertaining action story that broke up the stale formula of the later books. Instead of Spenser channeling his inner John McClane, the early chapters are just used as an excuse for Spenser to do his usual thing after that. He runs around trying to figure out who would hire Rugar to kidnap the bride while getting into the psychological issues and ugly personal histories of those involved. Even the potential rematch of Rugar Vs. Spenser is short changed in this story.
Parker tried to explain away why Spenser is so nonchalant about the appearance of Rugar on the island at first and works very hard to rationalize his behavior once things get bloody. Realistically, running and hiding is the smart thing to do so I can understand that part of it.
However, these types of PI novels aren't supposed to be about realistic behavior in the main characters. If they were, it’d be just stories about some boring people running a bunch of background checks on their computers. I read this sub-genre for larger than life heroes going above and beyond the call of duty. Hiding until the bad guys leave may be what most of us would do, but I expect more from a fictional bad ass like Spenser.
Frankly, he just seems like kind of an idiot in this one.
Up next: I finally close out this endless cycle of bitching with the one Spenser I haven’t read, Chasing the Bear.
May 4, 2020
The old gang--Spenser, Hawk, and Susan--are back on the case again. I love RBP's breezy pace, snappy dialogue, and Boston setting. He doesn't shy away from violence, but it's quickly handled. This time it's a kidnapping when the bride is abducted from her wedding held on an island. Good hardboiled PI stuff.
February 24, 2025
Винаги е приятно да прекараш няколко часа в компанията на неотразимия Спенсър, Сюзън, Хоук и кучето-чудо Пърл.
Приятна кримка, съчетана с порция ненатрапчив хумор - идеална книга за мързелив и мрачен неделен следобед.
Моята оценка - 3,5*.
Приятна кримка, съчетана с порция ненатрапчив хумор - идеална книга за мързелив и мрачен неделен следобед.
Моята оценка - 3,5*.
December 10, 2020
Spenser and Sarah are at a swanky wedding when the assembling is confronted by armed bad guys. The groom is killed, the bride abducted, and the Gray Man is back. Good shenanigans and repartee abounds.
December 5, 2016
Parker's style of clear writing continues in this book. The banter wore a little thin why the syrupy banter was too much. The plot was so convoluted. So why did this get four stars? I like Robert Parker, he doesn't get too creepy although this plot was depraved.
April 6, 2020
This one was interesting. Very unique. I love the way Parker keeps characters revolving throughout his books. He did it well here. I’m going to miss these books.
November 20, 2008
I only got through a few chapters of this one because Susan Silverman, Spensers's lady friend, IS THE DEVIL. And she's all over this book like germs on a shopping card handle. Susan is easily the most annoying secondary character in the entire history of American literature, from her barely-hidden anorexia to her obsession with clothes. KILL HER OFF.
February 3, 2017
The Gray Man is back!!! For the third time in Spenser's 36th adventure the Gray Man shows up at a wedding Spenser is hired to attend as arm candy for the mother of the bride. GM proceeds to kill the minister, the groom and four security men who are hired by Heidi, the mother to protect her family. GM then takes the bride and escapes the island where the wedding is being held in a helicopter. What did Spenser do? Well he killed one of the GM's men but that is it. No ransom is requested right away. What's going on?
Spenser looks into the family's background. Heidi has been married three times to rich men. When she has taken what she can she moves on to the next. The groom's family is rich too.
A little bit of a twist at the end but I could see it coming so it wasn't a complete surprise. Things rush together at the end but all gets tied up. Fun quick read.
Spenser looks into the family's background. Heidi has been married three times to rich men. When she has taken what she can she moves on to the next. The groom's family is rich too.
A little bit of a twist at the end but I could see it coming so it wasn't a complete surprise. Things rush together at the end but all gets tied up. Fun quick read.
April 1, 2025
Right length for the 3 day weekend. Great series and a quick read but not too deep.
July 25, 2021
The extremely wealthy and several times divorced Heidi Bradshaw comes to Spenser’s office and asks him to attend the wedding of her daughter Adelaide. Many rich and famous people will be in attendance and even though there will be a significant security detail present, Heidi also wants Spenser to attend as an item of her personal emotional support. Spenser agrees when told that he can bring Susan as well.
Spenser’s old adversary the Gray Man breaks in immediately after the pronouncement of the marriage and kidnaps Adelaide. He shoots and kills some people in the process and the men with the Gray Man have eliminated all members of the security detail. The presence of Susan keeps Spenser from acting, for the Gray Man makes it clear that if he were to try anything, Susan would be his first target.
Fired by Heidi after the event is completed, Spenser refuses to drop the case and begins prodding everyone that may have an interest in the lives of Heidi and Adelaide. He learns that Heidi married several men, all for their money and was nearly always sexually involved with more than one at a time. With Hawk at his side and with help from his friends in law enforcement, Spenser stirs the pot and foils one attempt to kill him. Which he finds odd, for the attempt was not in the style of the Gray Man. There is also no ransom note, odd for the kidnapping of the daughter of very wealthy parents.
The reasons for the bizarre situation are not revealed until the very end, with a meeting between the Gray Man, Spenser and Hawk where all is finally revealed. The ending is unexpected and for a Spenser story against his most powerful adversaries, surprising in both the reasons and the lack of violence.
The dialog is crisp and some of the best you will find in a Spenser novel. There are no wasted words, people talk only when they need to. This is arguably the best Spenser novel ever written.
Spenser’s old adversary the Gray Man breaks in immediately after the pronouncement of the marriage and kidnaps Adelaide. He shoots and kills some people in the process and the men with the Gray Man have eliminated all members of the security detail. The presence of Susan keeps Spenser from acting, for the Gray Man makes it clear that if he were to try anything, Susan would be his first target.
Fired by Heidi after the event is completed, Spenser refuses to drop the case and begins prodding everyone that may have an interest in the lives of Heidi and Adelaide. He learns that Heidi married several men, all for their money and was nearly always sexually involved with more than one at a time. With Hawk at his side and with help from his friends in law enforcement, Spenser stirs the pot and foils one attempt to kill him. Which he finds odd, for the attempt was not in the style of the Gray Man. There is also no ransom note, odd for the kidnapping of the daughter of very wealthy parents.
The reasons for the bizarre situation are not revealed until the very end, with a meeting between the Gray Man, Spenser and Hawk where all is finally revealed. The ending is unexpected and for a Spenser story against his most powerful adversaries, surprising in both the reasons and the lack of violence.
The dialog is crisp and some of the best you will find in a Spenser novel. There are no wasted words, people talk only when they need to. This is arguably the best Spenser novel ever written.
September 30, 2024
These endings keep getting more and more ambivalent.
The gray man is back but not in the capacity that Spenser can understand at first. Towards the end, I guessed and was correct what his role actually was.
Heidi was a very destructive force in this book. She was the real villain. I wish we’d have seen her comeuppance. I wanted her destitute and living on the street. I wrote my own ending for her.
Hawk was in this one quite a bit along with the Healy, Belson and Quirk. Even Tony Marcus had a cameo. Susan being Susan 😑
The gray man is back but not in the capacity that Spenser can understand at first. Towards the end, I guessed and was correct what his role actually was.
Heidi was a very destructive force in this book. She was the real villain. I wish we’d have seen her comeuppance. I wanted her destitute and living on the street. I wrote my own ending for her.
Hawk was in this one quite a bit along with the Healy, Belson and Quirk. Even Tony Marcus had a cameo. Susan being Susan 😑
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2011
Another Robert B. Parker winner as Spenser, his irreverent P.I., becomes involved in a complicated mystery by agreeing to be a body guard to the Mother-of-the-Bride at a high Society wedding held on a remote Island near Boston. At the wedding, he sees an old enemy, The Grey Man, whose last name either is or isn't Rugar. The wedding is interrupted by a kidnapping and a number of murders in the middle of a horrendous storm. The plot proceeds from there to a semi-happy conclusion in which all the loose ends are tied up.
All the usual characters are here, Susan, Spenser's soul mate, Hawk, his sometimes partner and protector, Quinn, A Boston P.D. Lieutenant, Rita Fiore, an ex-girl friend and dynamite lawyer, and Epstein, the local FBI Agent-in Charge. Reading a Spenser novel is like running into old friends. The new characters in the story are, pretty much, a reprehensible bunch, greedy society woman, alcoholic ex-husband and father, current husband and non-caring step-father, Ivy, a shadowy federal government employee, Maggie Lane, a social secretary and the Lessards, parents of the groom.
Mix everything together and you have a good story with lots of twists and turns as well as some satisfying action and suspense as Spenser works his way through the muck of other people's lives.
As I've said before, I am delaying as long as possible, reading the last of Parker's novels, taking them one at a time over an extended period because when I finish the last one, I will be saddened that I will have no Parker stories to look forward to.
All the usual characters are here, Susan, Spenser's soul mate, Hawk, his sometimes partner and protector, Quinn, A Boston P.D. Lieutenant, Rita Fiore, an ex-girl friend and dynamite lawyer, and Epstein, the local FBI Agent-in Charge. Reading a Spenser novel is like running into old friends. The new characters in the story are, pretty much, a reprehensible bunch, greedy society woman, alcoholic ex-husband and father, current husband and non-caring step-father, Ivy, a shadowy federal government employee, Maggie Lane, a social secretary and the Lessards, parents of the groom.
Mix everything together and you have a good story with lots of twists and turns as well as some satisfying action and suspense as Spenser works his way through the muck of other people's lives.
As I've said before, I am delaying as long as possible, reading the last of Parker's novels, taking them one at a time over an extended period because when I finish the last one, I will be saddened that I will have no Parker stories to look forward to.
February 13, 2017
3.5 stars for this entertaining read. Both my husband and I have enjoyed Boston P.I. Spenser's character for many years. His wit and sense of humor, his relationship with his shrink girlfriend, Susan, and his sidekick, Hawk, have brought us hours of entertainment. Spenser's determination to get at the truth of a matter prevails in each installment.
In this the 36th entry of the Spenser series, Spenser is hired as a "sort of" bodyguard (he's not quite sure himself) at an exclusive high society wedding where tragic events happen that he was not able to predict or prevent. This leaves Spenser troubled and unsettled. He persists in getting to the bottom of this puzzle of a crime and in the process crosses paths with an old nemesis, and uncovers some convoluted family secrets.
No spoilers here, but my husband and I differed in our opinions of the conclusion. To me it was satisfactory and understandable. To my husband it was different than he expected and he wasn't entirely satisfied, but enjoyed the ride.
Author Robert B. Parker's (deceased 2010) Spenser series can be read as stand-alone novels. Best appreciated if read in order, however, to better understand the personal relationships in the cast of characters. They continue on through author Ace Atkins, who by the way, does an incredible job of Parker's writing style.
Recommended if you like fast, easy-to-read crime novels that don't require heavy concentration. Perfect to take along on a cruise.
In this the 36th entry of the Spenser series, Spenser is hired as a "sort of" bodyguard (he's not quite sure himself) at an exclusive high society wedding where tragic events happen that he was not able to predict or prevent. This leaves Spenser troubled and unsettled. He persists in getting to the bottom of this puzzle of a crime and in the process crosses paths with an old nemesis, and uncovers some convoluted family secrets.
No spoilers here, but my husband and I differed in our opinions of the conclusion. To me it was satisfactory and understandable. To my husband it was different than he expected and he wasn't entirely satisfied, but enjoyed the ride.
Author Robert B. Parker's (deceased 2010) Spenser series can be read as stand-alone novels. Best appreciated if read in order, however, to better understand the personal relationships in the cast of characters. They continue on through author Ace Atkins, who by the way, does an incredible job of Parker's writing style.
Recommended if you like fast, easy-to-read crime novels that don't require heavy concentration. Perfect to take along on a cruise.
June 29, 2016
Far from the best of the Spenser novels, this one is still fun and entertaining.
A forty something socialite, famous for being famous and marrying rich men, hires Spenser as arm candy for her daughter’s wedding on her private island off the coast of Massachusetts. Spenser brings Susan along. The Gray Man arrives. Is he an invited guest? A hurricane expected to miss the area bears down on the island, and during the ceremony the Gray Man shoots and kills the pastor and the groom. With Spenser’s reluctant help, at gunpoint, the Gray Man kidnaps the bride and escapes in a helicopter. Healy and the State Police investigate, and Spenser and Hawk try to locate the girl.
The witty repartee is amped up a little bit in this book, and a couple of the lines are laugh out loud funny. Susan and Spenser’s reactions to the island, the mansion, the wedding chapel, and the guests will bring Nick and Nora to mind.
The “surprise” ending, which will be no surprise to most readers, is rather abrupt, as if Parker got tired of his unbelievable plot and decided to simply end it.
Interestingly, Spenser is ineffectual in almost every situation that occurs in this novel. Maybe Parker was trying to write a comedy.
A forty something socialite, famous for being famous and marrying rich men, hires Spenser as arm candy for her daughter’s wedding on her private island off the coast of Massachusetts. Spenser brings Susan along. The Gray Man arrives. Is he an invited guest? A hurricane expected to miss the area bears down on the island, and during the ceremony the Gray Man shoots and kills the pastor and the groom. With Spenser’s reluctant help, at gunpoint, the Gray Man kidnaps the bride and escapes in a helicopter. Healy and the State Police investigate, and Spenser and Hawk try to locate the girl.
The witty repartee is amped up a little bit in this book, and a couple of the lines are laugh out loud funny. Susan and Spenser’s reactions to the island, the mansion, the wedding chapel, and the guests will bring Nick and Nora to mind.
The “surprise” ending, which will be no surprise to most readers, is rather abrupt, as if Parker got tired of his unbelievable plot and decided to simply end it.
Interestingly, Spenser is ineffectual in almost every situation that occurs in this novel. Maybe Parker was trying to write a comedy.
June 2, 2013
Since it's almost summer, beach reading season is here and this is good beach material. Robert B. Parker's detective hero Spenser finds himself entangled in a mass murder that takes place during a very upscale wedding ceremony on a very upscale island and he becomes laser focused on solving the mysterious circumstances leading up to why it all took place. Although I prefer Jesse Stone to Spenser, this one is still fun and the glib dialog and entertaining characterizations are a hoot. A light, quick read that's well executed...so to speak.
February 4, 2018
As the series winds to an end, it's hard not to get sentimental. So I'll round up to four stars. Quick read as always. The return of the gray man is intriguing, as is the interesting relationship between Spenser and his attempted killer. Susan as always is frustrating, and Hawk seems too much like a sidekick. But it's been a great series overall as it winds down.
March 22, 2009
Medium quality Spenser. Spenser and Hawk encounter an old nemesis, Rugar, the Grey Man. A serially divorced gold digger throws a wedding for her daughter at which the bride is kidnapped and the groom shot, all in front of Spenser. He investigates to get to the bottom of the mystery
February 6, 2013
After a rather slow and violent start the second half really gets going. The dialog is much better when Hawk is included than when he is not. The ending is incredibly well done as I had no idea how this late great writer would wrap this up. 7 of 10 stars.
December 6, 2016
Parker's style of clear writing continues in this book. The banter wore a little thin why the syrupy banter was too much. The plot was so convoluted. So why did this get four stars? I like Robert Parker, he doesn't get too creepy although this plot was depraved.
January 10, 2009
This is typical for the Spenser series--but that's good. You can't help but like this series even after 36 books. Usual minimalist banter. Undone ending though. Who cares--it's Spenser.
August 7, 2023
"The two of you look like a testosterone commercial."
Fast-paced and about as realistic as an episode of Speed Racer, this novel includes an abundance of female assessment (often from an elevated angle) and a plot that Spenser himself aptly sums up when he observes "it is the most cockamamie scheme I've ever seen." But it's fun in its way. I'm not sure if this is a prime example of the series, but the witty repartee is really turned up in this one, almost to a fault. There's virtually no normal discourse (clearly Parker disagreed with Billy Joel, whom pretty much throughout I was hearing singing, "I don't want clever conversation/I never want to work that hard, mmm"), but there's such a preponderance of piquant dialogue that I kept thinking the book could so easily be turned into a stage play because it has that cadence. It also has a LOT of "I said," "he said," "she said," "Hawk said," "Quirk said," "etc. said," which might be typical of the series or Parker's style in general, but again I wouldn't know. In any case, I found it distracting. This quick-hit dinner scene provides a small taste of that:
"There's not much that I can think of that I wouldn't do," I said, "if you asked."
"It's because I know better than to ask," Susan said.
"That's crazy," I said.
"You'd do anything I asked?" Susan said.
"Absolutely," I said.
"Can I have your pie?" Susan said.
"No," I said. "Of course not."
That said (and said and said), the ending, while pretty perfunctory, does leave you wanting more, which probably shouldn't be surprising from installment No. 36 in a series, which admittedly is a weird number for me to choose as my intro to the Spenser world.
First lines:
"If I rolled my chair back into the window bay behind my desk, I could look up past the office buildings and see the sky. It wasn't exactly overcast."
May 14, 2018
That bitch will do anything for money, including having her daughter kidnapped. Probably last time we will read about Rugar (Gray Man)
Page 6 . . . We were quiet for a moment. Susan had some sort of exotic fish. She took a small bite. Susan always took small bites. She ate slowly, and rarely ate all of what she ordered. I had pasta, all of which I guzzled.
. . .
Page 11 . . . "and the luggage?" Susan said.
"It should be there waiting for you," Maggie Lane said. "Unpacked, and carefully hung up."
Susan blanched slightly. But Maggie Lane was looking toward the house and didn't notice. I knew tha tthe thought of anyone opening Susan's luggage and carefully hanging up her stuff was unbearable. . . .
Page 109 . . . "It's our case, too," Epstein said. "She go to Lydia Hall?"
"No," I said. "But I suspect she claimed to."
"some reinvention going on?" Epstein said.
Page 110 "It's the American way," I said.
Page 144 . . . "Better to take needless evasive action, at the risk of looking foolish, than not to, and look dead." . . .
Page 300 . . . "We will never be friends," Rugar said. "But we will never again be enemies." . . .
Page 6 . . . We were quiet for a moment. Susan had some sort of exotic fish. She took a small bite. Susan always took small bites. She ate slowly, and rarely ate all of what she ordered. I had pasta, all of which I guzzled.
. . .
Page 11 . . . "and the luggage?" Susan said.
"It should be there waiting for you," Maggie Lane said. "Unpacked, and carefully hung up."
Susan blanched slightly. But Maggie Lane was looking toward the house and didn't notice. I knew tha tthe thought of anyone opening Susan's luggage and carefully hanging up her stuff was unbearable. . . .
Page 109 . . . "It's our case, too," Epstein said. "She go to Lydia Hall?"
"No," I said. "But I suspect she claimed to."
"some reinvention going on?" Epstein said.
Page 110 "It's the American way," I said.
Page 144 . . . "Better to take needless evasive action, at the risk of looking foolish, than not to, and look dead." . . .
Page 300 . . . "We will never be friends," Rugar said. "But we will never again be enemies." . . .
July 27, 2019
I need to try out some of the earlier books in this series.
Channeling the spirit of Raymond Chandler this book follows a private detective as he gets embroiled in a murder and kidnapping. Wise cracking, hard boiled and smart the central character is fun to read despite the fact he falls into male white gaze tropes a little too often.
This is a world of broads, dames and overt masculinity. The female characters are strong and positive, they are not simply simpering victims but the book does feel a little bit '70s James Bondy' with the fact he moves from incident to incident attracting all these beautiful females who just want men to admire them.
But that is the trope the author has deliberately gone for. This is clearly a slightly out of time noir detective thriller and so I gave it 4 stars as it is successful in doing what it sets out to do.
The story is strong, the nemesis of the detective is well handled and interesting. The plot is not obvious at all. The ending is also surprisingly amoral. I liked that. I was not expecting it to end in the way it did.
The fact of the matter is I enjoyed reading this book. It was a good place to dive into and I left it happy. Really solid detective story. Lots of fun.
Channeling the spirit of Raymond Chandler this book follows a private detective as he gets embroiled in a murder and kidnapping. Wise cracking, hard boiled and smart the central character is fun to read despite the fact he falls into male white gaze tropes a little too often.
This is a world of broads, dames and overt masculinity. The female characters are strong and positive, they are not simply simpering victims but the book does feel a little bit '70s James Bondy' with the fact he moves from incident to incident attracting all these beautiful females who just want men to admire them.
But that is the trope the author has deliberately gone for. This is clearly a slightly out of time noir detective thriller and so I gave it 4 stars as it is successful in doing what it sets out to do.
The story is strong, the nemesis of the detective is well handled and interesting. The plot is not obvious at all. The ending is also surprisingly amoral. I liked that. I was not expecting it to end in the way it did.
The fact of the matter is I enjoyed reading this book. It was a good place to dive into and I left it happy. Really solid detective story. Lots of fun.
October 20, 2019
Aside from too much Susan ( this year's re-readings have made me realize how much I dislike her),the plot starts off well. But soon the plot seems to lose steam, and just gets more convoluted. There are more unnecessary scenes with Susan. There is (!) Thanksgiving dinner with the happy couple, Pearl the Reincarnated Wonder Dog, and yes,really, Hawk. This after Spenser (in his much earlier, much better book Ceremony) talking about how "you don't invite Hawk to Thanksgiving dinner. "
The plot meanders through various bar meetings, offices with receptionists Spenser tries to charm, and a few more murders, for once not by Spenser's sociopathic associates. And then it ends with one final,ridiculous twist.
I am powering through these books because my library's Overdrive (Libby) has them in easy to download bundles. But when I re-read Spenser again, I think I will stop as early as "A Catskill Eagle." Really.
The plot meanders through various bar meetings, offices with receptionists Spenser tries to charm, and a few more murders, for once not by Spenser's sociopathic associates. And then it ends with one final,ridiculous twist.
I am powering through these books because my library's Overdrive (Libby) has them in easy to download bundles. But when I re-read Spenser again, I think I will stop as early as "A Catskill Eagle." Really.
August 19, 2024
Reliably Parker. An old nemesis, Rugar, appears again, giving us another take on the subspecies. I have noted previously that Parker's books are a publishers dream: thick creamy paper, generous kerning, lots of short dialogue lines. This book read at least twice as fast as any comparable 300 page book, and holding it in my hands was a pleasure. Let's hear it for real books!
Parker appears eternally mystified by women, and presents us with a wonderful spectrum, from this book's narcissistic nymphomaniac (allegedly had every male including Shamu the Whale) to the delicious-on-every-level Susan, and his other closely-held woman character Sunny Randall, and it's his working out of this puzzle, as in this book, that I find him most entertaining. Another thread woven into this book: the abuse, both physical and emotional, that parents too often impose on their children. A great short read.
Parker appears eternally mystified by women, and presents us with a wonderful spectrum, from this book's narcissistic nymphomaniac (allegedly had every male including Shamu the Whale) to the delicious-on-every-level Susan, and his other closely-held woman character Sunny Randall, and it's his working out of this puzzle, as in this book, that I find him most entertaining. Another thread woven into this book: the abuse, both physical and emotional, that parents too often impose on their children. A great short read.
July 4, 2018
R.B. Parker's Spenser series includes probably 30 or 40 enjoyable detective stories. Each book will deliver good dialogue with humor, unusual situations, well described characters and an engaging story. These stories are a great change of pace from the majority of more serious fiction that book clubs and media seem to direct their focus toward. Sadly Mr. Parker is no longer living but you can always find one of his unique stories on Amazon or your local thrift shop or library store. Pick one up read it and pass it along to a friend.
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