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Spenser #4
Promised Land
The Boston PI gets tangled in Cape Cod’s criminal underworld in this Edgar Award–winning mystery from the New York Times–bestselling author.
Cape Cod businessman Harvey Shepard is in over his head. He lost a quarter million on a shady real estate deal, the loan shark is circling, and now he needs a private investigator to find out where his wife, Pam, disappeared to. Spencer takes the case, but finding Pam isn’t the hard part—the hard part is finding out she’s suspected of a bank robbery that led to murder.
Robert B. Parker’s Spencer novels featuring the former boxer turned Boston PI are “one of the great series in the history of the American detective story.” Promised Land, the Edgar Award–winning fourth Spencer novel, was also adapted into the pilot episode of the classic tv series Spencer: For Hire (The New York Times).
Cape Cod businessman Harvey Shepard is in over his head. He lost a quarter million on a shady real estate deal, the loan shark is circling, and now he needs a private investigator to find out where his wife, Pam, disappeared to. Spencer takes the case, but finding Pam isn’t the hard part—the hard part is finding out she’s suspected of a bank robbery that led to murder.
Robert B. Parker’s Spencer novels featuring the former boxer turned Boston PI are “one of the great series in the history of the American detective story.” Promised Land, the Edgar Award–winning fourth Spencer novel, was also adapted into the pilot episode of the classic tv series Spencer: For Hire (The New York Times).
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1976
1110 people are currently reading
1713 people want to read
About the author
Robert B. Parker
489 books2,288 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 549 reviews
August 24, 2019
In this fourth novel of the series, Harvey Shepherd hires Spenser to track down his wandering wife Pam, who has left her husband and children to discover herself. When Spenser finds her she is living with a pair of revolutionary feminists, and does not wish to return, so he promises not to tell Harvey where she is staying. Soon, though, both the Shepherds want his help: Pam is in trouble, for the revolutionary feminists have proved to be militant and dangerous, and Harvey, who owes a loan shark big money for a belly-up real estate venture, is being threatened by a well-dressed, intimidating black man named “Hawk.”
“The Promised Land,” name of the bankrupt real estate scheme, is also The Plimoth Plantation itself, the original Pilgrim settlement in America (now "living history" museum) where a few of scenes of the novel take place. It is also, by implication, America itself, still a land of great promise but a land of broken promises too. How, in a world of broken contracts and vows, of disputed obligations and shifting gender roles, do people of honor conduct themselves? When must they speak truth and stand their ground? And whom—when the negotiations have ended—must they lie to and betray? These are the choices Spenser must face, not only in the Shepherd case itself but also in his personal and professional life, as he decides what he owes to his lady Susan and to Hawk, his compeer and foe.
This mystery falls a bit short of Parker's best, for the feminists Rose and Jane are mere caricatures (a mistake Parker would rectify in Spenser's sixth adventure Looking for Rachel Wallace), and the plot takes far too long to get moving Then again, this is the book where Spenser and Susan first explore motives and begin to forge their unique relationship, and since it also features the first appearance of Hawk, it is a must-read for all Spenser fans.
April 23, 2019
The One Where Spenser is Schooled on the Dangers of the Souless Suburban Life by Susan. Also The One Where We Meet Hawk, Who Is a Total Legit Badass.
It helps to keep these series books separate, you know?
Many of the early themes of the Spenser mysteries appear here: the emotional dangers of the suburbs, ethical nobility, women's general sexiness, and the foolishness of various anti-establishment movements. Spenser is hired by Harv Shepard, a wheel-and-deal land-developer-contractor to find his wife who has disappeared without a note, and leaving their two children behind. Spenser is all alone in the suburbs of the Cape, and he is hoping that Susan will come up and join him for a relatively simple case. Only it turns out not so simple when they run into Hawk leaving Harv's home. Spenser gets some legit information from the local cops and is able to track down Pam and her vigilante buddies. Pam's feeling super-suffocated in the 'burbs and Susan gets angry at Spencer's seemingly casual dismissal of her midlife-identity crisis.
In comparison to prior books, the writing feels tighter. For instance, while we do have a fair amount of scenic description of the road to Hyannis, it's kept down to three sentences, one briefly sarcastic. ("The soothing excitements of scrub pine and wide sea gave way to McDonald's and Holiday Inn and prefab fence companies, shopping malls and Sheraton Motor Inns, and a host of less likely places where you could sleep and eat and drink in surroundings indistinguishable from the ones you'd left at home. Except there'd be a fishnet on the wall. If Bartholomew Gosnold had approached the Cape from this direction, he'd have kept on going.")
Strangely, it's a story that is more resonant in series context than in any particular value as a mystery. It is very much a relationship book, where Spenser and Susan explore their own growing relationship and struggle with the comparisons to the unfortunate Harv and Pam and their love-based but dysfunctional relationship. Pam's perspective on her self-actualization and Harv's perspective on their history contain poignant but frustrated feelings. It's also the start of a Spenser and Hawk friendship. Hawk is introduced here as a free-lance enforcer who has a shared boxing history with Spencer, but an exchange of solid favors lay the foundation of their future working relationship.
Of course, numerous time-period oink moments remain, with Spencer deliberately 'not-ogling' various female characters. But is seems pretty benevolently oinkish, as opposed to creepy. Recommended for series fans, but definitely not for the 'mystery.' There's also an extended bit about women and 'frigidness.' No thank you very much, Dr. Not-Freud.
No, I did not read all the words. Because visualizing their dumb outfits hurt my eye-brain and I can't read about 1970s conception of sexuality without hurting my thinking-brain. Our first look at Hawk illustrates the clothes:
"With him was a tall black man with a bald head and high cheekbones. He had on a powder blue leisure suit and a pink silk shirt with a big collar. The shirt was unbuttoned to the waist and the chest and stomach that showed were as hard and unadorned as ebony. He took a pair of wraparound sunglasses from the breast pocket of the jacket and as he put them on, he stared at me over their rims until very slowly the lenses covered his eyes and he stared at me through them."
Ok, maybe I read all the words there. Two and a half silk stars, rounding down for oinkiness.
It helps to keep these series books separate, you know?
Many of the early themes of the Spenser mysteries appear here: the emotional dangers of the suburbs, ethical nobility, women's general sexiness, and the foolishness of various anti-establishment movements. Spenser is hired by Harv Shepard, a wheel-and-deal land-developer-contractor to find his wife who has disappeared without a note, and leaving their two children behind. Spenser is all alone in the suburbs of the Cape, and he is hoping that Susan will come up and join him for a relatively simple case. Only it turns out not so simple when they run into Hawk leaving Harv's home. Spenser gets some legit information from the local cops and is able to track down Pam and her vigilante buddies. Pam's feeling super-suffocated in the 'burbs and Susan gets angry at Spencer's seemingly casual dismissal of her midlife-identity crisis.
In comparison to prior books, the writing feels tighter. For instance, while we do have a fair amount of scenic description of the road to Hyannis, it's kept down to three sentences, one briefly sarcastic. ("The soothing excitements of scrub pine and wide sea gave way to McDonald's and Holiday Inn and prefab fence companies, shopping malls and Sheraton Motor Inns, and a host of less likely places where you could sleep and eat and drink in surroundings indistinguishable from the ones you'd left at home. Except there'd be a fishnet on the wall. If Bartholomew Gosnold had approached the Cape from this direction, he'd have kept on going.")
Strangely, it's a story that is more resonant in series context than in any particular value as a mystery. It is very much a relationship book, where Spenser and Susan explore their own growing relationship and struggle with the comparisons to the unfortunate Harv and Pam and their love-based but dysfunctional relationship. Pam's perspective on her self-actualization and Harv's perspective on their history contain poignant but frustrated feelings. It's also the start of a Spenser and Hawk friendship. Hawk is introduced here as a free-lance enforcer who has a shared boxing history with Spencer, but an exchange of solid favors lay the foundation of their future working relationship.
Of course, numerous time-period oink moments remain, with Spencer deliberately 'not-ogling' various female characters. But is seems pretty benevolently oinkish, as opposed to creepy. Recommended for series fans, but definitely not for the 'mystery.' There's also an extended bit about women and 'frigidness.' No thank you very much, Dr. Not-Freud.
No, I did not read all the words. Because visualizing their dumb outfits hurt my eye-brain and I can't read about 1970s conception of sexuality without hurting my thinking-brain. Our first look at Hawk illustrates the clothes:
"With him was a tall black man with a bald head and high cheekbones. He had on a powder blue leisure suit and a pink silk shirt with a big collar. The shirt was unbuttoned to the waist and the chest and stomach that showed were as hard and unadorned as ebony. He took a pair of wraparound sunglasses from the breast pocket of the jacket and as he put them on, he stared at me over their rims until very slowly the lenses covered his eyes and he stared at me through them."
Ok, maybe I read all the words there. Two and a half silk stars, rounding down for oinkiness.
June 30, 2010
“ ‘And Hawk beat you up.'
‘Yeah. Actually, he didn’t do it himself. He had two guys do it, and he, like, supervised.’
‘Hawk’s moving up. Executive level. He was always a comer.’
‘He said he just does the killing now, the sweaty work, he delegates.’”
Spenser has been hired by a real estate developer named Harvey Shepherd whose wife Pam has run off. Like most of Spenser's clients, Harvey is kind of a self-absorbed dumbass, but he does genuinely love his wife. Spenser quickly determines that Pam had folded under the boredom of her housewife role and Harvey’s overwhelming devotion, and she’s hooked up with a couple of militant feminists circa 1976. Since she’s there of her own free will, Spenser refuses to tell Harvey where she’s at. However, Pam’s friends get her involved in a bank robbery to finance a feminist revolution, and Harvey’s got even bigger problems. He owes money to a loan shark, and a man called Hawk is the enforcer.
I doubt that Parker invented the idea of the protagonist having a useful and loyal friend on the wrong side of the law, but he popularized it with the creation of Hawk. Avery Brooks’ great portrayal in the TV series Spenser For Hire in the ’80s helped get the idea out in the mainstream.
Hawk would be a key character for the rest of the series. Here, he and Spenser know and respect each other, but later books would have them becoming best friends. I always liked that Parker would go out of his way to portray Hawk not as a sidekick, but as an equal. He’s always willing to back Spenser up for money or because he finds it amusing, but he never played Robin to Spenser’s Batman.
In this first look at Hawk, he and Spenser are on opposite sides and there’s a real tension built about the two professional tough guys potentially having to face off. Parker would also use Hawk repeatedly as a mirror to Spenser’s own capacity and taste for violence. The only difference is the self-imposed set of rules that Spenser has created for himself to make sure that he doesn’t turn into a thug.
“’Doesn’t it bother you,’ Susan said, ‘to hurt people for money?’
‘No more than it does him,’ Hawk nodded at me.
‘I don’t think he does it for money.’
‘That’s why ah’m bopping down the Cape in a new El Dorado, and he’s driving that eight-year old hog with the gray tape on the upholstery.’"
In addition to Hawk, this book has Susan and Spenser trying to determine the future of their relationship, and it‘ll set the tone for the rest of the series. This is also the first time that a lot of effort is spent in trying to define Spenser code of behavior. In later books, this would become repetitive and tiresome, but it’s interesting here. This one won an Edgar Award in 1977, and I was amazed at the amount of story, themes and character development that Parker squeezed into 218 pages.
Next up: Spenser and Hawk go on an international killing spree in The Judas Goat.
‘Yeah. Actually, he didn’t do it himself. He had two guys do it, and he, like, supervised.’
‘Hawk’s moving up. Executive level. He was always a comer.’
‘He said he just does the killing now, the sweaty work, he delegates.’”
Spenser has been hired by a real estate developer named Harvey Shepherd whose wife Pam has run off. Like most of Spenser's clients, Harvey is kind of a self-absorbed dumbass, but he does genuinely love his wife. Spenser quickly determines that Pam had folded under the boredom of her housewife role and Harvey’s overwhelming devotion, and she’s hooked up with a couple of militant feminists circa 1976. Since she’s there of her own free will, Spenser refuses to tell Harvey where she’s at. However, Pam’s friends get her involved in a bank robbery to finance a feminist revolution, and Harvey’s got even bigger problems. He owes money to a loan shark, and a man called Hawk is the enforcer.
I doubt that Parker invented the idea of the protagonist having a useful and loyal friend on the wrong side of the law, but he popularized it with the creation of Hawk. Avery Brooks’ great portrayal in the TV series Spenser For Hire in the ’80s helped get the idea out in the mainstream.
Hawk would be a key character for the rest of the series. Here, he and Spenser know and respect each other, but later books would have them becoming best friends. I always liked that Parker would go out of his way to portray Hawk not as a sidekick, but as an equal. He’s always willing to back Spenser up for money or because he finds it amusing, but he never played Robin to Spenser’s Batman.
In this first look at Hawk, he and Spenser are on opposite sides and there’s a real tension built about the two professional tough guys potentially having to face off. Parker would also use Hawk repeatedly as a mirror to Spenser’s own capacity and taste for violence. The only difference is the self-imposed set of rules that Spenser has created for himself to make sure that he doesn’t turn into a thug.
“’Doesn’t it bother you,’ Susan said, ‘to hurt people for money?’
‘No more than it does him,’ Hawk nodded at me.
‘I don’t think he does it for money.’
‘That’s why ah’m bopping down the Cape in a new El Dorado, and he’s driving that eight-year old hog with the gray tape on the upholstery.’"
In addition to Hawk, this book has Susan and Spenser trying to determine the future of their relationship, and it‘ll set the tone for the rest of the series. This is also the first time that a lot of effort is spent in trying to define Spenser code of behavior. In later books, this would become repetitive and tiresome, but it’s interesting here. This one won an Edgar Award in 1977, and I was amazed at the amount of story, themes and character development that Parker squeezed into 218 pages.
Next up: Spenser and Hawk go on an international killing spree in The Judas Goat.
August 28, 2019
Not Parker's best. He stumbles through the feminism topic, which requires a good deal of discussion. This mires the usual detective plot that the Spenser books are known for. Promised Land isn't going to make feminists happy and it'll probably bore most fans of detective fiction. I'm still glad I read it, because Hawk makes his first appearance and I really wanted to know his origin story. I wasn't disappointed.
June 4, 2014
I like it a lot more when Spenser just gets to do his thing without his lady friend tagging along, constantly asking him What It All Means. As squicky as it was when he was, say, sleeping with both the mother & daughter of his client, I sort of miss those days. Maybe I can read these books with one hand over my eye to cover Susan. But, hey, Hawk was here so I suppose it wasn't all bad.
April 2, 2024
Hawk makes his debut. A great elaborately devised setup to solve everyone’s problems. Spenser supplies the witty banter while showing that he truly has a big heart.
November 23, 2010
Spenser gets hired to track down a business man's missing wife. His search for the wife leads him to a group of militant feminists and he quickly discovers the husband is in debt to a local loan shark, King Powers. Can Spenser get the couple back together without being gunned down by the King?
This is the fourth Spenser book I've read and my favorite so far. Spenser's inner nature is explored, his relationship with Susan Silverman progresses, he passes up some easy tail for once, and he runs into Hawk, the bad ass black man against which all others should be measured. I'll admit, I'm barely old enough to remember Spenser for Hire but I sure remember Avery Brooks as Hawk.
The two different plots were well done and I was pleased at how Spenser made them intersect. Spenser's character continues to develop beyond the Philip Marlowe detective stereotype.
Any gripes? Not really. I don't really understand the appeal of Susan Silverman, though. Hawk is cleary Spenser's true soulmate.
Four easy stars. I'm eager to get a hold of the next one.
This is the fourth Spenser book I've read and my favorite so far. Spenser's inner nature is explored, his relationship with Susan Silverman progresses, he passes up some easy tail for once, and he runs into Hawk, the bad ass black man against which all others should be measured. I'll admit, I'm barely old enough to remember Spenser for Hire but I sure remember Avery Brooks as Hawk.
The two different plots were well done and I was pleased at how Spenser made them intersect. Spenser's character continues to develop beyond the Philip Marlowe detective stereotype.
Any gripes? Not really. I don't really understand the appeal of Susan Silverman, though. Hawk is cleary Spenser's true soulmate.
Four easy stars. I'm eager to get a hold of the next one.
August 4, 2017
A real period piece (the plot screams 1970s), but an important book in the series, despite being a lesser title. For it introduces Hawk.
December 2, 2025
Book #4 of series starts out simple enough. The housewife has had enough of her old man and splits. Husband hired Spenser to find her. But Spenser soon finds trouble. Good, moderate length, straight forward & entertaining story.
October 9, 2018
Took me a while to figure out if Spenser was a private detective or a Boston food critic in this one as it seemed as if every thing I was reading was about what food and drinks were offered at a local restaurant or hotel lounge. I thought Bubba was going to start naming all the different ways one could prepare shrimp at one point. If one can get through that and all of Susan's distractions it's not a totally bad book just not what I'm used to with a Spenser book.
July 3, 2019
I have to make a confession here, this is the first Spencer book that I have read. I've read other Parker books in his different series but never finished a Spencer. I tried a Spencer novel years ago. The character, (at that time in my life) came off pretentious and arrogant.
I found this one on a blog that pops up periodically that describes past Edgar winners. As a writer of Mystery/Thrillers I am always interested in the market and thought I'd give this one a go. I liked it.
In this book Parker does a brilliant job in the character's voice, I think one of the best as far as internal point of view-the perception of Spencer and his take on everything that is happening. In fact there might be just a tad too much.
In Promised land the plot is merely a vehicle to display the relationships of the character. More time is dedicated to his relationship aspect than what is going on in the story/caper. Parker juxtaposes a disintegrating relationship between two of his clients with his blossoming relationship with his girlfriend. The contrast is stark and highly engaging.
The plot part of the book isn't as satisfying as it could be. The ending was implausible and I didn't buy it. It also kind of just dropped off almost as if Parker wasn't really interested in the ending of the caper.
However, he did a brilliant job of winding up both relationships that carried the book.
He would've received five stars from me if he'd just cared a little more about the caper-just a smidgen. Would I read another Spencer, sure. Especially to pick up his skill in character point of view. I would also highly recommend this book to other authors for the same reason.
David Putnam Author of The Bruno Johnson series
I found this one on a blog that pops up periodically that describes past Edgar winners. As a writer of Mystery/Thrillers I am always interested in the market and thought I'd give this one a go. I liked it.
In this book Parker does a brilliant job in the character's voice, I think one of the best as far as internal point of view-the perception of Spencer and his take on everything that is happening. In fact there might be just a tad too much.
In Promised land the plot is merely a vehicle to display the relationships of the character. More time is dedicated to his relationship aspect than what is going on in the story/caper. Parker juxtaposes a disintegrating relationship between two of his clients with his blossoming relationship with his girlfriend. The contrast is stark and highly engaging.
The plot part of the book isn't as satisfying as it could be. The ending was implausible and I didn't buy it. It also kind of just dropped off almost as if Parker wasn't really interested in the ending of the caper.
However, he did a brilliant job of winding up both relationships that carried the book.
He would've received five stars from me if he'd just cared a little more about the caper-just a smidgen. Would I read another Spencer, sure. Especially to pick up his skill in character point of view. I would also highly recommend this book to other authors for the same reason.
David Putnam Author of The Bruno Johnson series
November 25, 2016
Spenser mystery number 4 didn't do it for me. A weird story line with radical feminists looking to buy guns. I know the seventies were strange, but still....Also, lots of relationship angst and tiresome group therapy sessions. A dull denouement with not much action. Meeting Hawk was the one redeeming feature.
February 1, 2018
Nothing more can be said then what I have said previously of the other three novels I've read. Great characters and decent plot. Oh one more thing: Hawk is pretty bad ass.
April 3, 2024
This book is my 4th Spenser book and it was one an epic eye roll 🙄 of meh and this is so stupid.
Hawk finally appears. I know that Crais’s series with Elvis Cole and Joe Pike is an homage to this series. Honestly, sometimes the copy is better than the original. Maybe that’s blasphemous but I’m still not a fan of Spenser after 4 books. His wise ass is annoying and he’s super passive aggressive. Maybe he gets better as the series progresses but I doubt it.
I need a break I think from this series.
Susan annoys me in this too. She forces Spenser to say I love you and well that’s meaningless. They lead separate lives. There’s zero chance that they will ever be truly be together. Maybe that’s for the best.
The MCs in this book are loathsome. The husband loves the wife too much. He committed fraud as a result 🙄🙄🙄.
The wife feels smothered. 🙄🙄🙄🙄 She commits a lot of adultery and accessory to murder and robbery. She’s no prize. Spenser ends up getting them out of trouble and they honestly didn’t deserve it. They should pay for their crimes.
This whole plot was meh. I honestly do not get why this series is so popular. It’s not that great. Taking a break.
Side note 📝
The Spenser for Hire tv pilot is based on this book
Hawk finally appears. I know that Crais’s series with Elvis Cole and Joe Pike is an homage to this series. Honestly, sometimes the copy is better than the original. Maybe that’s blasphemous but I’m still not a fan of Spenser after 4 books. His wise ass is annoying and he’s super passive aggressive. Maybe he gets better as the series progresses but I doubt it.
I need a break I think from this series.
Susan annoys me in this too. She forces Spenser to say I love you and well that’s meaningless. They lead separate lives. There’s zero chance that they will ever be truly be together. Maybe that’s for the best.
The MCs in this book are loathsome. The husband loves the wife too much. He committed fraud as a result 🙄🙄🙄.
The wife feels smothered. 🙄🙄🙄🙄 She commits a lot of adultery and accessory to murder and robbery. She’s no prize. Spenser ends up getting them out of trouble and they honestly didn’t deserve it. They should pay for their crimes.
This whole plot was meh. I honestly do not get why this series is so popular. It’s not that great. Taking a break.
Side note 📝
The Spenser for Hire tv pilot is based on this book
June 4, 2022
Spenser is a two-fisted social worker, ex-cop, knight in sarcastic armour... basically a man who does the right thing because he couldn't live with himself, if he weren't honourable.
Hired to find a runaway wife, he does, easily. And then he's promptly fired because he won't tell his client where she is. He discovers that both husband and wife is each in their own deep trouble, for entirely different reasons that have nothing to do with her running away (that's where his knightly social worker comes out) and has to come up with a plan to save them both and give them the chance to fix things... or f*** them up, again.
Well, he doesn't *have* to help them, beyond having taken the initial job and not resolving it... but he's that kind of guy. They have a problem, he feels somewhat responsible for earning his initial pay, and he can see a way through that neither of them could. Plus, he can save the wife from death or a life in prison, and save the husband from being killed by a particularly nasty loan shark.
And it's Hawk's first appearance in the series. Hawk is the black enforcer who does leg-breaking, bodyguarding, and whatever else comes along... but with the same (if darker) level of honour that Spenser does.
I find Parker to be incredibly easy to read. Pleasant and comfortable.
Hired to find a runaway wife, he does, easily. And then he's promptly fired because he won't tell his client where she is. He discovers that both husband and wife is each in their own deep trouble, for entirely different reasons that have nothing to do with her running away (that's where his knightly social worker comes out) and has to come up with a plan to save them both and give them the chance to fix things... or f*** them up, again.
Well, he doesn't *have* to help them, beyond having taken the initial job and not resolving it... but he's that kind of guy. They have a problem, he feels somewhat responsible for earning his initial pay, and he can see a way through that neither of them could. Plus, he can save the wife from death or a life in prison, and save the husband from being killed by a particularly nasty loan shark.
And it's Hawk's first appearance in the series. Hawk is the black enforcer who does leg-breaking, bodyguarding, and whatever else comes along... but with the same (if darker) level of honour that Spenser does.
I find Parker to be incredibly easy to read. Pleasant and comfortable.
July 20, 2013
It was good. I chuckled periodically. I like the way Spenser talks and thinks.
This was my first Parker book. It’s number 4 in the Spenser series. It’s typical first person private eye solving a typical mystery with a happy ending. It’s not a wow kind of book, but I enjoyed it. It has good characters and good dialogue. This author is different due to his sense of humor. He says unexpected things.
The ending was weak. In the spoiler I am not giving away the main mysteries.
The narrator Michael Prichard was excellent. He did not do weird voices for women. I was impressed.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 1st person Spenser. Unabridged audiobook length: 5 hrs and 27 mins (224 pages). Swearing language: strong including religious swear words and racial slurs, but rarely used. Sexual language: none. Sex scenes: about two referred to, no details shown. Setting: Around 1976 Boston and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Book copyright: 1976. Genre: PI mystery.
This was my first Parker book. It’s number 4 in the Spenser series. It’s typical first person private eye solving a typical mystery with a happy ending. It’s not a wow kind of book, but I enjoyed it. It has good characters and good dialogue. This author is different due to his sense of humor. He says unexpected things.
The ending was weak. In the spoiler I am not giving away the main mysteries.
The narrator Michael Prichard was excellent. He did not do weird voices for women. I was impressed.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 1st person Spenser. Unabridged audiobook length: 5 hrs and 27 mins (224 pages). Swearing language: strong including religious swear words and racial slurs, but rarely used. Sexual language: none. Sex scenes: about two referred to, no details shown. Setting: Around 1976 Boston and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Book copyright: 1976. Genre: PI mystery.
September 13, 2018
There was a lot going on in this book - a new recurring character is introduced, an enforcer for mob bosses named Hawk who is a combination of your worst nightmare and a good friend to have; a proposal for marriage by Spenser to his girlfriend, Susan; a client whose wife ran away, joined a militant feminist revolutionary group into bank robbing and guns; and the client himself, who has his own problems leading to a meeting with Hawk.
There are the usual wisecracks from Spenser, and his girlfriend, which I enjoy. Spencer's mouth gets him into a few fights here and there, which doesn't seem to bother him nearly as much as his girlfriend. All in all, it won't disappoint fans, and I enjoyed it more than the earlier books, but that may be just me getting to know the characters.
There are the usual wisecracks from Spenser, and his girlfriend, which I enjoy. Spencer's mouth gets him into a few fights here and there, which doesn't seem to bother him nearly as much as his girlfriend. All in all, it won't disappoint fans, and I enjoyed it more than the earlier books, but that may be just me getting to know the characters.
August 24, 2013
Spenser #4. We get to meet Hawk for the first time, Spenser and Susan explore their relationship. There's militant feminists (published in 1976), some loan sharking, bank robbing, and Thoreau.
January 17, 2018
This is the fourth book in the Spenser series, a book which is light on his detective work but important for the series for three reasons: it introduces readers to Hawk, a former boxing buddy of Spenser’s, it begins to sort out Spenser and Susan’s relationship and it explains what Spenser calls his “moral code”, the principles by which he lives his life and does his work.
It begins as Spenser is hired by Harvey Shepard a suburban businessman, to find his wife Pam who has disappeared. While waiting to meet Harvey for his preliminary interview before taking the job, Spenser runs into Hawk, a former boxing buddy, who has just finished a meeting with Harvey. Spenser is not surprised to see Hawk as the work the two do occasionally brings them in contact with one another, but his appearance at Harvey’s home means one thing. Harvey is in trouble with some very dangerous people. Hawk is an enforcer working now for King Powers, a thug and loan shark. Harvey must owe some money and Hawk has come to remind Harvey about his repayment plan.
Spenser quickly locates Harvey’s wife Pam. He finds her alive and under no duress but she does not want to return home. He is not quite sure what to do. She has left Harvey by choice. After hearing her story, he promises her he will not tell her husband where she is, but will say that she is well and voluntarily absent. She is confused and unhappy, but is safe. Spenser feels he has completed the job he was hired to do.
When he returns to tell Harvey that he has found his wife, he finds him beaten and bruised. Harvey tells Spenser that he had borrowed money from King Powers to fund a real estate deal that was not going well and now owes money he cannot repay. Hawk is King’s enforcer and he is leaning heavily on Harvey to repay the loan or suffer the consequences. Harvey asks Spenser for help and Spenser feels it is all too big a mess to walk away from.
As Spenser tries to help the Shepherds, fending off the local toughs after Harvey and freeing his wife who has become entrapped with some shady feminists, Parker uses this context to explore Spenser’s relationship with Susan and what Spenser refers to as his code of conduct. It also explains Spenser’s friendship with Hawk and how the two are very different people, but as Hawk points out to Susan, they are not as different as she thinks they may be.
It is still early in Susan and Spenser’s life as a couple. They know they care about each other but are living independent lives without sharing their homes. In this novel Spenser and Susan reach a crisis point in their relationship when she tells him she loves him and he, reluctant to complicate things does not respond the way she expected. He is perfectly happy the way things are and is not inclined to mess with something that is working well. Susan however feels a relationship without commitment is not worth much and when she tells him she loves him and does not get a response, she leaves.
Meanwhile Pam Shepard has become entangled with a group of militant feminists who supported and sheltered her after she left Harvey. They have plans to start a revolution and Pam unwittingly becomes involved in a bank robbery in which a guard is shot and killed. She then calls on Spenser for help, confused and fearful.
Spenser wants to help the couple because he knows they are probably in more trouble than they realize, Harvey with King Powers and Pam with the law. He wants to see Harvey clear of his money troubles so that Power will be off his back and he needs to get Pam off the hook for armed robbery and murder. He develops a risky plan to solve both of those issues.
At the same time, Spenser tries to work out his relationship with Susan and finds himself under increasing pressure to explain himself. This means articulating some of the values he holds, his code of “honorable behavior”, the values that guide his life and his work. He finds that difficult. He is not a man who succumbs easily to self analysis, believing that he is what he does. His actions speak for themselves. He does what he feels is right rather addressing only what he sees in front of him rather than thinking about things in the abstract. Finding the right words is not important to him nor does it make things any better. It is not important how he feels, what is important is what he does.
This book is very light on plot and heavy on introspection, so is more character driven that the books preceding it. But it is an important contribution to the series, as Susan and Spenser work out the basis for their relationship in the future. It also provides Spenser the opportunity to describe the basic tenets of his moral code through dialogue between the characters. And it introduces Hawk, a former leg breaker for the mob, a man with whom Spenser has had a relationship that we don’t know much about except we learn it is more than just casual friendship, it is based on mutual respect.
Although there is much discussion among the various characters about gender roles, what must be remembered is that this novel, written in the early seventies was a time when the Women’s Movement was growing, a time when those roles, marriage and relationships were going through a period of great change and thus were topics of conversation.
In this book, like his other Spenser novels, Parker continues his references to food and drink, giving readers all the details of the beer Spenser orders, the wines he savours and the gourmet meals he enjoys. It is clear that food is an important part of life for Parker and Spenser, the man he has created.
So with this installment in the series behind me, I will continue to the next book in the series.
It begins as Spenser is hired by Harvey Shepard a suburban businessman, to find his wife Pam who has disappeared. While waiting to meet Harvey for his preliminary interview before taking the job, Spenser runs into Hawk, a former boxing buddy, who has just finished a meeting with Harvey. Spenser is not surprised to see Hawk as the work the two do occasionally brings them in contact with one another, but his appearance at Harvey’s home means one thing. Harvey is in trouble with some very dangerous people. Hawk is an enforcer working now for King Powers, a thug and loan shark. Harvey must owe some money and Hawk has come to remind Harvey about his repayment plan.
Spenser quickly locates Harvey’s wife Pam. He finds her alive and under no duress but she does not want to return home. He is not quite sure what to do. She has left Harvey by choice. After hearing her story, he promises her he will not tell her husband where she is, but will say that she is well and voluntarily absent. She is confused and unhappy, but is safe. Spenser feels he has completed the job he was hired to do.
When he returns to tell Harvey that he has found his wife, he finds him beaten and bruised. Harvey tells Spenser that he had borrowed money from King Powers to fund a real estate deal that was not going well and now owes money he cannot repay. Hawk is King’s enforcer and he is leaning heavily on Harvey to repay the loan or suffer the consequences. Harvey asks Spenser for help and Spenser feels it is all too big a mess to walk away from.
As Spenser tries to help the Shepherds, fending off the local toughs after Harvey and freeing his wife who has become entrapped with some shady feminists, Parker uses this context to explore Spenser’s relationship with Susan and what Spenser refers to as his code of conduct. It also explains Spenser’s friendship with Hawk and how the two are very different people, but as Hawk points out to Susan, they are not as different as she thinks they may be.
It is still early in Susan and Spenser’s life as a couple. They know they care about each other but are living independent lives without sharing their homes. In this novel Spenser and Susan reach a crisis point in their relationship when she tells him she loves him and he, reluctant to complicate things does not respond the way she expected. He is perfectly happy the way things are and is not inclined to mess with something that is working well. Susan however feels a relationship without commitment is not worth much and when she tells him she loves him and does not get a response, she leaves.
Meanwhile Pam Shepard has become entangled with a group of militant feminists who supported and sheltered her after she left Harvey. They have plans to start a revolution and Pam unwittingly becomes involved in a bank robbery in which a guard is shot and killed. She then calls on Spenser for help, confused and fearful.
Spenser wants to help the couple because he knows they are probably in more trouble than they realize, Harvey with King Powers and Pam with the law. He wants to see Harvey clear of his money troubles so that Power will be off his back and he needs to get Pam off the hook for armed robbery and murder. He develops a risky plan to solve both of those issues.
At the same time, Spenser tries to work out his relationship with Susan and finds himself under increasing pressure to explain himself. This means articulating some of the values he holds, his code of “honorable behavior”, the values that guide his life and his work. He finds that difficult. He is not a man who succumbs easily to self analysis, believing that he is what he does. His actions speak for themselves. He does what he feels is right rather addressing only what he sees in front of him rather than thinking about things in the abstract. Finding the right words is not important to him nor does it make things any better. It is not important how he feels, what is important is what he does.
This book is very light on plot and heavy on introspection, so is more character driven that the books preceding it. But it is an important contribution to the series, as Susan and Spenser work out the basis for their relationship in the future. It also provides Spenser the opportunity to describe the basic tenets of his moral code through dialogue between the characters. And it introduces Hawk, a former leg breaker for the mob, a man with whom Spenser has had a relationship that we don’t know much about except we learn it is more than just casual friendship, it is based on mutual respect.
Although there is much discussion among the various characters about gender roles, what must be remembered is that this novel, written in the early seventies was a time when the Women’s Movement was growing, a time when those roles, marriage and relationships were going through a period of great change and thus were topics of conversation.
In this book, like his other Spenser novels, Parker continues his references to food and drink, giving readers all the details of the beer Spenser orders, the wines he savours and the gourmet meals he enjoys. It is clear that food is an important part of life for Parker and Spenser, the man he has created.
So with this installment in the series behind me, I will continue to the next book in the series.
May 12, 2020
Second read. First Hawk appearance.
If you are a writer you should read Parker just for the dialogue. Yes, this is a bit dated, but Parker is riding easy at this point in the series and his dialog has a natural flow.
If you are a writer you should read Parker just for the dialogue. Yes, this is a bit dated, but Parker is riding easy at this point in the series and his dialog has a natural flow.
March 29, 2008
In the fourth installment of the Spenser series, Spenser is hired to find a man's wife. When he finds her and discovers she doesn't want her husband to know where she is, Spenser obliges. But the case doesn't stop there. The husband is in trouble with a loan shark and the wife has taken up with some shady fanatical women. Spenser has to try to save them both. Hawk is introduced in this novel.
I absolutely LOVE Robert Parker's Spenser. He's a complex character with many conflicting characteristics. But the conflictions work. It's hard not to be endeared to his wit and determination to "do right."
The introduction of Hawk adds a new layer of complexity to Spenser's character as well. Hawk mentions to Susan that he and Spenser are more alike than she notices, and I think that's very true. Right down to the single names. When Spenser tells the police captain about Hawk, the captain wants to know what Hawk's full name is. Spenser says, "I don't know; just Hawk."
At one point in the novel Spenser says to Hawk, "Hawk, all this time I've known you I never could figure out why sometimes you talk like an account exec from Merrill Lynch and sometimes you talk like Br'er Bear." Hawk's response is, "Ah is the product of a ghetto education. Sometimes my heritage keep popping up." Besides the wit in both characters it struck me as mirroring Spenser's ability to "play dumb" when the need arises.
I continue to be in awe of Parker's magic with language. One of the points that it stood out the most for me in this novel was when Spenser makes the observation, "I don't know if I was scared or not, but Shepard was so scared his face didn't fit." I could have NEVER come up with that description, but when I read it, I could vividly see what Parker was talking about. I just couldn't help but smile at that sentence.
There were two reasons I didn't give this book five stars. Had I been able to use a half star option, this would have definitely been a 4 1/2 star rating. The reasons I didn't opt for five were 1.) I haven't figured out what Parker is doing with his punction yet. In a lot of the questions the characters ask, the sentence ends with a period, not a question mark. There were several instances where I had to go back and reread before I realized he was asking a question not making a statement. The other reason that kept me from five stars on this was the rationale for the women robbing the bank. Now, this may have more to do with when the book was published, but I at first thought it was a joke. However, no one seemed to find it as absurd as me, the reader. So, I wonder if it was a viable motive in 1976 when the book was published as opposed to today?
Regardless of these two minor points, I LOVED this book. Moving on to #5...
I absolutely LOVE Robert Parker's Spenser. He's a complex character with many conflicting characteristics. But the conflictions work. It's hard not to be endeared to his wit and determination to "do right."
The introduction of Hawk adds a new layer of complexity to Spenser's character as well. Hawk mentions to Susan that he and Spenser are more alike than she notices, and I think that's very true. Right down to the single names. When Spenser tells the police captain about Hawk, the captain wants to know what Hawk's full name is. Spenser says, "I don't know; just Hawk."
At one point in the novel Spenser says to Hawk, "Hawk, all this time I've known you I never could figure out why sometimes you talk like an account exec from Merrill Lynch and sometimes you talk like Br'er Bear." Hawk's response is, "Ah is the product of a ghetto education. Sometimes my heritage keep popping up." Besides the wit in both characters it struck me as mirroring Spenser's ability to "play dumb" when the need arises.
I continue to be in awe of Parker's magic with language. One of the points that it stood out the most for me in this novel was when Spenser makes the observation, "I don't know if I was scared or not, but Shepard was so scared his face didn't fit." I could have NEVER come up with that description, but when I read it, I could vividly see what Parker was talking about. I just couldn't help but smile at that sentence.
There were two reasons I didn't give this book five stars. Had I been able to use a half star option, this would have definitely been a 4 1/2 star rating. The reasons I didn't opt for five were 1.) I haven't figured out what Parker is doing with his punction yet. In a lot of the questions the characters ask, the sentence ends with a period, not a question mark. There were several instances where I had to go back and reread before I realized he was asking a question not making a statement. The other reason that kept me from five stars on this was the rationale for the women robbing the bank. Now, this may have more to do with when the book was published, but I at first thought it was a joke. However, no one seemed to find it as absurd as me, the reader. So, I wonder if it was a viable motive in 1976 when the book was published as opposed to today?
Regardless of these two minor points, I LOVED this book. Moving on to #5...
October 2, 2013
The fourth book in the Spenser series. I wavered between three and four stars for this one. This novel introduces Hawk to us which is definitely a good thing. Within a page of his introduction, you love his character. This book also explores Spenser and Susan's relationship. The actual case that Spenser is not exactly gripping but I did enjoy the conclusion to it. I think part of the problem is that some of the background is not as prevalent as it was when this novel was written. That being said, this book was a quick read and worth it for Hawk alone.
January 18, 2011
This is the second or third Spenser title for me, and they're generally a fun read. Descriptions of the Boston locale stands out since my wife's folks are from there. This plot felt a little dated with the women's libbers, but I liked the introduction of Hawk. As time allows, I'll read deeper into the Spenser series.
October 10, 2025
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Promised Land (Spenser Number 4)
This is my kind of pulp fiction — hardboiled, well-crafted, and just pulpy enough to leave fingerprints on the page. Promised Land may be nearly half a century old, but it still reads smoother than a scotch in a clean glass. Sure, the modern reader brigade will line up to complain about outdated gender roles, cultural stereotypes, or that Spenser eats too much red meat — but it’s 1977, not 2025. Blame the era, not the author. (And good luck sending your feedback to Parker — he’s been ignoring reviews since 2010.)
Here, our wise-cracking knight-errant is hired by Harvey Shepard, a real-estate developer whose wife, Pam, has gone full-tilt Gloria Steinem and vanished with a couple of militant feminists. (Only in the ’70s could you say that sentence with a straight face.) Spenser, being Spenser, finds her easily — but when bank robberies and loan sharks get involved, “domestic trouble” becomes “organised crime with emotional baggage.”
It’s also the book where we meet two series legends: Susan Silverman (Spenser’s eternal girlfriend/therapist/life coach) and Hawk, one of the greatest “cool criminals with a moral compass” ever written. Their arrival cements the Spenser formula — equal parts action, ethics, and existential banter. Think Raymond Chandler meets Dr. Phil.
What really stands out in Promised Land — and what many modern readers miss — is how Parker uses Spenser to quietly call out both sexism and racism, often by holding up the mirror rather than hammering a message. Hawk isn’t written as a token or a stereotype; he’s an equal, a force, and a reflection of Spenser’s own capacity for violence and moral restraint. Likewise, Parker’s treatment of gender here — through Pam’s feminist journey and Susan’s voice — shows a man trying to engage with social change, not mock it. The nuance may be rough-edged, but for the 1970s, that’s saying something.
Modern readers often view these topics through tunnel vision — forgetting that Parker’s dialogue between Spenser and Hawk, or Spenser and Susan, cuts both ways. Yes, there’s still a tilt towards the male perspective (this is 1977 Boston noir, not a gender studies thesis), but it’s also a book unafraid to let the reader squirm and think about those double standards.
Highlights:
Hawk strutting in with all the menace and charm of a tuxedoed rattlesnake.
Spenser refusing to betray his principles, even when it means losing a paycheck.
Parker’s ability to fit feminism, marriage, mobsters, and moral philosophy into 218 pages — tighter than a loan shark’s contract.
One star off? Only because the moral balance still leans slightly toward the men — not maliciously, just as a product of its time. But Parker was trying to have the conversation before most writers even dared.
This is my kind of pulp fiction — hardboiled, well-crafted, and just pulpy enough to leave fingerprints on the page. Promised Land may be nearly half a century old, but it still reads smoother than a scotch in a clean glass. Sure, the modern reader brigade will line up to complain about outdated gender roles, cultural stereotypes, or that Spenser eats too much red meat — but it’s 1977, not 2025. Blame the era, not the author. (And good luck sending your feedback to Parker — he’s been ignoring reviews since 2010.)
Here, our wise-cracking knight-errant is hired by Harvey Shepard, a real-estate developer whose wife, Pam, has gone full-tilt Gloria Steinem and vanished with a couple of militant feminists. (Only in the ’70s could you say that sentence with a straight face.) Spenser, being Spenser, finds her easily — but when bank robberies and loan sharks get involved, “domestic trouble” becomes “organised crime with emotional baggage.”
It’s also the book where we meet two series legends: Susan Silverman (Spenser’s eternal girlfriend/therapist/life coach) and Hawk, one of the greatest “cool criminals with a moral compass” ever written. Their arrival cements the Spenser formula — equal parts action, ethics, and existential banter. Think Raymond Chandler meets Dr. Phil.
What really stands out in Promised Land — and what many modern readers miss — is how Parker uses Spenser to quietly call out both sexism and racism, often by holding up the mirror rather than hammering a message. Hawk isn’t written as a token or a stereotype; he’s an equal, a force, and a reflection of Spenser’s own capacity for violence and moral restraint. Likewise, Parker’s treatment of gender here — through Pam’s feminist journey and Susan’s voice — shows a man trying to engage with social change, not mock it. The nuance may be rough-edged, but for the 1970s, that’s saying something.
Modern readers often view these topics through tunnel vision — forgetting that Parker’s dialogue between Spenser and Hawk, or Spenser and Susan, cuts both ways. Yes, there’s still a tilt towards the male perspective (this is 1977 Boston noir, not a gender studies thesis), but it’s also a book unafraid to let the reader squirm and think about those double standards.
Highlights:
Hawk strutting in with all the menace and charm of a tuxedoed rattlesnake.
Spenser refusing to betray his principles, even when it means losing a paycheck.
Parker’s ability to fit feminism, marriage, mobsters, and moral philosophy into 218 pages — tighter than a loan shark’s contract.
One star off? Only because the moral balance still leans slightly toward the men — not maliciously, just as a product of its time. But Parker was trying to have the conversation before most writers even dared.
September 12, 2019
Unfortunately I wrote a review of Mortal Stakes under this one. I can't avoid writing about this one now that I have to go back and fix this fuckup. This one is less intense thriller and more Spenser (and by logical extension Parker) wrestling with the idea of marriage. He and Susan have come to a bit of a watershed moment in their relationship when it comes to settling down and the couple in this one have the same problem, which they've ironically hired Spenser to help with. There's a lot of rumination about gender and commitment in this one, which is delivered subtly as Spenser is not the type of guy to give long emotional speeches. As you can see by the above, this is not the most plot-focused of the Spenser books so far but it was still fun and gained a lot by the appearance of Hawk.
April 17, 2025
Probably the weakest Spenser novel I’ve read so far. The usually sharp, witty dialogue felt a bit overdone this time, and the plot dragged with too much talk and not enough action.
November 4, 2020
We miss you, Spenser
Spenser takes a case that's as pleasant as a bag of rats. Harvey Shepard wants him to find his runaway wife, while Harvey himself is up to his neck in hock to a vicious loan shark. Finding Pam Shepard isn't that difficult; she's living with a couple of militant feminists and does not want to go home.
I chose this book because . . . Hawk. What is a Spenser story without Hawk? Of course, when I think of Hawk, I see Avery Brooks who was the personification of the fictional character.
Anyway, great story. I enjoyed every page.
7
Spenser takes a case that's as pleasant as a bag of rats. Harvey Shepard wants him to find his runaway wife, while Harvey himself is up to his neck in hock to a vicious loan shark. Finding Pam Shepard isn't that difficult; she's living with a couple of militant feminists and does not want to go home.
I chose this book because . . . Hawk. What is a Spenser story without Hawk? Of course, when I think of Hawk, I see Avery Brooks who was the personification of the fictional character.
Anyway, great story. I enjoyed every page.
7
August 1, 2021
"'[...] She believes some very destructive things. What's that Frost line, 'He will not go behind his father's saying'?'
' 'Mending Wall,' ' Susan said.
'Yeah, she's like that [...]' "
Here's another one for our favorite poetry lover, Spenser. Not only does he have an opportunity to dazzle Susan - as well as the reader - with his familiarity with poems of Robert Frost, but in this novel he also displays superb boxing skills in several fights with bad guys. Love of poetry, professional-level boxing prowess, intelligence, wit, and extraordinary manly charm do not exhaust the list of Spenser's superhuman features. But first about the plot of Promised Land (1976), the fourth novel in Robert B. Parker's Spenser series.
A businessman hires Spenser to find his wife, who ran away from him and from her three children. As soon as Spenser begins working on the case, we meet Hawk. This is his first appearance; he will become one of the main characters in the series. The reader, who has never read later Spenser novels, will likely develop, at least at the beginning, somewhat negative impression of Hawk's character.
Before I start ridiculing the novel, let me first say what I like - not much, so it will go fast. I like the author's realistic account of the marital problems that made the businessman's wife run away. I also like the portrayal of Susan Silverman. In particular, I like her words
It is now time to disclose the magnitude of my ignorance. Promised Land won the Edgar Award for the best novel in 1977. This is the first time my opinion differs so much from that of the literary critics. I do not understand how anyone can see greatness in this book. I must have missed a lot of good stuff when reading the novel; it's either this or senility...
I will keep reading Spenser's novels in order in which they have been written since I am curious when the author finds the voice of the later installments, which tend to be much more to my liking.
One-and-three-quarter stars.
' 'Mending Wall,' ' Susan said.
'Yeah, she's like that [...]' "
Here's another one for our favorite poetry lover, Spenser. Not only does he have an opportunity to dazzle Susan - as well as the reader - with his familiarity with poems of Robert Frost, but in this novel he also displays superb boxing skills in several fights with bad guys. Love of poetry, professional-level boxing prowess, intelligence, wit, and extraordinary manly charm do not exhaust the list of Spenser's superhuman features. But first about the plot of Promised Land (1976), the fourth novel in Robert B. Parker's Spenser series.
A businessman hires Spenser to find his wife, who ran away from him and from her three children. As soon as Spenser begins working on the case, we meet Hawk. This is his first appearance; he will become one of the main characters in the series. The reader, who has never read later Spenser novels, will likely develop, at least at the beginning, somewhat negative impression of Hawk's character.
Before I start ridiculing the novel, let me first say what I like - not much, so it will go fast. I like the author's realistic account of the marital problems that made the businessman's wife run away. I also like the portrayal of Susan Silverman. In particular, I like her words
" 'What kind of man does the kinds of things you do? What kind of man gets up in the morning and showers and shaves and checks the cartridges in his gun?' "All the rest is bad. Or very bad. Like the author's attempts to legitimize Spenser's godlike powers to judge people on their actions and to absolve them of their wrongdoings. Like the infantile take on 1970s feminism. Like the embarrassing pop psychology bits. Like the totally implausible plot developments, such as, for instance, Spenser arranging illegal deals with police and FBI.
It is now time to disclose the magnitude of my ignorance. Promised Land won the Edgar Award for the best novel in 1977. This is the first time my opinion differs so much from that of the literary critics. I do not understand how anyone can see greatness in this book. I must have missed a lot of good stuff when reading the novel; it's either this or senility...
I will keep reading Spenser's novels in order in which they have been written since I am curious when the author finds the voice of the later installments, which tend to be much more to my liking.
One-and-three-quarter stars.
December 27, 2019
Read again 05/04/15 for Maze mystery group.
The first time I read this book I was enthusiastically reading all of the Spenser books in order. Unfortunately Parker was writing faster than I was reading them and I've never finished the entire Spenser series. This time I read the book having just read "The Big Sleep" by Raymond Chandler and you can certainly see the debt Parker owes to Chandler.
Parker is writing about the hard-boiled detective now set in the 1970s. The knight-detective is learning to cope with women's liberation and all that applies. Parker's books are social commentaries as well as mysteries. In fact this book might be better placed in the "thriller" category rather than "mystery".
I enjoyed watching the developments "Promised Land" almost as much as I enjoyed the descriptions of men in leisure suits. Well done.
The first time I read this book I was enthusiastically reading all of the Spenser books in order. Unfortunately Parker was writing faster than I was reading them and I've never finished the entire Spenser series. This time I read the book having just read "The Big Sleep" by Raymond Chandler and you can certainly see the debt Parker owes to Chandler.
Parker is writing about the hard-boiled detective now set in the 1970s. The knight-detective is learning to cope with women's liberation and all that applies. Parker's books are social commentaries as well as mysteries. In fact this book might be better placed in the "thriller" category rather than "mystery".
I enjoyed watching the developments "Promised Land" almost as much as I enjoyed the descriptions of men in leisure suits. Well done.
May 16, 2025
On rereading, the fourth Spenser book proved to be what I remembered: a strong addition to the p.i. shelf. Spenser had a tougher edge then. Hawk was still a wary opponent,not a sidekick. Susan, newly arrived, was still engaged in figuring out who Spenser was, not in being an irritating voice for his softer side. (Her attempt to figure out the differences and similarities between Spenser and Hawk were still fresh, and meaningful.) Spenser's social observations were more biting. And the sense of an edge to everything was stronger. The books lost that edge some time after "A Catskill Eage,' though there were occasional echoes ("Small Vices, say). One of the main characters tells Spenser that he doesn’t sound like she e petted. “I read lot, he replies. It shows in an unforced way.
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