I've read several of the Spenser novels and have enjoyed them. I decided to go back and see what he was like in the beginning. He's deffinitely got a different roughness to this character. It's interesting to see Spenser without Susan and Hawk involved in the witty dialogues. I really enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot, not really sure how Spenser was going to uncover substantial leads to break the case. Several good action sequences that built to a climax with a nice solid end to the story. ( )

I don't normally like mysteries, but I loved this one! It's the first in the Spenser series (Spenser being the inspiration for the "Spenser: For Hire" TV show of the '80s). Spenser's hired by a university to track down a missing illuminated manuscript, but along the way he stumbles into a drug-smuggling plot and has to save a girl who's in over her head.

This book was especially notable, to me, because of the inclusion of a terrific character of color: a woman who's strong, intelligent, and independent -- neither a token nor a sex object. That was fantastic, and very surprising in a book written in 1973! ( )

http://tyranist.blogspot.com/2009/02/... ( )

It took me a while to find this first book in the Spenser series. I came to discover Parker only a few years ago and was reluctant to take on Spenser. Again, with the books adapted to a tv series, I felt I would be comparing Robert Urich to the book constantly. However, I decided I would try the first 2 and see how it went.

First, it's a very short book and a very quick read. Easily finishable in a few hours. And I was surprised that the lack of personal details regarding Spensers physical description were wonderful. Whether that holds out in future installments remains to be seen, but I was not on the contstant comparison grandstand. (Hey I'm not Knocking Urich--I thought he was a great actor and he will forever be Dan Tanna as far as I'm concerned.)

I hope the series progresses, in both time and character development. It has great promise. And it was nice to enjoy a read that didn't just keep beating you about the head with the story, but that sort of jsut happened, kinda like life. ( )

Yes I've started another series. This one is a tough, gritty detective novel that owes a lot to Dashell Hammet and Raymond Chandler. But it is set on the familiar streets of Boston in the early 1970s when gentrified neighborhoods were still slums, the universities were highly politicized with leftist messages, and $5 could buy four beers, two sandwiches, AND cover the tip at a bar. Robert Parker's Spenser is definitely imperfect and he solves the case through a combination of dumb luck and brute force (and some deus ex machina as well). What makes this book great (and unique) is that Spenser is a wiseass and laugh out loud funny. It makes me want to read more. ( )