A Catskill Eagle

I am not sure what I think about this book. On one hand, it is the end of a story line that started a few books ago. On the other hand, I am really tired of Susan's actions.

I do not need my heroines to be likeable or even nice. And I would admit that there are women like that in real life. I just do not understand them. At all.

Back to the book - Susan is not only still in California, she also has a relationship there and the guy is a bit... possessive. And has a father that is even more possessive. Which Spenser has no idea of until he gets a letter that Hawk is in jail and Susan is in trouble. And off he goes.

Welcome to the Spenser and Hawk comedy special - the dynamics between the two of them had always been there but that is the show more first book where their friendship takes a front seat compared to Spenser's love story. Jail-break, murders, arson, assault, kidnapping - all these are normal in a Spenser novel. Except that usually our favorite detective is investigating it. This time, he and Hawk are the ones that are wanted for it... and they did it all. Add a few illegal immigrants and a mutiny in a pseudo-military compound, running from one coast to another, the reappearance of Rachel Wallace from a previous novel (she starts to become a feature in the series), a millionaire that is actually a decent person and keeps his promise (also given earlier in the series), the two policemen that seem to trust Spenser no matter what, FBI, CIA and Susan... the damsel in distress that cannot make up her mind who she loves.

Somewhere in the middle of the story, Spenser breaks any code he ever had. It does make sense in the long run and based on where he was heading anyway but... he may have crossed a line he should have been a lot more careful of. On the other hand, at least Susan is back so he should get to his normal - or a new normal at least.

I am really curious where the series will go from here - a less competent story teller would chose to end the series here. Parker did not - hopefully using this whole thing to build up a more rounded Spenser. If he reverts back to his old self, it will be a disappointment.

If you had never read another book from the series, do not start here. It is a wrap up book of a series in a way that makes it almost impossible to work as a standalone. It is as full of machismo and testosterone as usual, with the humor leaking from each page.

I do not need to like where a character is going - and Parker seems to have a plan. And after a full book of Hawk, I really hope he does not blend into the background again, just to be called when there is an emergency. show less

Every time I read another Parker novel, I tell myself I'm going to print out a list of all his books, check off the ones I have, and then start getting the rest in order. This time, I'm doing it.

Although, I think I'm happier having read a few later Spenser books before this one, so I know how the Susan thing works out.

Spenser gets a note from love-of-his-life Susan, saying she's in trouble and Hawk's in jail. Seems her new lover, Russell, is possessive and part of a powerful family, and when she'd asked Hawk for help, Russell had him framed for murder.

So Spenser has to break Hawk out of jail, and rescue Susan... although Susan's not quite sure she wants to be rescued. And there are the corrupt cops and the FBI and CIA to deal with as show more well.

The action/mystery part of the book is exciting and just plain fun. I always love seeing Spenser and Hawk in action, and this is no exception. Just the scene of Spenser breaking Hawk out of jail was worth buying the whole book.

The personal/emotional part, though, is dark and both painful and joyous. Spenser loves Susan, and she loves him, but she also loves Russell. Something about their relationships, the way they're written, touches a chord deep inside (I know that sounds uncharacteristically fanciful, but it's the best I could come up with to describe it). Parker has a genius for conveying his characters' deeper feelings without resorting to flowery language--the essence of "show, don't tell."

I was a bit dissatisfied at first with Russell--it was understandable that Susan would pick someone very different from Spenser, but there didn't seem to be anything about him that would make Susan choose him. Then it clicked: it's in Spenser's POV. Duh. He's not going to see the same things in Russell that Susan does, nor does he want to. It's enough for him to know that Susan loves him. And when I realized that, I was awed all over again.

The first 3 Spenser books are now on my to-buy list. show less

Although I have to admit this one felt a little bit more dated than I might have liked, I really enjoyed diving back into the universe of Parker's Spenser. Parker has a way of bringing characters and scenes to life even against fast and dialogue-driven scenes, and this was an easy, enjoyable read to sink into while on vacation. It's a reminder to me to go back to the other Spenser novels I never got around to and wander through them as I get the chance.

I probably wouldn't recommend starting with this one if you're not already a fan of this series, but it's worth getting around to once you become a fan.

Parker's Spenser novels always have an element of psychology to them, but this one was clearly written while Parker was deep into 1970s therapy of some kind. Susan Silverman becomes nearly unbearable in her post-analysis dialogue and does any of that help illuminate the deep romantic divisions Parker sets up? No. I had this rated as three stars, but there's lots of Hawk/Spenser dialogue and that is always worth a star on its own.

If you're a Spenser fan, you'll probably like this book. It has all the ingredients: good, tough-guy fighting scenes; the clipped dialog Spenser is famous for; some very interesting and unusual characters.

If you read a lot of noir detective fiction, you may be less impressed. The book has a sort of "climax of a great career" feel to it, like the author was trying to pull out all the stops and have Spenser doing everything. Which is precisely what he does: every cliche you could think of for a tough guy is in this one. There's a jailbreak, a deal with the FBI, an infiltration of an army camp, an invasion of a well-guarded fortress. It would probably make a pretty good movie, because you need to suspend a whole lot of disbelief before you show more can buy into everything that's in here.

But again, it's Spenser. He's a tough guy that does crazy things, and if you enjoy Spenser, you'll enjoy this book. show less

This felt like I had read it before. Or at least, as if I'd read every part of the story in another Spenser book already and this is just pieced together.

It's good to read in order, this is when Susan and Spenser get back together and I've already read when they finally split. I may need to read that again. I found it hard to see the good and loving Russell that Susan describes but the end result was all good, Susan back and with Spenser. Much tough guy action with an early day Eric Prince and lots of gun fights and manhunts and etc. Hawk is also his usual amazing self.