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orrtannabard's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
jurassicreader's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
stevem0214's review against another edition
5.0
I thought I'd read this one before, but I'm not so sure. What a great story. Nothing out of the ordinary for Robert Parker (nor for Spenser for that matter), but I just loved the dialouge in this one. ALL of the regulars are in this one and it is just a great, though not unexpected, end! This one, you really do need to read some of the older books in the series to get the story line...so don't start with this one!
azrealz's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Classic Spenser. It brings togeth some of his acquaintances and friends from previous cases together, which makes for some really nice scenes for people who've read Spenser.
It is by no means a difficult or heavy read. It's fun, speedy, with a good mystery that reads like Spenser.
It is by no means a difficult or heavy read. It's fun, speedy, with a good mystery that reads like Spenser.
koshpeli's review against another edition
3.0
A most anti-climactic book. Others have noted that the bad guy invites Spenser to investigate, which is weird. But what’s even weirder is that she didn’t have to. She could have gotten him in to clear out the Dell from the beginning. There was never any need to lure Spenser into it.
And then we hear how the Dell is such a dangerous group, but Spenser gets the best of them time after time. And we hear how dumb they are. Which is it? We are well into that phase where everyone of Spenser’s opponents is simultenously the scariest person ever and also totally incompetent. Remember when two thugs almost killed him in Jamaica Plain?
Such a huge build up to a massive fight that lasts two seconds. Considering how big a deal it was made about how it would be better to ambush the bad guys, how Spenser’s Seven were risking life and limb, they took 40 guys and arrested the toughest guy ever in a matter of minutes. Then let the real bad guys get away.
A lot of books lately where Spenser lets people go with very little agonizing!
That being said, I liked the central mystery. I could have done with more of that, less of the shootout at OK Corral with Spenser’s lazy Stereotype Schtick Seven.
And then we hear how the Dell is such a dangerous group, but Spenser gets the best of them time after time. And we hear how dumb they are. Which is it? We are well into that phase where everyone of Spenser’s opponents is simultenously the scariest person ever and also totally incompetent. Remember when two thugs almost killed him in Jamaica Plain?
Such a huge build up to a massive fight that lasts two seconds. Considering how big a deal it was made about how it would be better to ambush the bad guys, how Spenser’s Seven were risking life and limb, they took 40 guys and arrested the toughest guy ever in a matter of minutes. Then let the real bad guys get away.
A lot of books lately where Spenser lets people go with very little agonizing!
That being said, I liked the central mystery. I could have done with more of that, less of the shootout at OK Corral with Spenser’s lazy Stereotype Schtick Seven.
gon8go's review against another edition
1.0
I've read ten or so of the Spenser books and this is my least favorite. This story is like a Spenser parody with two dimensional characters.
I really liked all the others though.
I really liked all the others though.
scott_a_miller's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent up until the ending, which was a little lazy. But the crew Spenser put together was worth the whole thing. It was a true Murders Row.
shelleyrae's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a huge fan of the dry wit and repartee so I enjoyed this as much as the others.
brianlokker's review against another edition
4.0
This is another fun read in the Spenser series.
It begins with a young, beautiful client (of course). Spenser is hired by Mary Lou Buckman to investigate the murder of her husband Steve in the small town of Potshot, Arizona. Potshot is a former mining town in the desert that’s been transformed into a faux-Western retreat for wealthy Angelenos. The town is being terrorized by a gang that holes up in a ravine outside of town, led by a charismatic character known as The Preacher. The gang has been extorting money from Potshot merchants, but Steve refused to pay. Mrs. Buckman’s theory, which Potshot’s police chief, Dean Walker, shares but can’t prove, is that Steve was killed because he stood up to the gang.
Spenser goes to Potshot to begin his investigation, but he doesn’t get far. Nobody knows anything, or if they do, they’re not telling him. As he heads home for a while, he analyzes the situation: “After my initial foray, I concluded that all in Potshot was not as it seemed. There was something going on with Lou Buckman that I didn’t get. There was a lot going on with Dean Walker I didn’t get. More annoying, I didn’t even get what I didn’t get. It was just a sense that in almost all my dealings with almost everyone I’d talked with, there was another story being told that I couldn’t hear.”
But Spenser, being Spenser, is determined to get it, all of it—not only to solve Steve’s murder but also to help rid the town of the gang. Since that’s a tall order, he assembles a group of his occasional associates to go back to Potshot with him. As other reviewers have pointed out, this is Parker’s version of The Magnificent Seven.
It’s terrific fun to see these guys interacting: Hawk, of course, plus Vinnie Morris from Gino Fish’s crew in Boston, Chollo (Stardust, Thin Air) and Bobby Horse (Stardust) courtesy of Vincent Del Rio in L.A., Bernard J. Fortunato from Las Vegas (Chance), and Tedy Sapp from Lamarr, Georgia (Hugger Mugger). The banter and the somewhat awkward relationships among these disparate tough guys are alone worth the price of admission.
The mystery of Steve’s murder is handled well. I enjoyed watching Spenser do some good old-fashioned “detecting” to get close to the truth of what’s going on. I also liked the fact that Susan’s involvement is relatively minimal. And Pearl is getting old, so that may be a good sign for the future. (Sorry, Pearl. Sorry, not sorry, Susan.)
It all comes down to Spenser, of course, and to some extent, to Hawk, the one guy that understands him. Hawk explains to the other guys what makes Spenser unique: “‘The rest of us, we see something that needs to be done, we do it. We don’t much care how we do it. Spenser thinks that how you do it is as important as what you do.’”
It begins with a young, beautiful client (of course). Spenser is hired by Mary Lou Buckman to investigate the murder of her husband Steve in the small town of Potshot, Arizona. Potshot is a former mining town in the desert that’s been transformed into a faux-Western retreat for wealthy Angelenos. The town is being terrorized by a gang that holes up in a ravine outside of town, led by a charismatic character known as The Preacher. The gang has been extorting money from Potshot merchants, but Steve refused to pay. Mrs. Buckman’s theory, which Potshot’s police chief, Dean Walker, shares but can’t prove, is that Steve was killed because he stood up to the gang.
Spenser goes to Potshot to begin his investigation, but he doesn’t get far. Nobody knows anything, or if they do, they’re not telling him. As he heads home for a while, he analyzes the situation: “After my initial foray, I concluded that all in Potshot was not as it seemed. There was something going on with Lou Buckman that I didn’t get. There was a lot going on with Dean Walker I didn’t get. More annoying, I didn’t even get what I didn’t get. It was just a sense that in almost all my dealings with almost everyone I’d talked with, there was another story being told that I couldn’t hear.”
But Spenser, being Spenser, is determined to get it, all of it—not only to solve Steve’s murder but also to help rid the town of the gang. Since that’s a tall order, he assembles a group of his occasional associates to go back to Potshot with him. As other reviewers have pointed out, this is Parker’s version of The Magnificent Seven.
It’s terrific fun to see these guys interacting: Hawk, of course, plus Vinnie Morris from Gino Fish’s crew in Boston, Chollo (Stardust, Thin Air) and Bobby Horse (Stardust) courtesy of Vincent Del Rio in L.A., Bernard J. Fortunato from Las Vegas (Chance), and Tedy Sapp from Lamarr, Georgia (Hugger Mugger). The banter and the somewhat awkward relationships among these disparate tough guys are alone worth the price of admission.
The mystery of Steve’s murder is handled well. I enjoyed watching Spenser do some good old-fashioned “detecting” to get close to the truth of what’s going on. I also liked the fact that Susan’s involvement is relatively minimal. And Pearl is getting old, so that may be a good sign for the future. (Sorry, Pearl. Sorry, not sorry, Susan.)
It all comes down to Spenser, of course, and to some extent, to Hawk, the one guy that understands him. Hawk explains to the other guys what makes Spenser unique: “‘The rest of us, we see something that needs to be done, we do it. We don’t much care how we do it. Spenser thinks that how you do it is as important as what you do.’”
curtispaulostler's review against another edition
3.0
Fun offering in the Spenser series, but not really very believable. Even a bit self-indulgent, I think. It seemed like Robert Parker's desire to write a westerns - The Magnificent Seven, specifically - with Spenser as the star and all his favorite cronies in the supporting roles.