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A review by brianlokker
Now & Then by Robert B. Parker
3.0
I love Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series, and I’m committed to reading the entire series in order. Parker wrote 39 titles; Now & Then is #35, so I’m getting close. But I am really sick of the Spenser-Susan relationship. I know Spenser is in love with Susan (he’s been telling us for years), and I know that the relationship supposedly reflects Parker’s relationship with his wife, Joan. But enough already! Enough for me to reduce this one from four stars to three.
The plot of Now & Then is actually pretty interesting. Spenser takes on some surveillance work for a man, Dennis Doherty, who suspects that his wife Jordan is cheating on him. Spenser soon confirms it and tells Doherty, but shortly afterward, three people have been murdered. It’s pretty clear that the murders are related to the work Spenser did for Doherty, and Spenser suspects that Jordan’s lover, fellow college professor Perry Alderson, is behind them. Spenser has also learned that Alderson is involved with radical political groups and that he may not be who he seems to be. Spenser is determined to investigate Alderson and see that justice is done.
Now & Then features some pretty interesting detective work by Spenser. I like the fact that he travels to Cleveland and Erie, Pennsylvania, in search of clues to Alderson’s background. And I enjoyed the scenes with FBI agent Epstein, which include some good Spenserian banter. Epstein is a worthy member of the roster of Spenser’s law-enforcement pals, so it’s nice to see him get more of a role here than he has had in previous appearances. It’s also fun that Spenser has once again gotten some of his free-lance gang together to help him: Hawk, of course, along with Vinnie Morris and Chollo. (Spenser also tried for Tedy Sapp and Bernard J. Fortunato, but Sapp was out of the country and he couldn’t locate Fortunato.) Chollo, especially, provides some entertaining moments.
But Susan! Give me a break—please! I know by now that Spenser is nothing if not dogged in his determination to get justice, even if it’s flawed. Often there is a personal element in that quest. But here, that personal element is spelled out repeatedly: it’s all about Susan.
Spenser could easily—not to mention appropriately—leave it to Epstein and the FBI to bring Alderson to justice, but no. He has to pursue Alderson himself because the situation reminds him of the time twenty years earlier (in A Catskill Eagle) when Susan left him for another man, Russell Costigan. Spenser had wanted to kill Costigan, but he couldn’t. Now he persuades himself that if he can destroy Alderson on Doherty’s behalf, he will somehow make up for not killing Costigan. Hawk is the one who first articulates this theory of Spenser’s motivation, but Susan the all-knowing shrink agrees. Alderson adds fuel to the fire by trying to seduce Susan (because who wouldn’t?) in order to get to Spenser. Spenser says that that was then, and this is now (hence the title), but he knows Hawk’s theory is accurate.
To me, it may be accurate, but it’s not all that believable, and it’s yet another example of Spenser’s Susan-worship. Couple that with the unending, nauseating discussion between Spenser and Susan of their unique love—as usual, some of the phone conversations they have when Spenser is away are the worst examples—and this book is just too Susan-centric for my liking. I still enjoyed the book for its plot, other characters, and non-Susan dialogue, but really, enough already with Susan!
The plot of Now & Then is actually pretty interesting. Spenser takes on some surveillance work for a man, Dennis Doherty, who suspects that his wife Jordan is cheating on him. Spenser soon confirms it and tells Doherty, but shortly afterward, three people have been murdered. It’s pretty clear that the murders are related to the work Spenser did for Doherty, and Spenser suspects that Jordan’s lover, fellow college professor Perry Alderson, is behind them. Spenser has also learned that Alderson is involved with radical political groups and that he may not be who he seems to be. Spenser is determined to investigate Alderson and see that justice is done.
Now & Then features some pretty interesting detective work by Spenser. I like the fact that he travels to Cleveland and Erie, Pennsylvania, in search of clues to Alderson’s background. And I enjoyed the scenes with FBI agent Epstein, which include some good Spenserian banter. Epstein is a worthy member of the roster of Spenser’s law-enforcement pals, so it’s nice to see him get more of a role here than he has had in previous appearances. It’s also fun that Spenser has once again gotten some of his free-lance gang together to help him: Hawk, of course, along with Vinnie Morris and Chollo. (Spenser also tried for Tedy Sapp and Bernard J. Fortunato, but Sapp was out of the country and he couldn’t locate Fortunato.) Chollo, especially, provides some entertaining moments.
But Susan! Give me a break—please! I know by now that Spenser is nothing if not dogged in his determination to get justice, even if it’s flawed. Often there is a personal element in that quest. But here, that personal element is spelled out repeatedly: it’s all about Susan.
Spenser could easily—not to mention appropriately—leave it to Epstein and the FBI to bring Alderson to justice, but no. He has to pursue Alderson himself because the situation reminds him of the time twenty years earlier (in A Catskill Eagle) when Susan left him for another man, Russell Costigan. Spenser had wanted to kill Costigan, but he couldn’t. Now he persuades himself that if he can destroy Alderson on Doherty’s behalf, he will somehow make up for not killing Costigan. Hawk is the one who first articulates this theory of Spenser’s motivation, but Susan the all-knowing shrink agrees. Alderson adds fuel to the fire by trying to seduce Susan (because who wouldn’t?) in order to get to Spenser. Spenser says that that was then, and this is now (hence the title), but he knows Hawk’s theory is accurate.
To me, it may be accurate, but it’s not all that believable, and it’s yet another example of Spenser’s Susan-worship. Couple that with the unending, nauseating discussion between Spenser and Susan of their unique love—as usual, some of the phone conversations they have when Spenser is away are the worst examples—and this book is just too Susan-centric for my liking. I still enjoyed the book for its plot, other characters, and non-Susan dialogue, but really, enough already with Susan!