Featured Author: Robert B. Parker

Featured Author: Robert B. Parker
With News and Reviews From the Archives of The New York Times

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In This Feature

Reviews of Robert B. Parker’s Earlier Books

Articles About and by Robert B. Parker

Recent Links

Marilyn Stasio Reviews ‘Potshot’ (March 25, 2001)

First Chapter: ‘Potshot’

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John Earle/ The Associated Press

Robert B. Parker

REVIEWS OF ROBERT B. PARKER’S EARLIER BOOKS:

‘The Godwulf Manuscript‘
(1974)
“. . . not notable for originality or ideas, but is at least well written and does have a point of view about life. Its trouble is that it is simply too derivative to be anything more than lightweight.”

‘God Save the Child‘
(1974)
“Parker must have learned a good deal from ‘Godwulf’; his new book is more deft, smoother and sharper in characterization. Where ‘Godwulf’ read like a compilation of every private eye
from Chandler on, ‘God Save the Child’ has a great deal more personality and character.”

‘Mortal Stakes‘
(1976)
“He is a pleasant enough fellow, this Spenser . . . But he is never allowed to escape the conventions of the genre. So while Parker is a skillful enough writer . . . the book scarcely can be thought of as
original.”

‘Promised Land‘
(1976)
“[T]here are indications that the author is beginning to take his creation too seriously . . . There is more naval-watching here than at a convention of gurus.”

‘The Judas Goat‘
(1978)
“There is no end to the breathless action. Mr. Parker does this kind of thing extremely well, and ‘The Judas Goat’ is altogether a superior specimen of its class.”

‘Wilderness‘
(1979)
“The writing is as skillful as the previous Parker books have been.”

‘Looking for Rachel Wallace‘
(1980)
“This is not one of the best Spenser books. Mr. Parker has fallen in love with his hero. Still, it has crackling dialogue, plenty of action and expert writing.”

‘Early Autumn‘
(1981)
“. . . mixes violence and compassion in a better-than-average way.”

‘A Savage Place‘
(1981)
“. . . not one of the better Spenser books. Mr. Parker seems to have fallen into a routine here. He writes well, as he always does. But there is too much air in the book, too much introspection . . .”

‘Ceremony‘
(1982)
“. . . the best so far in his nine Spenser novels . . . a pleasant indulgence, the kind you don’t have to feel guilty about.”

‘The Widening Gyre‘
(1983)
“. . . adheres pretty much to the successful formula . . . But there is one difference. For the first time there is tension between him and his girl . . .”

‘Valediction‘
(1984)
“What has happened to the cool, superior, confident Spenser, the Travis McGee of the North? He becomes maudlin and self-pitying . . . Spenser has become a caricature.”

‘A Catskill Eagle‘
(1985)
“Yes, Mr. Parker can write. Yes, Spenser and Hawk are, in their way, archetypes. But ‘A Catskill Eagle’ is a really silly book, impossible to take seriously, gooey and self-satisfied at the end,
its heroism reminiscent of that of the heavily muscled characters in comic books.”

‘Taming a Sea-Horse‘
(1986)
“. . . has all the earmarks of a writer coasting along under previous momentum. . . . Perhaps Mr. Parker is disinclined to fool around with a formula that has worked so well up to now. But it is not working
as well as it used to.”

‘Double Deuce‘
(1992)
“. . . spare, fast-paced and exciting. But ‘Double Deuce’ is about relations between the sexes as much as anything else.”

‘Paper Doll‘
(1993)
“[W]hether the elements of this thriller are old or new, conventional or risky, they all fit together so smoothly and entertainingly that when the book is finished, you find yourself longing for another
Spenser novel . . .”

‘Thin Air‘
(1995)
“In less skilled hands, this plot . . . might easily have grown tedious. But Mr. Parker holds your interest . . .”

‘Chance‘
(1996)
“You might think that after so many visits to the well, the Spenser books would grow tiresome with their predictable diet of gender extremes. But in ‘Chance,’ as always, Mr. Parker makes you laugh
at the subtle variations he works on his politically incorrect themes.”

‘Small Vices‘
(1997)
“Surprising for a book that is something of a milestone, the frame of the story is one of Mr. Parker’s more insubstantial efforts . . . a powerful piece about the defeat and reclamation of a hero .
. .”

‘Night Passage‘
(1997)
“[A] strong first entry in a projected series about an alcoholic homicide detective struggling to rebuild his ruined life.”

‘Sudden Mischief‘
(1998)
“Although the story’s romantic elements are a drag . . . nothing inhibits Spenser and Hawk, his menacing sidekick, from swapping manly repartee. . . . [W]ith this kind of dialogue in bloom, it must
be spring.”

‘Trouble in Paradise‘
(1998)
“[I]n the new series [Parker] set up in ‘Night Passage’ and continues with ‘Trouble in Paradise,’ he could go places and take the kind of risks that wouldn’t be seemly in his popular
Spenser stories. . . . but [Jesse Stone’s] romantic fixation comes close to sinking this book, if not the series itself.”

‘Hush Money‘
(1999)
“The plot is a problem, falling apart when Spenser fails to ask a few screamingly obvious questions, and the characters feel phony . . .”

‘Family Honor‘
(1999)
“Robert B. Parker must be kidding. . . . In case you’re wondering whether Sunny is anything like Parker’s estimable Spenser — she’s not. That’s her problem.”

‘Hugger Mugger‘
(2000)
“[Spenser] heads for rural Georgia . . . All this culture shock brings out a certain waggishness in Spenser . . .”

‘Perish Twice‘
(2000)
“The Spenserian air of amused detachment is hardly suitable . . . for this story about an assortment of women having emotional breakdowns because of troubled relationships . . .”

ARTICLES ABOUT AND ROBERT B. PARKER:

Robert B. Parker Reviews Noel Behn’s ‘Big Stick-Up at Brink’s!’
(1977)
“. . . a very convincing, interesting and pleasurable crook’s-eye view of what happened. I don’t know if it is the truth, but it sounds like the truth.”

‘Spenser: For Hire,’ in Series Debut on ABC
(1985)
Robert Urich played the title character in “Spenser: For Hire,” a TV series based on Parker’s novels.

Parker in for Chandler
(1988)
Parker agreed to complete “The Poodle Springs Story,” a Philip Marlowe novel left unfinished at the time of Raymond Chandler’s death in 1959.

He Said He Had a Pistol; Then He Flashed a Knife
(1997)
In an interview, Parker talked about the importance of the setting of Boston in his novels. “It’s the way Raymond Chandler made Los Angeles real,” said Parker. “I need the mood a cityscape
can provide, the way light shines through a window with the rain sliding down it.”

Knight-Errant Spenser, With Soulful Eyes
(1999)
Parker talked about the choice of Joe Mantegna to play Spenser in “Small Vices,” a TV drama based on Parker’s novel.

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