bookhawk's review against another edition
4.0
Parker’s Spenser series is older yet the books are still entertaining private investigator novels. I wish I had discovered decades ago. Seems like a precursor to great writers like Sandford, Crais, Connelly, and Child.
vhzest's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
sling's review against another edition
4.0
Reread - May 2014
Susan in a jumpsuit!
Hawk and Spenser team up!
First mention of my heart is pure!
Susan in a jumpsuit!
Hawk and Spenser team up!
First mention of my heart is pure!
slapshottechnology's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-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
3.5
Good Spenser book. Liked that it was in foreign locales.
boleary30's review against another edition
4.0
All 5 books of the series have been very good reads with lots of humor
gon8go's review against another edition
5.0
This is my favorite Spenser so far. It's fast paced and tense till the end. Spenser jets around Europe and Canada tracking down terrorists with hawk it's classic pulp stuff.
scott_a_miller's review
3.0
This was still a good book but it just didn’t live up to the standard set by Parker for me through all of the Stone books and now five Spenser books. It was interesting for its description of the cities it took us to but the story never fully grabbed me. Parker almost pulled it off with the ending but it was still just average for what I have come to expect from him.
martyfried's review
3.0
I thought this was OK. It was entertaining, light, humorous, and a quick read, pretty much what I expected and needed after my last book, J.K. Rowling's Casual Vacancy, which was tragically sad and heavy.
This was a very quick read, with no surprises and an ending that wrapped things up but didn't really create much of a ripple in the force for most people. The action was a fairly straight line from start to end, no real surprises, but a fair amount of good dialog, thanks to Spenser's girlfriend and his friend/sometimes partner Hawk, who adds a lot of good lines and action.
I'd say it's pretty much standard fare for this series, and if you like the others, you'd probably like this one.
This was a very quick read, with no surprises and an ending that wrapped things up but didn't really create much of a ripple in the force for most people. The action was a fairly straight line from start to end, no real surprises, but a fair amount of good dialog, thanks to Spenser's girlfriend and his friend/sometimes partner Hawk, who adds a lot of good lines and action.
I'd say it's pretty much standard fare for this series, and if you like the others, you'd probably like this one.
nikchick's review against another edition
4.0
Can't help it, I love a smartass. Spenser as a middle-aged tough guy, cracking wise and missing his lady love while eating (and "detecting") his way across Europe and Canada is an irresistible combo.