Rating: 
Summary: Parker does it again
Review: Reading Spenser novels is like eating an excellent gourmet meal when you are very hungry, in that you consume something in a small fraction of the time taken to create it. I have no doubt that Mr. Parker took a long time to write this book, but unfortunately I devoured it in the time it likely took him to write the foreword. The consistency in characters is spot on as always. Please keep them coming, perhaps use a microwave to cook your next hit instead of a slow convection oven!!
Rating:
Summary: Great book but could use a little more violence and gun play
Review: "Hush Money" is one of the best "Spenser" novels in years. Not THE best only because it probably could use a little more violence and gun play. SPOILER: Spenser and Hawk beat up only four people. And they don't even shoot anyone!You think maybe they're getting old? Nah! But seriously, "Hush Money" is Robert Parker at his finest. Spenser is at his wise-cracking, one-liner best and Hawk is; well, he is Hawk. Audacious, inscruptible, redoubtable Hawk. Plus, we get a glimpse into Hawk's early life, before he met Spenser. And as another bonus, near the end, we get to see another side of Susan. I never liked her more. But don't skip to the final pages, it will spoil the fun. If you are a "Spenser" fan, you'll enjoy this book. If, however, you are a politically-correct liberal (or from San Francisco, same thing), you'll probably hate it. As a personal side note, I am a fairly conservative African-American - no Buchanan-lover by any means (pun intended for those who've read the book) but defintely neither liberal nor politically correct - and I can testify to the self-righteous hypocrisy and racism of the liberal White academics to Robinson Nevins. It is almost as if Robert Parker was privy to some of the conversations I've had in academia. "Hush Money" is an excellent book; on many levels.
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