Rating: 
Summary: Quick, verbal, vaguely intelligent
Review: Hugger Mugger is a horse, that much is clear. The rest of the facts, as they appear to Spenser and us, at the beginning of this fine book anyway, are not so clear or straightforward. Someone might be trying to kill Hugger Mugger, or they might not. There might be some oddities in the family of Spenser's client. The South might be an unhealthy place for him to practise. Slowly, very slowly, much becomes clearer, as a murder takes place and muddies the waters. As usual, at least half the pleasure in a Parker is the quality of writing and dialogue. Spenser is in fine form, both physically and mentally, and shows off just the right amount to remind us how much we love him ~ and don't think he doesn't know it. Susan is beautiful as ever, and, though tempted (oh, what it would be to be tempted in such ways) Spenser ramains faithful to her. Another successful Parker.
Rating: 
Summary: A Quick, Entertaining Read
Review: Hugger Mugger, in typical Robert B. Parker style, is a quick and incredibly entertaining read. The dialogue is pithy and peppered with our hero's (Spenser's) wisecracking which kept me chuckling throughout the story. The playful verbal sparring that occurs between Spenser and his "met-his-match" shrink girlfriend belies a deep loving bond that helps make Spenser a more complex character and an admirable man. Placed in sexually compromising situations, his loyalty prevails. The supporting cast in Hugger Mugger is described in just enough detail for the reader to enjoy the roles they play, but not be diverted from the fast-paced dialogue that sweeps one through the book. Hugger Mugger is another opportunity to spend some time with smart-aleck Spenser and have some fun. Go for it!
Rating: 
Summary: Flat, boring, studid
Review: I hadn't read a Spenser novel since high school, but remember enjoying reading them when the series was on TV. What a disappointment! I felt like I was reading something that had been written in a two week burst of procrastination. I wouldn't recommend this book for anyone who enjoys more than cartoon sketches attempting to pass for characters.
Rating: 
Summary: HUGGER MUGGER Mugs Itself
Review: I have always look forward to reading Robert Parker's Spenser Novels and was excited to get this one in the mail. Usually I have his books read in a few hours. This novel of Parker's was the exception.
Hugger Mugger was not Parker's usual fast-moving, character-rich genre.
Spenser is approached by a wealthy man and his daughter to investigate the seemingly assassination attempts against some race horses they own. Okay, this was weird to me and a plot line I found hard to imagine. Maybe this is why I don't read the Hillerman books - just can't get into the whole race-track thing.
The absence of Hawk greatly reduces the Spenser character. So much of Spenser's character is revealed by his actions when he is with Hawk. Without Hawk to act as a mirror for Spenser, the Spenser character greatly lacked in depth.
Susan is featured in the book but nothing new is revealed in the relationship. I was left feeling pretty ho-hum instead of secretly wishing Spenser were real.
I was disappointed that Parker relied on Spenser's wry self-love to drive the novel. I got extremely tired of reading about Spenser's attractiveness and drinking habits, as well as wondering about the possibility of so many "beautiful people" in one place.
The plot line was obvious from the beginning, unless I am becoming quite the detective myself! I won't give away the story, but warn readers to be prepared for an odd twist that just doesn't seem to flow.
Compared to Parker's other books, Hugger Mugger suffers terribly.
Rating:
Summary: Delicious as usual but not very satisfying in the end
Review: I have been a big fan of Parker's Spenser novels for a long time. The plots are predictable--which is perhaps one of the reasons why people like to read these novels. Spenser is witty, likable, and honorable. After all these years and after all the Spenser novels, I never seem to get tired of Spenser. The ending--catching/killing the bad guys, like the predictable plots--usually gives me a great sense of satisfaction.But Hugger Mugger is a bit of a disappointment. The story is interesting, the suspense is there though to a lesser degree than some of his other novels, but the ending leaves much to be desired--there does not seem to be a resolution. One of the perpetrators walks out a free woman (though the police chief hints at carrying out justice at some later point), and the other--I am not sure what the story is--it is implied he is guilty but it is not clear as to exactly which part of the crimes he had actually committed. So for all the anticipation for the past couple of nights, I feel being left out cold. That's life, perhaps, but that's not why I pick up a Spenser novel to read.
Rating:
Summary: Flat, boring, studid
Review: I'm not sure what all the other reviewers missed, but in my mind, this book ranks at the top of the Spenser series. Spenser's wisecracking humor is superb. Hired to find a horse killer, Spenser soon finds the crime spreads to include a human victim. Abruptly, he is dismissed from the case, leaving him to wonder why. Hawk stays home during Spenser's southern sojourn, but Susan makes plenty of appearances, analyzing the psychosis of a disfunctional family of rich misfits. Overall, I would say this book reminds me of John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series, which I love.
Rating:
Summary: Dick Francis need have no fears....
Review: My disappointment in this Spenser book is probably my fault. Reading the jacket, I thought that hey, Parker is going to see what he can do with Spenser in a Dick Francis type story. I shoulda known better. The race horse element in this book is strictly peripheral to a rather tired and typical Spenser storyline. Even Spenser himself sounds like he's getting tired of the series. When he's let go early in the book, he actually says okay, goes home, takes a ho-hum case and is ready to forget all about the job he was first hired to do, until he's hired by another of those involved. When he goes back, those he wants to question refuse to talk to him, and be darned if he doesn't accept that. Hey, this isn't the Spenser we've known and loved! I'm not going to tell you not to read this book. If you're a Spenser addict like me, you'll read it anyway. However, this book convinced me that it's time for me to investigate his two new series.
Rating:
Summary: Spenser, we hardly knew ya ...
Review: RBP's best works (with Spenser of course) take the world as it exists, poke fun at the pretension found there, and provide surprising Spenserian solutions to crimes, situations, etc. that are based on a view of justice that is wise, pragmatic and morally pure. In HM however (and some of Parker's other more recent efforts) the emphasis is on sexual situations, PC, and recycled 'cute' repartee. Spenser himself is more pretentious than real and the reader hopes that his main squeeze (Susan Silverman, a PhD Harvard shrink who is vanity personified) will float down the drain as she sits in the sink putting on her makeup. What's wrong here? The plot is ludicrous, Spenser is sleep-walking, Hawk is in Paris, Tedy (who appears as a Spenser sidekick in at least one other RBP effort) is a PC cardboard character, and Susan is too much with us. There is little action and no suspense, and the conclusion is unsatisfying by almost any measure.
Rating:
Summary: usual Parker
Review: The plot is weak. The characters are uncompelling.
There's not a lot of mystery or suspense.
The description of the region in Georgia where most of
the action occurs is undistinctive and uninformative. A dud, right? If so, why did I enjoy it so much? It's Parker. He could write a book about Spenser
watching paint dry, and I'd be riveted. He pace, his
dialog, his style -- one is completely drawn into the
character and the scene. True, sometimes it seems Parker's a bit tired --
running on autopilot, perhaps stretched too thin by
his accelerated writing schedule of recent years.
But Hugger Mugger's still a good read -- a chance
to once again indulge in the work of a master of his
craft.
Rating:
Summary: Not a good effort.
Review: There has been a decline in the quality of the Spensernovels for several years, and this is probably the worst effort of all.Since I have never read a non-Spenser book by Robert Parker, I don'tknow if his powers as a writer are deserting him or if he has just lost interest in this character. I suspect the latter, as this novel reads like a middle draft of a book, rather than a final. The ending is abrupt and gives the impression that the author just gave up rather than that he finished the story. Parker at his best was a serviceable writer with a gift for wisecracking dialogue, and in Spenser and Hawk he had two excellent characters, and a series formula which worked very well. The best Spenser is comparable to the best John D. MacDonald, but a long way from the least of Raymond Chandler. Still, a lot of people enjoy the series, and we hope that Mr. Parker will give us a better effort next time. END
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