Rating: 
Summary: Spenser meets his match
Review: I give this the highest rating because I consider it one of the important Spenser books. Basically, Spenser is confident that he's going to be better than his adversary, and so when he is nearly killed by an expert, he needs to deal with his mortality. The ironic part of this is that he's working to find out if an absolute loser of a gangbanger is guilty of the murder he's accused of. This novel poses questions both of mortality and of morality. There's the question of how important is "The Truth". Deals are made and those who end up in prison may be more worthwhile to society than those who don't. This is a Spenser novel which, although a quick read, gives you ethical problems to ponder. Very highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Spenser meets his match
Review: I give this the highest rating because I consider it one of the important Spenser books. Basically, Spenser is confident that he's going to be better than his adversary, and so when he is nearly killed by an expert, he needs to deal with his mortality. The ironic part of this is that he's working to find out if an absolute loser of a gangbanger is guilty of the murder he's accused of. This novel poses questions both of mortality and of morality. There's the question of how important is "The Truth". Deals are made and those who end up in prison may be more worthwhile to society than those who don't. This is a Spenser novel which, although a quick read, gives you ethical problems to ponder. Very highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Sir Thomas More with muscles and a gun
Review: I have been a Spenser fan since my dad gave me the Godwulf manuscript to read. I have found myself rereading some of the old Spencer novels as the series started to sag, Spenser started his internal dialogue about donuts and Susan showed up in white cowboy boots. As I read the sagging Spensers I realized that some Spenser was better than none, but I remembered such classics as The Widening Gyre, Valediction, Early Autumn and A Catskill Eagle. In this novel, Spenser is back, and facing one of the more convincing villains in the series-The Gray Man. Spenser has a remarkable, tragic vision of himself walking across a deserted campus and this foreshadows troubling times. Although Spenser had become cliched, and worst of all, Hawk and his jive talk dated, Small Vices brings the Spenserian world of wit and moral wrangling into sharp focus. I highly recommend this installment of the Spenser series to newcomers and fans alike. As usual, the descriptions of new England are ri! pe and clear. It's uncanny, but the first time I travelled to Boston, I was surprised that the 15 or so Spenser books I had read had given me a unconscious mental map of Beacon Hill and Back bay!
Rating:
Summary: 1 of the best Spenser books with great audio production
Review: I have listened to most of the Spenser series in unabrdiged format from my local library, and this certainly ranks as one of the best I've heard. The production version is unquestionably the best. While I have loved Michael Pritchard's voice as Spenser in the past, Burt Reynolds does a remarkable job of portraying all of the Spenser cast. The hardest is always Hawk, and Reynolds brings it off beautifully. The music cues actually add to the novel, which is something I have never heard before in years of listening to books. The story is one of the more imaginitive ones I have yet heard from Parker. A good adversary for Spenser is something I have been longing for, and the "Gray Man" fits the bill. The plot is engaging, we see sides of Spenser and his relationship with Susan previously unexplored, and deeper glimpses of Spenser's friendship with Hawk. And this has got to be the only appearance of a rifle chambered in .458 Magnum in a novel. I gotta know where Parker gets his weapons information. I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could, but I can't, and it's closer to 4.6, so I give it 5. Not perfect, but wonderful. I hated to hear the ending.
Rating:
Summary: 1 of the best Spenser books with great audio production
Review: I have listened to most of the Spenser series in unabrdiged format from my local library, and this certainly ranks as one of the best I've heard. The production version is unquestionably the best. While I have loved Michael Pritchard's voice as Spenser in the past, Burt Reynolds does a remarkable job of portraying all of the Spenser cast. The hardest is always Hawk, and Reynolds brings it off beautifully. The music cues actually add to the novel, which is something I have never heard before in years of listening to books. The story is one of the more imaginitive ones I have yet heard from Parker. A good adversary for Spenser is something I have been longing for, and the "Gray Man" fits the bill. The plot is engaging, we see sides of Spenser and his relationship with Susan previously unexplored, and deeper glimpses of Spenser's friendship with Hawk. And this has got to be the only appearance of a rifle chambered in .458 Magnum in a novel. I gotta know where Parker gets his weapons information. I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could, but I can't, and it's closer to 4.6, so I give it 5. Not perfect, but wonderful. I hated to hear the ending.
Rating:
Summary: As usual, Mr. Parker's books keep your full attention!
Review: I have read and enjoyed all Mr. Parker's Books. His characters are real, the dialog is great, makes me smile and sometimes laught, but is to the point. The story flows and you never loose interest. Pearl is great too. I did see the movie based on this book and was impressed that it stayed so close to the story. I could almost say the words before the actors spoke.
Rating:
Summary: Burt Reynolds suits Spenser well
Review: I just spent an enjoyable two days taking a car trip during which I listened to two unabridged audio recordings of Spenser novels, both read by Burt Reynolds. CHANCE is the lesser of the two books, but Reynolds does an excellent job performing both novels. His delivery suits Spenser's wise-guy personality perfectly, and he is very good at bringing to life all the other characters. SMALL VICES, the more ambitious book, is also engineered better with music cues between the chapters. I hated for it to end. Wouldn't it be great if Reynolds and Dove Audio could start dipping into Parker's backlist and bring out some unabridged recordings of the earlier Spensers?
Rating: 
Summary: Dealing with Consequences?
Review: I like Robert Parker as an author. His stories are well told and highly entertaining. However, I find it hard to believe that Spenser, Hawk and even ultimately Susan can be involved in the killing of so many people and not be affected by this. Most crime novelists do not deal with the psychological pain that is involved with killing and the emotional scars that are left. These deaths ultimately, for me at least, make it impossible to suspend my disbelief and truly enjoy his books
Rating:
Summary: One of Spenser's Best!!!
Review: I thought that this was one of the best Spenser books yet. I am relatively new to the series (I was a fan of the TV show)& I found this to be a book that I could not put down. Definitely recommended. I love the way Parker uses references to past books and the way he uses an actual timeline. Spenser has aged well, let's hope we grow old before he does.
Rating:
Summary: Robert B. Parker's Best Spenser Novel Yet
Review: I've read all of the Spenser novels and avidly await the next one. This novel, as far as I'm concerned, is the best one yet. It shows how vulnerable Spenser and Susan are, but how they triumph together. With the help of Hawk, of course. This novel makes the reader want Spenser to exact revenge and yet, allows us to understand the course he takes. I'm glad the "alleged" perpetrator of the crime doesn't do a swift turnaround at the end and become a somewhat tarnished good guy. A great read and one I couldn't put down (although I must admit, all of the Spenser novels are like that with me)
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