Book Review: "Robert B. Parker's Showdown" By Mike Lupica

 

Spenser may have uncovered an explosive secret that threatens the career of a controversial figure, in this latest installment of Robert B. Parker’s beloved series.

Vic Hale isn’t anyone’s idea of a father figure. He is one of the biggest – and loudest -- podcasters in the nation and got there by spewing overheated rhetoric that’s reviled by some but loved by even more. His particular brand of “entertainment” is so successful, he’s about to sign the biggest contract in the history of online broadcasting. Vic’s riding high...until he gets a visit from Spenser, who specializes in bringing guys like Hale back down to Earth.

Spenser is there on behalf of Daniel Lopez, a young man who believes Hale may be his father. It’s a potentially explosive revelation for a man in the podcaster’s position and it might even be enough to blow up his massive new deal.  That could explain the bodies that start popping up – bodies connected in one way or another with the mystery surrounding Daniel’s birth. There are a lot of questions remaining, and Spenser’s going to have to find the answers before someone shuts Hale or Daniel up for good. - from Netgalley.com 

This eARC was provided by Netgalley.com and I am giving an unbiased review.

'Spenser' was a great television show back in the day, and I have really enjoyed the whole book series. Lupica has done a great job of 'channeling Robert B. Parker's writing style and story-telling skill as he revisits the world of Spenser.

Not sure how much longer we can keep Spenser going along. Story-wise, he isn't getting much younger. There have been a couple spin-offs (Jesse Stone, and Sunny Randall), but when it comes down to Spenser, it will be a hard loss when the series does end.

Book Review: "Robert B Parker's Hot Property" by Mike Lupica

 

Spenser investigates a case that hits far too close to home for his comfort in this latest installment of Robert B. Parker's beloved series.

Spenser is waiting out the latest Boston snow storm when he gets word that Rita Fiore's been shot. Rita's always been a tricky one: nudging Spenser for years, she's an ever-present figure that transcends friendship in Spenser's circle. Like many of them, at the end of the day, Rita is family. And family will always be protected.

Both a pit bull in the courtroom and provocateur outside it, though, Rita is no stranger to controversy. But as one of the city's toughest lawyers, Spenser knows that there's no short list of suspects who might want to enact revenge. With Rita's life hanging in the balance, it's up to him to get to the bottom of things, even if it means unearthing some savory secrets. -from Netgalley.com

This eARC was given to me by Netgalley.com and I am providing an unbiased review.

Where do I start with this one? Well, if you remember from the 1980's, there was a television show called Spenser For Hire starring Robert Urich as a private detective in Boston named Spenser. I did not know then, this was based on the first books Robert Parker had put out, but I grew up loving that show. As an adult, I went back and through the library read pretty much the whole series, and some off-shoots as well. This is around/about book 52 in the Spenser series, with the last dozen (guessing) written by a few different authors.

I always love getting back into the character lives of a large series like this one. I have written a few reviews on other books by Lupica, including a Spenser book or two. He has well-mastered the writing style Parker had created and used for his stories, and it just helps (in my mind) how I play the story out in my imagination as I read it. One of the things I really liked about this story, is the connection to many of the other series that Parker had created (Jesse Stone, Sunny Randall). Both of those characters either made an appearance, or were mentioned, at some point in the tale. This series has always been one of my favorites, and would like to see more, but not sure where the story can go after this many books.