Cold Service

Robert B. Parker writes 160 page paperbacks cleverly disguised as 300 page hardbacks. That explains why somebody like me, who grew up reading 160 page paperbacks, generally likes Parker's books and continues to read them.

But having said that, the most recent Spenser novel, COLD SERVICE, is a pretty rough go. To give it a "Friends"-like title, this is The One Where Hawk Gets Shot. That's not a spoiler, because it really happens before the book even starts. I don't read Parker for the plots. Out of the past dozen or so Spenser novels, I don't remember anything about the plots except for two or three of them. But it seems even thinner than usual here, the dialogue's not funny, and the posturing and the terse-but-deep philosophical conversations are getting tired. Or I'm getting tired of them. Or maybe Parker's getting tired of Spenser. I know my favorites of his novels over the past few years have been non-series books like GUNMAN'S RHAPSODY and DOUBLE PLAY. In fact, I'm looking forward to his new Western, APPALOOSA. And I'll read the next Spenser when it comes out, too. I've seen Parker go through slumps before and come out of them. But as for COLD SERVICE, I just didn't like it very much.