Hundred-Dollar Baby (Spenser) | Robert B. Parker | Best Spenser in quite some time. Try it if...

Hundred-Dollar Baby (Spenser) | Robert B. Parker | Good read, baby!

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Hundred-Dollar Bab...

	Hundred-Dollar Baby (Spenser) Robert B. Parker Berkley, 2007 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 75 reviews view larger image
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April Kyle, a prostitute from Spenser's past, comes back into his life-with deadly complications.

Best Spenser in quite some time. Try it if you've been disappointed in recent years

I've been reading Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels since they were first published in 1975, and I've never missed one since. So I'm speaking as a longtime fan.

Yes, the series has had its ups and downs. Yes, lately the author is being self-referential, bringing back characters from previous books in guest appearances, for better or worse. (Certain passing references will make more sense if you know the series as a whole.) Yes, Spenser's interludes with Susan are getting increasingly predictable: the action stops in its tracks while Susan defines what just happened in psychological terms, and then it's back to the story. "Potshot" looked like a winner, with Spenser's gang revving up to do battle in a Western town, until the unforgivable end (no battle, no climax, and no finish). "School Days" also just stopped, without a satisfying conclusion. The author's once-gripping, blow-by-blow descriptions of fight scenes (epitomized in the masterful "The Judas Goat") had become non-events that cheated the reader. So I was frankly expecting "another good read but no payoff" when I read "Hundred-Dollar Baby."

The joke was on me: Spenser is back to form. All the familiar hallmarks of vintage Spenser are here, with wisecracking dialogue up to par, characters as colorful as ever (although law enforcer Martin Quirk suddenly appears without introduction -- new Spenser readers won't know who he is), and a good, flavorful plot. Best of all for Spenser's admirers, there's a surprising revelation of the culprit's identity at the end, and Parker then tops it with an even bigger surprise (escaping from the culprit's point-blank showdown).

Spenser has been on the scene for three decades, and like other venerable characters he's garnered a loyal following. And we've grown a bit older with him. These days, reading the latest Spenser adventure is like watching late Cagney or Bogart -- older and mellower, not as much zip as in days of yore, but still comfortable and enjoyable, and well worth your time.

Some of the reviews on this page are greeting "Hundred-Dollar Baby" as a valedictory. I hope not. There's plenty of life in this series, and I'm looking forward to the further adventures of Robert B. Parker's greatest character.

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Good read, baby!

I have to confess, I didn't read the book. I listened to the audio version of Hundred Dollar Baby. I've not experienced any of Parker's books before so I was meeting Spenser and company for the first time. Parker knows his characters inside and out. I enjoyed the interplay between Spenser and Hawk and learning about Spenser's 'softer side' in relation to Susan and Pearl. The mystery, I felt, was a bit predictable as it was clear who the guilty party was long before the end. I also found the conversations between Susan and Spenser to be a bit repetitive. (She does go on a bit about her degree.) All in all, it was an enjoyable read and I would pick up another Parker novel and jump into Spenser's world again.

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The usual Parker

Spenser, Hawk and Susan. Ought to have everything. But the plot is a little slow and a rehash of prior books.

A good read, for a sequal.

Spenser is starting to suffer from "character rot"

Once again, Spenser is the principled good guy, risking his life, this time for April Kyle. Years before, Spenser had "rescued" her from a life of prostitution on the streets, but the best he could do was to set her up in a high-class bordello in New York City. April has branched out to having her own business, but she is being shaken down. Therefore, she turns once again to Spenser, in the hopes that he will solve the problem.
However, even with the help of Susan, Hawk, Belsen and Tedy Sapp, Spenser has trouble with this case. Most of the problems are a consequence of April lying about everything. There are two murders, some rough stuff easily handled and at the end, it all comes together. The "solution" is not one that Spenser enjoys, but given all that has happened, it probably was for the best.
Over time, fictional characters fall victim to "character rot." Authors start to run out of new ideas; the books about those characters seem to keep coming out with regularity but without the sparks of originality. Spenser and his supporting characters are still within the same mold, to change them significantly would be to truly destroy their charm. However, there is a growing sameness to the stories and in this one, there is a lack of the humorous banter that was a powerful force in the previous books. Spenser is beginning to show his age.

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