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Robert B. Parker has authored one of the classic PI series of all time involving his ageless Boston sleuth, Spenser. After 32 novels stretching back three decades, we still don't know Spenser's first name, but who cares? Mystery fans know Spenser well and eagerly await their annual visit with him, his faithful sidekick Hawk, and his shrink girlfriend Susan.
And COLD SERVICE, the latest Spenser novel, will not disappoint them. Instead of getting tired or redundant, the series is as vibrant and fresh now as it was 30 years ago. This book will rank high among the best in the series.
This is really a Hawk story, which will please those longtime fans who complain when Hawk doesn't play a big enough role in Spenser's complex cases. Over the years, we have come to know Hawk as a mirror image of Spenser: tough, ruthless when necessary, loyal and indestructible. But Hawk often makes his living on the wrong side of the law.
COLD SERVICE begins with a Hawk we have never seen before; he is lying in the hospital, near death, after being shot in the back three times during a job protecting a small-time bookie who ended up dead. And Spenser is at his bedside. "I had known Hawk all my adult life, and this was the first time, even in repose, that he didn't look dangerous," he says.
Of course, Hawk must get revenge, and Spenser will help him wage war against the Ukrainian mob responsible for the hit. The plot involves possible crosses and double crosses and shifting deadly alliances among killers and thieves whose loyalty can never be fully ascertained. And the CIA even makes an appearance.
But it is the deeper issues stirring beneath the surface that make this an extraordinary entry in the series. This is not just an action thriller. The issues of mortality, vulnerability and the bonds of friendship dominate. We hear Spenser talking about his own fear of dying. Of course, Spenser must help his friend, but murder and assassination are not something he engages in lightly.
And then there is Hawk, unwilling to let his girlfriend see him hurt, struggling to hide and overcome his weakness. He will gladly pay a high price to do that and never compromise. He can't compromise and be Hawk.
The genius of Parker in this series is that he has brought the ethos of the old western to the modern-day mystery novel. Spenser and Hawk live by their own code of honor and behavior, even if it puts them outside of the law and convention. But they are not amoral; indeed, they are true "knight-errants" obliged to fight for justice. While exacting bloody revenge, Hawk makes sure that there is a trust fund for the child of the man he was hired to protect. Hawk knows he didn't do his job, so he is obliged now to protect the child. And if he can't do it, then Spenser will.
Of course, this book contains all the familiar elements longtime fans expect. There is the wonderful, witty banter between Spenser and everybody. We see our favorite tough guy reading books on the human genome and drinking white wine and cooking apple fritters for Susan, the woman he loves. Susan, as always, uses her intelligence and strength to force Spenser to look inwards at his own life and see how it differs from Hawk.
Parker is a master craftsman. The dialogue is crisp and underwritten. The writing is hard-boiled. Consider: "I sipped some scotch. Rain ran down the window, the streets gleamed. The scotch was excellent." Parker writes at another point that a character's smile "was as substantial as a wisp of fog on a windy night."
Raymond Chandler could not have written it better. Robert B. Parker is one of the greatest American mystery writers. Read this book and enjoy.
Our fictional hero, Spenser, might admit his fear of dying. But he will live forever in the pantheon of literary characters. We're lucky enough to be reading his stories while he is still at the height of his powers.
--- Reviewed by Tom Callahan
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