β Scribed by Parker, Robert B.
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Renaissance man Spenser - he of the acerbic social commentary, the gourmet cookery, and the steely abs - turns his considerable talents to the unraveling of a thirty-year-old murder mystery. During a 1974 holdup in a Boston bank by a revolutionary group calling itself the Dread Scott Brigade, Emily Gordon, a visitor cashing traveler's checks, is shot and killed. Despite security-camera photos and a letter from the group claiming responsibility, nobody saw who shot her, and the perpetrators have remained at large for three decades. Enter Paul Giacomin, the closest thing to Spenser's son. When Paul's friend Daryl Gordon, Emily's daughter, decides she needs closure regarding her mother's death, she turns to Spenser, who must reach past the lack of clues and missing FBI report to seek the truth.
In this 30th entry in one of mystery fiction's longest-running and best-loved series, Spenser--the tough yet sensitive Boston private eye with no first name--takes on an unsolved murder nearly three decades old. The client, an actress, is a friend of Paul Giacomin, Spenser's surrogate son (who first appeared in 1981's Early Autumn). Her mother was slain by leftist radicals at a bank holdup in 1974, and now she wants to know who fired the shot. As Spenser digs into the past, he soon learns that powerful people on both sides of the law want the case left alone--badly enough to kill.
These death threats provide a fine excuse for Hawk, Spenser's extremely scary (yet sensitive) bad-guy pal, to tag along in nearly every scene as bodyguard. The interaction of the two friends is one of this series' familiar pleasures, as is the presence of Susan Silverman, Spenser's longtime love interest. Another pleasure is Robert B Parker's stripped-down prose, a marvel of craftsmanship. (Plus we get the first meeting between Spenser and Jesse Stone, hero of another Parker series.) Yet, alas, the whole enterprise feels a little tired. The plot never generates much sustained suspense, and the author's adoration for his central characters renders them at times almost cartoon-esque. Still, Back Story is excellently prepared comfort food, even if it isn't five-star cuisine. --Nicholas H Allison, Amazon.com
Parker's spruce and cunning book will speed you towards the right conclusion (Philip Oakes, Literary Review 20030501)
'Back Story will satisfy fans looking for the greatness we once took for granted' (Time Out 20030603)
Library : General
Universes : Spenser [30]
Formats : EPUB
ISBN : 9780425194799
π SIMILAR VOLUMES
1974, une bande de rΓ©volutionnaires se faisant appeler "la Brigade Dread Scott", organise un braquage dans une banque de Boston. De l'argent est volΓ© et une vie est prise. Celle d'Emily Gordon, une cliente abattue pendant l'opΓ©ration. Personne n'a vu qui Γ©tait le tireur et les camΓ©ras de sΓ©curitΓ© ne
In Robert B. Parker's most popular series, an unsolved thirty-year-old-murder draws the victim's daughter out of the shadows for overdue justice-and lures Spenser into his own past, old crimes, and dangerous lives.
Thirty years after an unsolved bank robbery leaves a woman dead, Paul Giacomin, whom Spenser regards as a son, and Daryl Gordon, the son of the robbery victim, turn to Spenser to seek out clues about the crime from a host of suspicious characters. Reprint.
SUMMARY: In Robert B. Parker's most popular series, an unsolved thirty-year-old-murder draws the victim's daughter out of the shadows for overdue justice--and lures Spenser into his own past, old crimes, and dangerous lives.
### Amazon.com Review In this 30th entry in one of mystery fiction's longest-running and best-loved series, Spenser--the tough yet sensitive Boston private eye with no first name--takes on an unsolved murder nearly three decades old. The client, an actress, is a friend of Paul Giacomin, Spenser's s