Parker's venerable wiseguy detective Spenser is asked by a friend to investigate the death of a wealthy older man whose arm candy wife is accused of the crime, and is far too dimwitted to even consider such an act. Along the way, he uncovers a financial scandal that leads to more murders, and is (naturally) threatened physically himself. Will these brutes never learn?
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Parker's formula continues to work splendidly, although this is not one of the more deeply probing or significant (in terms of the character's growing mythology) installments. Parker is coasting, but even his coasting is better than most people's all-out trying.
The review of this Book prepared by Jeffrey Cohen
Putnam, March 2002, 24.95, 304 pp.
ISBN 0399148450
Boston lawyer Rita Fiore hires private detective Spenser to find some evidence that will help her client Mary Smith who is accused of murdering her husband Nathan. He was a very rich fifty-one year old man and Mary is twenty-three and a real life dumb blonde. Both Spenser and her attorney believe she is innocent and intend to find the real perpetrator so Mary's name will be cleared.
From the time Spenser signs on for the case, he picks up a tail. Hoping that the thugs following him could lead him to somebody that clears Mary, he has Hawk follow them. When they find out whom they work for, Hawk and Spenser talk to that person but learn nothing. As Spenser starts to peel away the layers of a financial conspiracy, six people involved in the case are killed and it looks like Spencer is going to be the seventh.
Spenser is like Batman: ageless. He is a wise cracking ex-cop who has been involved with Susan for a quarter of a century and even with all the novel revealing so much about him, readers still learn something new with Robert B Parker's latest fun tale. WIDOW'S WALK is funny, entertaining and action packed, a joy to read.
Harriet Klausner
The review of this Book prepared by Harriet Klausner
