Read as part of CBR17 Bingo: starts with O
I have heard from many living old school mystery writers that the modern PI mystery tales in the States can be traced back to Spenser.
Having gone out of vogue with the deaths of Chandler and Hammett — and with only Ross Macdonald elevating the genre — the hardboiled PI tale had taken a back seat by the time Robert B. Parker began building his prodigious catalog in the early-70s.
Which is why I’ve given more grace to this series than I would others. I’m trying to respect its place in the history of a genre I love so dear. I’m just not a Spenser Guy: the wisecracking, Tough Guy, manly man old school PI is not my thing. It’s been done time-and-time again before and after Parker. And these books aren’t books made to be anything more than use-and-lose. I guess that’s fine but I just wish writers would aspire to more sometimes.
Anyway, after Parker’s death, several writers picked up the tale of the ageless Spenser. One of them is a personal favorite: the great Ace Atkins. I love Atkins’ Quinn Colson series; you can go back to my reviews to see. I devoured most of them during covid and wish he would put out more.
Atkins elevates these books in a way they probably do not deserve. He keeps the spirit of Spenser but the writing is better, the plots more interesting. It still gets you from point A to point B easily; Atkins knows why you’re reading this. But it’s like someone turned an old Toyota Corolla into a hot sports car just because they could.
Not a Spenser fan but I’m planning on reading all of Atkins’ Spenser tales. Love em and this one was no different.