Mike and I went to see a movie yesterday--and discovered that most of the Cedar Valley had the same idea. So, we headed to the WPL to pick up a few DVDs to enjoy together, and a few books on CD for me to listen to while I grade papers. However,
when I saw Robert Parker's latest novel on the Express Book Shelf, I had to grab it! The latest book in the Spenser series, The Professional offers many of the same characters and themes as in previous stories--Spenser's longtime girlfriend Susan Silverman, his good friend Hawk, and his former colleagues in the Boston P. D. Quirk and Belson. There is plenty of clever dialogue, good food, and debate about some of the big questions in life about love and respect, monogamy, motivation, and relationships.
In The Professional, Spenser gets hired by a group of women who are all being blackmailed by a scoundrel--all of them had affairs with a man named Gary. All of them are married to much older men and do not want their husbands to find out about their affairs. As usual, things are more complicated than they seem, and as Spenser investigates to find what the four women have in common, he discovers they are all members of an exclusive health club.
The Professional is a good read; Robert Parker has a way of hooking me into the story so effortlessly. He is a master of prose--funny, insightful, easy to read, enjoyable. I sat down to read a chapter last night and about a hundred and fifty pages later, realized that I needed to go to bed. Today I finished it off--and not to give anything anyway, it was worth it!
You can find The Professional on the Express Check out display: I promise to return it promptly. However, if you have not read any of the other Spenser novels, you can find many of them in the Mystery section as well as the large print area.
