Painted Ladies A Spenser Novel (Audible Audio Edition) Robert B Parker Joe Mantegna Random House Audio Books
Download As PDF : Painted Ladies A Spenser Novel (Audible Audio Edition) Robert B Parker Joe Mantegna Random House Audio Books
The brilliant new Spenser novel from the beloved New York Times-best-selling author Robert B. Parker.
Called upon by The Hammond Museum and renowned art scholar Dr. Ashton Prince, Spenser accepts his latest case to provide protection during a ransom exchange-money for a stolen painting.
The case becomes personal when Spenser fails to protect his client and the valuable painting remains stolen. Convinced that Ashton Prince played a bigger role than just ransom delivery boy, Spenser enters into a daring game of cat-and-mouse with the thieves. But this is a game he might not come out of alive....
Completed the year before he passed away, Painted Ladies is Spenser and Robert B. Parker at their electrifying best.
Painted Ladies A Spenser Novel (Audible Audio Edition) Robert B Parker Joe Mantegna Random House Audio Books
Sad because like several of his contemporaries, most notably Tony Hillerman, the end and posthumous novels do not read or ring true to form, as if finished in a hurry, or by a second rate forger.When Parker finished a book started by a voice he often quoted like a good jazzman quotes their sources, it was almost serene. This book is almost a farce. The elegant conversational timing, Spenser's often internalized angst filled soliloquies, even his vaunted sexual prowess all feel contrived here. There is no anxiety in the shoot out scene, it almost reads like an Elmore Leonard "Surprise! Shot ya!" without the surprise.
I must also add that I have been tired of Susan since "A Catskill Eagle", and especially in recent times since whatever the book was where she bought the leather couch for Spenser's office. Which is also a strange part of this book as Spenser's office reverts back to the early 80's, cheap, old, underfurnished but with an Aeron chair(!). Product placement, anyone? So continues the out of sync feeling of this book.
When it is suggested by Spenser's law enforcement friends that he might seek assistance from his short and diverse list of dangerous associates, Spenser states that he'll do this one alone. He was wrong. Spenser needed all the colorful companions he could muster here to help take the bland off of this outing.
This might have been a decent Murder She Wrote episode, but it's a far cry from a real Spenser.
Three stars just because he showed up is generous. True Spenser fans will find something here to like, true Parker fans may not be so lucky.
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Painted Ladies A Spenser Novel (Audible Audio Edition) Robert B Parker Joe Mantegna Random House Audio Books Reviews
Have read and loved Robert Parker's Spenser series for nearly 20 years now. Spenser's sense of humor, poignant and related poetry quotations and compassion while dealing with extraordinarily dangerous situations or simply life rang true for me so that I could forgive the occasional repetitions of his characters' mannerisms, which in itself became funny. Parker's keen eye for human weakness and adaption made his action novels far better than an entertaining ride; in Painted Ladies, Spenser's sense of honor is again clearly defined as he, pro bono, seeks the assassins of his client, ignoring the accumulating evidence that his client was no rose. Insightful about married relationships, bad guys with surprisingly sophisticated life philosophies, Parker manages to paint clear portraits of his characters as Spenser navigates fists, bullets and sometimes his friends (in my dreams I still hope to meet Rita Fiore!).
Recommend Painted Ladies as another fine Parker read, though not his best - that would have to go to Catskill Eagle, and recommend you read at least the 2 - 3 (Wydening Gyre is a near-requirement) novels leading up to it first.
Every time I read a Spenser story I know exactly what I will experience. They are all like conversation over dinner with an old friend. The topic of discussion may vary a bit, but in the end there are always comfortable constants. And, in the end you are never dissatisfied.
This incarnation was a tiny bit less fulfilling that some others. No Hawk, no Vinnie, no Chollo or Tedy. But, in the last analysis it was still a good tale, with plenty of twists and turns to hold the participant's attention. And, there will always be Susan and Pearl.
My only regret is that very soon my relationship with them will end. But, again, like the old friend there will always be fond memories.
The opening chapter of this next-to-last "Spenser" adventure is a master class in concise writing. In about five pages, Spenser meets his client, accepts a job to guard him during a ransom exchange involving a stolen painting, and in short order sees the client get blown up by a bomb during that exchange. Five pages! Other writers would take up to five chapters to cover that same ground. But Mr. Parker gets the job done quickly, without sketchiness or coming off as self-consciously clipped, and moves on with the rest of the story. God, I'll miss this guy's writing.
The bulk of the book, also written concisely (though maybe not in so precise a manner as the opening) nicely builds on the dramatic start as we watch a guilty Spenser try to make amends for allowing his client to die on his watch. Memorable scenes include two scary attempts on Spenser's life, a romance for Spenser and Susan's dog Pearl, a cool fistfight with the main villain's giant henchman, and several instances of Spenser taking down pretentious academics in the art world. What's fun about that last point is that, throughout the book, Spenser himself quotes obscure poetry and displays doctorate-level knowledge about poetry, art, and literature! He just does it with modesty, I smiled to myself.
I do think Mr. Parker showed a little more enthusiasm for the book's set up and characters than for the case's ultimate resolution, but that's a quibble, as the story's plot is resolved in a perfectly satisfying manner. I just would have liked a little more exploration of the driving forces behind the book's primary antagonist. After all, one doesn't often run across someone who (slight spoiler here, though the book ultimately isn't a whodunit) is devoted to things as diverse as seeking revenge for the Holocaust and making a living via art heists.
Published posthumously, readers shouldn't fear that this was a half-finished book that someone else knitted together and filled out to get in shape for publication. "Painted Ladies" is a polished, entertaining effort that is Robert B. Parker through and through. Here's hoping this will also be the case with "Sixkill", the author's final "Spenser" adventure, to be released in a few months.
Sad because like several of his contemporaries, most notably Tony Hillerman, the end and posthumous novels do not read or ring true to form, as if finished in a hurry, or by a second rate forger.
When Parker finished a book started by a voice he often quoted like a good jazzman quotes their sources, it was almost serene. This book is almost a farce. The elegant conversational timing, Spenser's often internalized angst filled soliloquies, even his vaunted sexual prowess all feel contrived here. There is no anxiety in the shoot out scene, it almost reads like an Elmore Leonard "Surprise! Shot ya!" without the surprise.
I must also add that I have been tired of Susan since "A Catskill Eagle", and especially in recent times since whatever the book was where she bought the leather couch for Spenser's office. Which is also a strange part of this book as Spenser's office reverts back to the early 80's, cheap, old, underfurnished but with an Aeron chair(!). Product placement, anyone? So continues the out of sync feeling of this book.
When it is suggested by Spenser's law enforcement friends that he might seek assistance from his short and diverse list of dangerous associates, Spenser states that he'll do this one alone. He was wrong. Spenser needed all the colorful companions he could muster here to help take the bland off of this outing.
This might have been a decent Murder She Wrote episode, but it's a far cry from a real Spenser.
Three stars just because he showed up is generous. True Spenser fans will find something here to like, true Parker fans may not be so lucky.
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