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Sudden Mischief by Robert B. Parker
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Best known for his Spenser PI series, Robert B. Parker has been compared to Hammett, Chandler and Macdonald.
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Sudden Mischief by Robert B. Parker
Features
Mass Market Paperback:
306 pages
; Dimensions (in inches): 0.89 x 6.74 x 4.16
Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper); (May 1999)
ISBN:
042516828X
Amazon.com
Sudden Mischief, the 25th Spenser novel, finds Robert B. Parker's seemingly ageless sleuth once again engaging Boston's bad guys and sorting out life's moral dilemmas, all (or mostly) in the name of love. When Spenser's girlfriend, psychiatrist Susan Silverman, asks him to investigate charges of sexual harassment leveled against her ex-husband, Brad Sterling, the detective agrees, though the assignment "shows every sign of not working out well." As the sexual harassment allegations melt like April snow, Sterling drops out of sight, a dead body appears in his office, and Spenser discovers a murky slush of clues that suggest Sterling's work as a marketing genius for local charities has been a front for some truly despicable criminal activities. As always, the more-than-slightly-shady Hawk is on hand to help Spenser sort the good from the bad, but Spenser is left to his own devices when it comes to making sense of the emotional havoc the case creates in his relationship with Susan. And what devices they are: emotionally mature and physically dynamic, Spenser once again proves himself as detective, friend, lover, and human being as Sterling's reappearance forces Susan to examine her past and her conscience while searching for her own autonomy. As always, Spenser endures as an intelligent, ethical, and poetic private eye, even if his endless middle age seems a bit supernatural. Parker's nimble, Spartan prose suits a character who carries his years in wisdom rather than body fat. If the heart of any truly great detective series is a truly great detective, Sudden Mischief and the rest of Parker's Spenser novels surely fit the bill. --L.A. Smith --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Amazon.com Author Profile
Read about the author. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reader Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Susan faces and conquers incidents from her past, May 25, 2003
Reviewer:
Charles Ashbacher
from Hiawatha, Iowa United States(cashbacher@yahoo.com)
The initial premise of this novel is rather unusual. Brad Sterling, the ex-husband of Spenser's girlfriend Susan comes to her and asks for assistance in combating a sexual harassment charge being pressed by several women who worked with him on a charity fund-raising event. Susan then asks Spenser to assist in resolving the problem. The investigation involves high powered lawyers, major underworld figures, marital infidelity, and the usual group of characters in a Spenser story. The plot is convoluted, taking many directions, leading to many possibilities as to who committed the two murders. There are several suspects, and the obvious ones are investigated. While there is always a great deal of emotion between Spenser and Susan in these stories, the involvement of her ex-husband intensifies the relationship. At the end, there is a showdown different from that of other stories, in that it is Susan facing down her past rather than Spenser confronting the perpetrator(s). The story moves along very well and keeps you uncertain as to what the true circumstances are. It keeps your attention and the deeper psychological activity between the main characters is an element that makes it all the more interesting.
--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition
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