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The Widening Gyre by Robert B. Parker
Reader Reviews 15 of 15 people found the following review helpful: Spenser on the power of love and the pain of separation, January 6, 2001 Reviewer: Lawrance M. Bernabo from The Zenith CIty: Duluth, MN United States "The Widening Gyre" is the second consecutive Spenser novel in which Robert P. Parker takes the title from William Butler Yeat's poem, "." In this case the phrase is from the first part of the tercet that ends, "Things fall apart; the center cannot hold." This time around our hero is sitting in his office having a beer when he is hired to provide security for a senatorial candidate. Congressman Meade Alexander, a born again Christian who believes America needs a moral and spiritual awakening is running against another Congressman, Robert Browne, who is reportedly connected to the Mob. If you are wondering what these two are doing running for a U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts, remember, this is a work of fiction. As often happens in a Spenser novel, there is more that meets the eye: Alexander is being blackmailed to quit the race and throw his support to Browne. There is a videotape of his wife, who has an obvious drinking problem, having sex with some college kid. Meade wants Spenser to make the problem go away. Not because of politics, but because he loves her and does not want to see her hurt. Our hero is having his own problems in the realm of love because Susan is pursuing his doctoral work in Washington, D.C. and will not be home for Thanksgiving. However, Paul Giacomin, the surrogate son that Spenser saved in "Early Autumn," has come home and we quickly realize that as much as Spenser and Susan argue about his macho Weltanschauung, it is Paul who probably understands him best. Although Susan Silverman was much more of a presence in the previous novel, in "The Widening Gyre" she is much more on his mind, and it is there relationship that the title ultimately characterizes. However, Spenser has promised Alexander to do his best, but all he has to go on is the videotape and the inevitable feeling that the coincidences add up to something decidedly more certain. Eventually our hero follows the right people around and comes up with a solution to Alexander's problem that just might work. Now if he could just do the same thing about his relationship with Susan. This is a decent Spenser novel that certainly continues the protagonist's progression.
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