A Catskill Eagle [Hardcover]

Robert B. Parker (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Delacorte Press (1974)
• ASIN: B000JL943E
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,578,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert B. Parker (1932-2010) has long been acknowledged as the dean of American crime fiction. His novel featuring the wise-cracking, street-smart Boston private-eye Spenser earned him a devoted following and reams of critical acclaim, typified by R.W.B. Lewis' comment, "We are witnessing one of the great series in the history of the American detective story" (The New York Times Book Review). In June and October of 2005, Parker had national bestsellers with APPALOOSA and SCHOOL DAYS, and continued his winning streak in February of 2006 with his latest Jesse Stone novel, SEA CHANGE.

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Parker attended Colby College in Maine, served with the Army in Korea, and then completed a Ph.D. in English at Boston University. He married his wife Joan in 1956; they raised two sons, David and Daniel. Together the Parkers founded Pearl Productions, a Boston-based independent film company named after their short-haired pointer, Pearl, who has also been featured in many of Parker's novels.

Parker began writing his Spenser novels in 1971 while teaching at Boston's Northeastern University. Little did he suspect then that his witty, literate prose and psychological insights would make him keeper-of-the-flame of America's rich tradition of detective fiction. Parker's fictional Spenser inspired the ABC-TV series Spenser: For Hire. In February 2005, CBS-TV broadcast its highly-rated adaptation of the Jesse Stone novel Stone Cold, which featured Tom Selleck in the lead role as Parker's small-town police chief. The second CBS movie, Night Passage, also scored high ratings, and the third, Death in Paradise, aired on April 30, 2006.

Parker was named Grand Master of the 2002 Edgar Awards by the Mystery Writers of America, an honor shared with earlier masters such as Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen.

Parker died on January 19, 2010, at the age of 77.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not among the best but still very good., January 25, 2001

By 

John D. Costanzo "johndc" (Bensalem, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Catskill Eagle (Spenser, Book 12) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read several Spenser novels chronologically starting with Mortal Stakes. This was my least favorite so far, but I still give it high grades. Parker is really stretching credibility in a story that boils down to a fight between two boys over a girl. It is a really big and complicated fight, and it involves mercenaries, gun manufacturers, CIA, FBI, so on and so on. But Parker somehow pulled it off. I can't help but enjoy the dynamic of Spenser, Hawk, Susan, et al. As with all of Parker's books, the strength lies in his characters.

Overall, it was an entertaining but not quite great book; it was just a little too farfetched to get a five star rating. But if you are a fan of Spenser, you have to read this book. It is of crucial importance if you are following the relationships and the development of the characters.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This is where the downfall began, December 17, 2000

By 

David White (NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Catskill Eagle (Spenser, Book 12) (Mass Market Paperback)

Before this every Spenser novel was enjoyable, rich with characterization, and an amazing sense of style.

Then came A Catskill Eagle.

It's like Parker used everything up right here. He has Spenser go cross country to save his girl and all of a sudden everything becomes overblown. There is no reason to believe that the villain is FBI related and a terrorist until Parker runs out of steam. And then it turns into a James Bond novel. Which isn't what I'm looking for.

It gets three stars because it's Parker, but after this Parker loses some steam, and the novels are on the decline. Until Small Vices anyway.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of the Spensers, March 11, 2000

By 

Charles R. Slater - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Catskill Eagle (Spenser, Book 12) (Mass Market Paperback)

Having read all of Parker's Spenser novels -- and all but the first are very good or better -- this one is the best. It integrates all the familiar Spenser characters from earlier novels, even Rachel Wallace, sheds further light on the relationship with Hawk, and, most especially, on that with Susan Silverman, which is the subject of the esoteric title. It shows Spencer sensitive and suffering over the woman he loves, seems satisfying psychologically to me, although I'm not sure Susan would act quite as she did. But that's a quibble. This is Parker at his best, Spenser at his height, and a good, rip-roaring, cross-country adventure story to boot. I like God Save the Child and Mortal Stakes and Early Autumn and Small Vices very much. But if I had to take one Spenser book with me on a long, boring journey, this would be it.