Customer Reviews

Chance

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Usually I read Spenser for the great writing style and Boston area environment. This book has in addition great descriptions of Vegas, that City of Sin, and some behind the scenes gangster family situations. It's all handled quite well, and the characters truly get you involved in the action.

It's not just a lost-girl-Spenser-finds-girl situation. There are a lot of plot twists, a lot of tracking and figuring out who double-crossed who, and why, and what he should do. Spenser figures out pretty quickly the basics of what's going on. However, it takes him longer to figure out the morally correct thing to do about it, and it's this side of the story which is so fascinating.

It's also a great reunion book for people who have followed the story along. There are your criminal favorites, plus Chollo, Fast Eddie Lee, Gino, Vinnie, Tony, etc. Definitely, if you haven't read the previous books, go through them to truly enjoy this one.

The story is very well written, with fun descriptions of Vegas and the whole twisted inter-relationships. Spenser's more thoughtful, willing to listen, thinking about how he does things. Maturity and age? Who knows. Susan is very tolerable, becoming more of a "Jewish American Princess". Strangely, the past two stories had doorknob troubles never heard of before.

There are a number of small touches that make the story shine. Bob the Waiter was great, from Bahston. My favorite moment is when Spenser's thinking about the Russians (also moving in to the mob scene) and answers the phone with "Da?" :)

As "Chance" begins our hero is "in the bucks," which means that when mobster Julius Ventura shows up to hire Spenser to find his missing son-in-law, our hero has nothing better to do. Of course Ventura and his daughter Shirley are not telling the entire truth about Anthony Meeker. Then things get interesting. Marty Anaheim, the right-hand man of Gino Fish, Ventura's main opponent, has Spenser tailed. Vinnie Morris is working with Fish, who has no idea what Marty is up to. But when it turns out that Phony Tony's big dream is to break the bank at Las Vegas, our hero heads off with Susan Silverman and Hawk. This novel has volcanoes erupting outside of hotel windows, and Susan wearing boots. Ultimately, "Chances" is one of the most convoluted cases Spenser has ever worked, which is what is to be expected when you have mobsters in love and a power struggle in Beantown. Consequently, there are cameo appearances by several notable supporting characters from recent novels. Anyhow, every revelation regarding Meeker and his tangled web only complicates matters further and, of course the point comes in the case where Spenser's interests diverge from that of the man who hires him, and for most of the novel Spenser and Hawk are trying to figure out what is going on, what they want to do about it, and, most importantly, who they are doing it for. All of these issues will be resolved, but pretty much at the last minutes. "Chance" has all of the essential elements of a Spenser mystery and is an enjoyable read, an above-average novel in the series. Oh, and by the way--despite the nice image of the wounded dice, the game of choice in this novel is blackjack, although watching Susan play is quite painful.

Another Spenser story. Again, the plot is fun, though simple; Spenser and Hawk, to a degree, carried by events rather than determining them. The case, this time, involves the disappeared gambling son-in-law of a mob ruler in Boston, whom Spenser is hired to find. Gradually we are drawn into the underlife of Boston, there is a power struggle going on there, and this son-in-law is, remotely, involved in it. Again, though, plot is of less importance than the interplay between Spenser, Hawk, and Susan, and Spenser and Hawk and the assorted bad guys they take on, including their client, and their contacts, to whom they go for information.

In Chance, you will meet the least trustworthy group of double-dealers you can ever imagine. They won't tell Spenser what's really going on, and switch allegiances at the drop of a hat. Just when you think you know what will happen next, the plot switches off into an unexpected direction.

Anthony Meeker, the biggest rat of them all, will keep you fascinated by raising the age-old question of what some women see in the men they marry.

Compared to most Spenser stories, this one has twice the plot. It's also filled with the usual entertaining by-play among Spenser, Hawk and Susan.

If you're like me, you won't be able to put this entertaining story down after starting it.

Take a Chance! You'll find it irresistible!

Robert B. Parker is an excellent author -- he could pull three stars out of a description of Spenser getting audited on his income taxes. Maybe four.

But of his recent work, Chance is a bit of a disappointment. Mystery? There isn't really a mystery here the reader can solve. Character? The new characters are all rather shallow, structureless, and uncompelling. This may be a statement about the type of people attracted to Vegas, a city which plays a promonent role in the story, yet no insight is gained into the shallowness, no real new perspective is offered. Suspense? There really isn't much. Drama? No, not much of that either.

Really there isn't much here, globally. Locally, it's better. The interactions between Spenser and the others is, as usual, a joy to read. And Spenser's verbal quips, cultural references, and interesting insights are worth the read. But the book needs a bit more. And Parker's shown before that he can provide it.

Note : This review is based on the book as a part of the Spenser series. The Spenser books are best read in chronological sequence. As a standalone book, this is probably only two stars.

No need to gamble when you pick up a Spenser novel. You know the tough wisecracking hero and his supercool sidekick Hawk will beat the odds and come out fine. Spenser stirs up the entire Boston mob scene, and takes some of them along on a junket to Vegas in this highly entertaining yarn. Fights and dead bodies pop up almost as frequently as Hawk's sage advice to Spenser. One thing you can bet on - Spenser's justice will prevail. Anybody who has ever enjoyed a Spenser novel will certainly not be dissappointed.

One problem that many authors have is keeping audiences interested after dozens of books. We become accustomed to a certain style of writing, a certain cast of characters, and it's easy to get bored. Robert B. Parker is one of the few (only?) authors that can successfully write novel after novel in the same way with the same main characters and still weave an engaging story.

Chance is your basic Spenser novel; if you've read a few of them, you know just what to expect. Our hero is hired to find an errant husband, and ends up focusing on a damsel in distress. Most of the way he has no idea what he's doing. It's refreshing, actually, to have the investigation end at one point, with Spenser more clueless than when he began. Of course he figures it all out in the end, but more by luck than anything else. There isn't too much byplay with Susan here, so if you're interested more in that relationship than in Spenser's wisecracking and dogged persistence, try another book (perhaps Small Vices).

I hope Mr. Parker keeps Spenser going for a long long time.

No fat, terse good humor, best good bad guys out there. While the story is great (Spenser and Hawk go to Vegas looking for somebody and things become convoluted, of course), what's wonderful about Parker's books are the writing itself, his dialogue and the characters. I didn't like the first Spenser novel I read (a more recent one) and waited a long time to try another but am glad I did. Parker's terrific.

This story is one of the most convoluted Spenser novels. One of the major figures of organized crime in the Boston area hires Spenser to locate the husband of his only daughter, but only after Hawk turned him down. While Spenser agrees to take the job, it is clear that he is not hearing the entire story. The missing man is Anthony Meeker, and once Spenser starts his probe, he learns that Anthony, "is as dumb as a rake handle." People who have encountered Anthony refer to him as "phony Tony", and it doesn't take long for Spenser to realize that Anthony was a bag man who carried out money transfers between crime groups. It is also obvious that Tony skimmed some of the money, as he announced that he had a system to beat Las Vegas and when he got back he would be worth a fortune.
Spenser and Hawk then depart for Vegas and learn that there is a lot of genetic material being exchanged between various wives and husbands. They also learn that there is a budding turf war about to erupt among the various leaders of the organized crime groups in the Boston area. Joe Broz, an old adversary of Spenser's and the major crime boss, is retiring and he has no worthy heir. Therefore, many of the players are running duplicitous ploys against each other, jockeying for position. Spenser even has a frank discussion with Joe Broz about what is going on.
Of course, Spenser and Hawk finally determine what is actually going on and Spenser finds a way to make sure the guilty parties are punished. The story is a little bit difficult to follow at times, simply because there are so many persons and groups of interest. The dialog is not as crisp or humorous as it is in the best Spenser novels, but it is quite good. This is also the book that introduces Bernard J. Fortunato, a Vegas private investigator who reappears as a Spenser ally in a later story.

The thing about Spencer novels is the presentation of the main characters; Susan, Hawk, and especially Spencer are cool. Because the books are written from a first person perspective, there is a special opportunity for audio books. Burt Reynolds takes advantage of that opportunity. His character portrayals are excellent.

Reynolds delivery is outstanding. He doesn't try too hard. His timing is great. Sometimes it's almost like he is talking specifically to me, not to a room of people - like he is responding to my feedback or something! He portrays the characters as I imagined them before I ever listened to a Spencer audiobook. (I didn't watch the TV series more than a couple times.)

Even without Reynolds, "Chance" is an interesting story, with a good balance between action & dialog, plot & character development. With Reynolds, it is six stars!