Chance (Spenser) [Mass Market Paperback]

Robert B. Parker (Author)

Book Description

Series: Spenser | Publication Date: April 1, 1997

Spenser and Hawk investigate the disappearance of Anthony Meeker, the husband of mafia daughter Shirley Meeker, and begin to suspect that his wife, father-in-law, and associates miss him for darker purposes. Reprint.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Organized crime in Parker's fictional Boston has provided protein-rich fodder for most of the Spenser novels (recently, Thin Air and Walking Shadow). Parker sticks to the tried and true here, as his burly and literate PI untangles the knotted power schemes of the four putative heirs-and a brash newcomer-to old Joe Broz's domain. A second-echelon hoodlum, Julius Ventura, hires Spenser and his partner/sidekick Hawk to find his daughter's missing husband, a middle-management criminal named Anthony Meeker, who, it turns out, had money-handling responsibilities. Speedily determining that Meeker liked to gamble, Spenser and his lover, psychiatrist Susan Silverman, and Hawk depart for Las Vegas. They find their quarry, discover the complicating identity of his female companion and are joined by assorted other players, including one of Ventura's nastier fellow crimesters and Meeker's wife. A murder follows, sending Spenser back to Boston to determine who has betrayed whom and to try to smooth the way out for one of the women involved in the mess. This is vintage Parker, replete with the expected black/white repartee between Spenser and Hawk and the archly crude dialogue he carries on with Susan. ("Had I been a lascivious Irish shrink, would you have loved me anyway?" she asks. Spenser replies affirmatively and adds, "But I think you've just coined a tripartite oxymoron.") Despite a mid-course swerve in the plot, the action rings true, especially the machinations among the crime bosses, as Spenser proves himself once more a modern-day knight in shining armor. Author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Julius Ventura is a big-time Boston thug. He doesn't want to hire Spenser, but he does because his daughter is crying, and what dad--even a thug--can say no to a crying daughter? Shirley is crying because her husband, Anthony Meeker, has disappeared, and she wants him back. Anthony did some work for his father-in-law, and Spenser suspects there was a cash shortfall about the time Anthony disappeared. Soon Spenser discovers that Anthony was skimming from Julius and had an unwelcome partner, namely Marty Anaheim, a leg breaker in another branch of the organization. And just to add some spice to the mix, Anaheim's wife, Bibi, ran off with Meeker. Spenser and erstwhile pal Hawk move to and fro between Boston and Las Vegas, where they find Henry and Bibi, decide to help the pair escape the murderous Anaheim, and then get stopped cold by the murder of Shirley, Meeker's estranged wife. Toss in a power struggle among Boston's criminal elite, and you've got the most densely plotted Spenser novel in years. The unexpectedly complex machinations of the case complement the always stellar dialogue, the palpable sense of potential violence, and the bantering relationship between Spenser and longtime lover Susan Silverman. The Spenser series has had its ups and downs over more than 20 years, but this twenty-fifth entry finds the quick-witted sleuth and company to be in remarkably good health. Wonderfully entertaining reading. Wes Lukowsky --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; First Edition edition (April 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425157474
• ISBN-13: 978-0425157473
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,324 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( P ) > Parker, Robert B.
  • #78 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Hard-Boiled

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

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spenser in Vegas - what could be better?, October 3, 2000

By 

Lisa Shea "medieval swordfighting enthusiast" - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Chance (Spenser) (Mass Market Paperback)

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?" :)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Spenser in Las Vegas with a case in search of a client, February 2, 2001

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Chance (Spenser) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read for characters, not plot, October 11, 2000

By 

Elsie Wilson (Aberystwyth, Cymru) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chance (Spenser) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.