Crimson Joy [Audio Cassette]

Robert B. Parker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 1990

A serial killer is on the loose in Beantown and the cops can't catch him. But when the killer leaves his red rose calling card for Spenser's own Susan Silverman, he gets all the attention that Spenser and Hawk can give.

Spenser plays against time while he tracks the Red Rose killer from Boston's Combat Zone to the suburbs. His trap is both daring and brave, and gives the story a satisfying climax.

"Like Philip Marlowe, Spenser is a man of honor in a dishonorable world. When he says he will do something, it is done. The dialogue zings, and there is plenty of action...but it is the moral element that sets this series above most defective fiction." (Newsweek)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The hero of Parker's bestsellers and a popular TV series, Boston private eye Spenser tells his 15th story, this time about events that affect him personally as well as his psychologist lover Susan Silverman and their buddy, Hawk. A husband murders his wife imitating the "Red Rose Killer," a serial murderer who has been leaving a rose on the corpses of his victims, middle-aged black women. When the spouse admits his guilt, government higher-ups assure feminist and ethnic pressure groups that the elusive maniac has been caught: case closed. But Spenser's friends in homicide, angered by the cover-up, enlist him and Hawk in an unofficial investigation that seems to implicate some of Susan's patients. Resenting the intrusion on her professional territory, Susan nevertheless cooperates. Spenser and Hawk, as guards, are therefore present during the psychologist's session with the dreaded but pitiable killer and the ensuing tense, final scene. Parker's biting wit, onomatopoetic dialogue and convincing characters are again notable attractions. So are details on the ambience of Boston and environs, except for one slip surprising in so accurate an author: discussions of the possibility of electrocution in Massachusetts, where there is no capital punishment. Mystery Guild main selection; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selections.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Tightly constructed prose and well-paced action characterize this exciting entry in the famous Spenser series. Psychotherapist Susan Silverman appropriates a more central role when a serial murderer turns out to be one of her clients. Working with two out-of-favor policemen to trap the suspect, Spenser and Hawk protect the independent Susan while she confronts the killer. Parker skillfully weaves Susan's objective theorizing, Spenser's mot juste narrative, and the killer's subjective emotions into fascinating psychological interplay. Smoother, better focused, and less cryptic than last year's Pale Kings and Princes . REK
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Books on Tape, Inc. (June 5, 1990)
• ISBN-10: 0736617582
• ISBN-13: 978-0736617581
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,605,423 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

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hooked on Spenser, April 6, 1998

By 

Abigail Weed Howard ([e-mail]) (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crimson Joy (Mass Market Paperback)

I'll start with a confession: I've never read Robert B. Parker before. And I didn't know anything about Spenser before I met him in Crimson Joy. I don't know - I thought maybe Sam Spade; dark, rainy nights, bare light bulbs in a dingy office.

Boy, was I wrong.

In this book, Spenser and friends are up against the Red Rose killer. The bad guy is quite obviously a psychological case, so Spenser's psychologist girlfriend gets to be a partner in crime as well as in bed, with delightful humor and good will. They're both such really great people, it's fun to be around them.

Spenser is in great physical shape; he's brave and witty; he's a gourmet cook. He's never ruffled. Faced with a slime talk show host or a five-thug citizen pressure group, his wit, strength, and courage save the day.

Okay, it might all be too good to be true, but this is a story. It's comfortable, funny, fast-paced, breezy and uncomplicated. The plot is clever enough to interest, even if the outcome is surly a foregone conclusion.

In Spenser's words, "To be who I was and do what I did had to assume I'd win." That's how I felt from the start and I was glad he was who he was and did what he did and I loved every minute of it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Parker at his best, June 2, 2000

By 

Jeanna180 "Jeanna180" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crimson Joy (Mass Market Paperback)

I have been reading Spenser since I was a teenager and this is one of the best I have read.

The case in the story, a serail killer who leaves a red rose at the scene of the crime, is a heart wrenching one. As the case developes the novel gets more intense and more belivable.

Then when the reader thinks the case is resolved Parker throws one last heart wrenching detail at his readers. This is parker at the top of his craft. A must read for any Spenser fan.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top notch!, June 13, 2001

By 

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

This review is from: Crimson Joy (Mass Market Paperback)

What a relief! After reading A Catskill Eagle I started to worry that Parker was losing me with his "Spencer as Rambo" style. But Crimson Joy gets back to what made Parker a superb mystery novelist: Spencer solving a mystery and tracking down the criminal. There is a lot of police involvement in this one as Spencer agrees to help out our favorite detective, Martin Quirk. Hawk helps out, which is always a plus, and there is the added suspense of Susan being put in the path of danger as she becomes involved in her role as psychotherapist.

A Crimson Joy is a top notch Spenser novel and I highly recommend it for all fans of the crime novel. I can't wait to read the next in the Spenser saga!