God Save the Child [Hardcover]

Robert B. Parker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 11, 1975

Appie Knoll is the kind of suburb where kids grow up right. But something is wrong. Fourteen-year-old Kevin Bartlett disappears. Everyone thinks he's run away -- until the comic strip ransom note arrives.  It doesn't take Spenser long to get the picture -- an affluent family seething with rage, a desperate boy making strange friends...friends like Vic Harroway, body builder. Mr. Muscle is Spenser's only lead and he isn't talking...except with his fists. But when push comes to shove, when a boy's life is on the line, Spenser can speak that language too.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Distribution Services (September 11, 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0233967036
• ISBN-13: 978-0233967035
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,171,106 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

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Spenser!, February 12, 2002

By 

Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Lakewood, OH) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: God Save the Child (Mass Market Paperback)

Robert B. Parker, God Save the Child (Berkeley, 1974)

One of the great enduring mysteries in the literary world-and it says quite a bit that a piece of genre writing has had such a pervasive cultural effect-is the first name of Robert B. Parker's longstanding favorite good guy, Spenser. What short memories we have, for it's revealed in God Save the Child, the second Spenser novel. (The book contains the one scene where someone says his first name and isn't later contradicted. And no, I'm not going to tell you what it is.) Not only that, but it also pinpoints Spenser's age, which is something that's come up in more than one recent review. And yes, he is getting up there. (I won't tell you that, either. But pretty soon, the A&E made-for-TV movies will have to case Don Ameche and Garrett Morris as Spenser and Hawk.) For any Spenser fan, those two things alone should be reason enough to go back and correct any error they may have made by not reading this at their earliest opportunity. To cap off the must-read things about this book, it's where Spenser first meets Susan. Okay, get thee to a bookstore and get to work.

In this case, Spenser is hired to find a runaway kid. After a few days of wheel-spinning by both Spenser and the cops, a ransom note turns up; the kid's not a runaway, but a kidnap victim. Spenser enlists the help of a smart-aleck state cop and the kid's guidance counselor (Susan Silverman), and things go about the same way they usually go in detective novels. Those used to later Spenser novels will find the prose much drier than the average Spenser novel; whether Parker hadn't yet developed the distinctive Spenser style or whether the publisher was leaning on him to sound more like Ross MacDonald is anyone's guess. But don't worry, you won't be hurting for wisecracks, culinary commentary, and other such Spenserian traits.

While the book itself is vintage Parker, it's plain to see that the publisher was still thinking of Parker in dime- novel terms back in 1974. Hopefully reprints have corrected some of the more egregious errors of spelling and grammar, but if you happen to get your hands on the mid-seventies Berkeley paperback (...), be prepared for some painfully obvious screwups, if you happen to notice such things. I considered using the book to start a bonfire the second time Spenser "payed" a bill. (Amazing that they didn't spell his name Spencer throughout.) Obviously, it's not a knock on Parker, but still worth noting for those who get annoyed by proofreading errors in their pulp fiction. ****

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The first of two perfect partners for Spenser ..., October 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: God Save the Child (Mass Market Paperback)

Although, Spenser continues his ogling ways, he meets his match in Susan Silverman. You know the repartee can only develop between these too, and you know that Spenser sees a certain toughness in Susan that compliments his own.

After two books, Parker continues to put the fun in dsyfunctional, as he creates the perfect suburban couple trying to be something they're not (a recurring them in most Spenser novels). Yet, he leaves enough room for redemption, and the beginnings of reformation and restoration.

Once finished, I couldn't wait to continue Spenser's journey, and see where Parker would go next. My annual ritual of moving through the series - for 10 years now - never fails to satisfy.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Parker's Best!, May 19, 2001

By 

"moreland98" (Vacaville, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: God Save the Child (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read Robert B. Parker since I was 13 and devour his Spenser books instantly, as he is one of only three authors that I will buy in hardback (Grafton and Evanovich are the other two). So I feel qualified in stating that this is one of his best stories in the series.

Spenser is hired by the Bartlett's to find their missing son. Mom and Dad are far from perfect - Mom's a self-centered alcoholic, Dad's a passive workaholic. Kevin, the son, appears to have been kidnapped (I'll leave the plot surprises for you to discover!), and it's up to Spenser to save him.

This is truly Parker at his best. The plot is terrific and never becomes secondary to Spenser's emotional life, as sometimes happens. This also happens to be the book that introduces the erstwhile Susan Silverman, which adds a nice kick to the story. The fact that this story takes place in the mid to late 70's in no way detracts from its value.

Buy this book and treasure it!