Customer Reviews

Hugger Mugger : A Spenser Novel

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Who else but Robert Parker could tackle three different mystery characters in three different novels a year and still be one of the most consistently entertaining writers in the mystery field? But (with apologies to Jesse Stone and Helen H...er, sorry, Sunny Randall), it's Spenser we love the best. My two favorite mystery novelists are Robert B. Parker and Dick Francis, and this mystery, set in Georgia horse country, is the best of both worlds: Spenser must track down the murderer of horses at a training farm, populated by (as Spenser says) the cast of a Tennessee Williams play. As always, much of the fun is the dialogue--no one's better than Spenser taking the wind out of a pompous twit's sails, and no one's better at writing that wise-guy with an intellectual edge than Parker. Any complaints? Well, sure, there's a big one. No Hawk! Luckily, Susan's around, and so is Pearl the Wonder Dog. Spenser's sidekick in this book, a gay ex-cop named Tedy Sapp, is interesting enough, but Mr. Sapp, you're *no* Hawk! (But who is?) My other quibble is a broader one. This is a fine standard Spenser mystery, but it's nothing more than that--Spenser gets a client, scouts the case, matches wits with the suspects, flirts a bit (but stays loyal to Susan, of course) and cracks the solution. But a truly exceptional Spenser book, while it contains all these elements, can be so much more. I've been reading Spenser's adventures for nearly 20 years, and the ones that make the most impression on me--those I consider the best, in which Parker transcends the normal mystery novel--are the books in which Spenser as a character moves forward dramatically, in which something major happens to Spenser *personally* to change or influence his life. Don't get me wrong--that kind of approach would not be welcome in every book...but after nearly 30 Spenser books the ones that stand out in my mind are "Early Autumn"..."A Catskill Eagle"..."Small Vices"...Spenser adventures that bring us more into the personal life of Parker's hero than the others. That Parker is capable of such sublime heights between the more-standard Spenser (and Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall) mysteries is the most important reason I keep reading him.

This is an interesting departure for Spenser -- Parker has apparently decided to see if he can still get a handle on the character without the "furniture" that has accumulated in the series over the years.

Thus, Hawk is nowhere to be seen, Vinnie Morris and Martin Quirk are voices on telephones doing favours for Spenser, and Spenser isn't even in Boston.

Beyond that, Parker rings variations on some of his own cliches -- the thuggish character whom Spenser has to humiliate turns out to be one of the Good Guys in the end, the local Top Cop not only likes Spenser, he's ahppy to have him stirring up trouble on the local scene that, for political reasons, the local law can't get into... and other somewhat off-center takes.

Parker has either visited Atlanta recently or done his research well -- when Spenser comes to Atlanta from (fictitious) Lamarr, he speaks of the local geography and business with a quiet assurance -- and accuracy.

Another departure for Spenser is the ending -- about which all i can say is just that -- that it's not a usual-type Spenser ending. I'll even go so far as to say that some readers (of whom i'm not one) may feel that he really hjasn't completed the story. But he has -- the solution is complete and elegant in Spenser's head, and he knows the guilty will sooner or later suffer...

One odd element in this book is that a completely-unrelated short story (set in Boston), with unrelated characters, is spliced into the middle of the book.

Parker has Susan refer to the events in this short story in a rather forced-sounding attempt to make it fit in by having her explain something about the main story by referring to the events of the interlude... But it really doesn't work.

OTOH, it's a neat little vignette of Spenser at work, deciding where justice lies and then going ahead and facilitating Justice with little regard for law, legality or the feelings of his client.

One minor gripe -- As in "Paper Doll" (set in an equally fictitious South Carolina county that Spenser briefly visits again in "Hugger Mugger"), Parker has missed a minor piece of Southrun talk -- we don't, generally, refer to Interstate highways as, say, "Route 20" -- such a reference is usually reserved for some piddly little State Highway; two-lane blacktop winding thru god-knows-where in the less-populated end of the county.

Don't know why that bothers me, except it's so obvious, as if Spenser were in Louisiana and referred to the "County Jail"...

Highly recommended, despite my personal dialog twitches.

This is Parker's best Speser novel in recent years. Over time the character and his relationship with Susan Silverman and Hawk has grown quite matter of fact. Lost was the essence of the main character that was in the earlier books. I can only guess but I think Parker has had a good strategy the last few years. He wrote a couple of novels with a different male character (vasty different from Spenser) and one with a female character (but much like Spenser). Returning in Hugger Mugger, parker takes Spenser out of all the "normal" settings - away from Boston, away from Hawk (no "jive-talk" bantering)and leaves Susan Silverman and Pearl the Wonderdog as supporting characters.

By doing this the author has forced himself to concentrate on Spenser - the character and by doing that has succeeded in bringing back the "something" that makes this character work.

The plot itself is quite good, but the character (and the supporting "cast") is what makes this work. My only complaint (minor) is how it ended -I felt there was a "wrap up" chapter missing, but all in all a great mystery and a fabulously great Spenser novel!

There has been a decline in the quality of the Spensernovels for several years, and this is probably the worst effort of all.Since I have never read a non-Spenser book by Robert Parker, I don'tknow if his powers as a writer are deserting him or if he has just lost interest in this character. I suspect the latter, as this novel reads like a middle draft of a book, rather than a final. The ending is abrupt and gives the impression that the author just gave up rather than that he finished the story. Parker at his best was a serviceable writer with a gift for wisecracking dialogue, and in Spenser and Hawk he had two excellent characters, and a series formula which worked very well. The best Spenser is comparable to the best John D. MacDonald, but a long way from the least of Raymond Chandler. Still, a lot of people enjoy the series, and we hope that Mr. Parker will give us a better effort next time. END

After working a series of pro bono cases for his girlfriend Susan and his friend Hawke, Spenser accepts a paying job that will substantially reduce his debt. Walter Clive and his daughter Penny own Three Fillies Stables in Lamarr, Georgia. Walter is especially proud of his young thoroughbred HUGGER MUGGER who experts think is the next Secretariat. However, in spite of top security, an unidentified assailant has slipped inside the stable area and killed one horse and damaged two other steeds.

Walter hires Spenser to come down from Boston to discover who the assassin is before any other horse, but especially HUGGER MUGGER, becomes the next victim. Spenser begins his inquiries with those in constant contact with the horses. However, before he completes his assignment, someone kills Walter and Penny fires Spenser. In turn Walter's mistress Tully hires Spenser to find out whom killed her paramour and deprived her son of his rightful inheritance.

Spenser novels have entertained readers for twenty-five years. Fans enjoy the sleuth's dry wit, code of honor, and obstinate nature. His latest adventure HUGGER MUGGER is one of the best in years. The story line has deep characterizations and uncanny insight into the behavior of the horse racing aristocracy. Additionally, Spenser is outside the comfort zone of his beloved Boston while swimming upstream in the Deep South. The fast-paced story line filled with action and a multi-player cast proves Robert B. Parker still has the cynic's touch of irony that provides the best in reading entertainment for private detective fans.

Harriet Klausner

Like other prolific writers, Robert B. Parker has a recipe for constructing a novel--lots of action, violence, rich and powerful criminals, and the characters of Spenser and his entourage. This novel is no different, as other reviewers have pointed out.

But what saves it is Parker's wonderful writing style: the ability to draw characters with a few simple brushstrokes, the wry humor and innate morality of Spenser, and the wealth of detail and background.

Hugger Mugger is one of the best Spenser-recipe novels Parker has written. I recommend it.

Being a somewhat rabid fan of Robert B. Parker, I had been eagerly awaiting his latest effort. After finally receiving it, and finishing it a few short hours later, I felt cheated, like a kid at Christmas who thinks he is getting the best present ever, only to find packages of socks and underwear. This book may be 320 pages, but they're the kind of pages you write when you have a 20 page essay due, and only 10 pages worth of information to put into it. Wide margins, double spacing, and I wouldn't be surprised if the point size was bigger than normal. As for the content - on any other day, I'd say that Parker's worst effort was still engaging reading, but now I'm not so sure. This book has no interesting characters, not one interesting twist, and seems to end abruptly, as though Parker is simply acknowledging that he has nowhere left to go. Having read each of his other books at least twice, it is truly appalling how much of the old material is recycled. This is fine if you're new to the series, and sometimes is a nice way to keep the Spenser universe real, but now I just find myself moaning at how much Parker overdoes it. Other than the notable exception of Small Vices, the entire series has been slipping in quality in the last few years. My advice to Mr. Parker would be to take some time, and think of an interesting story before putting pen to paper for your next attempt. Spenser fans will be more than willing to wait. Clunkers like these only cheapen the wonderful universe that you've built up over the last quarter century.

I've anticipated every Spenser novel for many years and am disappointed with the latest effort. The book ends abruptly and without the kind of result an early Spenser would have achieved. There are about 25 pages mid-book that are a completely different story than the main plot. On p. 273, Parker refers to "Walter Clive" as "Walter Klein" in an obvious editorial mistake/oversight. And in the age of jet travel, Spenser drives from Atlanta to Saratoga? The characters are getting to act and sound less and less realistic, a pity because Spenser is a great character. Maybe Parker is spending too much time dividing himself between Jesse Stone, Sunny Randall, and Spenser, all in a year's time. Spenser devotees will see this book as a letdown.

One of the thinnest plots ever involving Spenser. So sparse that in the middle Spenser goes back to Boston (from the south) and gets involved in a few chapters of do-gooding that has no relation to the main plot. No Hawk. All the good guys are either black or gay. The bad guys are white and rich. No suspense. Wide margins, large type and double spacing make this a perfect airplane book if you aren't flying too far. If going from coast to coast, bring a back up, because you'll polish this turkey off by the time you hit the Mississippi River.

Reading one of Robert Parker's Spenser novels is like drinking a brand-name Lite beer. It's frothy, without much substance but enjoyable nevertheless, and you always know exactly what you are getting. No micro-brewery idiosyncrasies, delights, or surprises, pleasant or otherwise. But as I get older, I get more and more tired of the same old thing. Obviously Parker doesn't, nor do his readers, who never seem to demand more of him. Spenser never ages and nothing ever really changes in his universe. In Hugger Mugger, he's gone down to my home state of Georgia to solve a mystery--it doesn't really matter what the mystery is, frankly. Spenser's investigative technique is simple--he asks questions of people who in real life would never give him the information he seeks. From a bouncer at a gay bar he elucidates information about one of their patrons, and from a madam, he not only gains material about one of her prostitutes, but her clients as well--and not a penny changed hands. He finally manages to figure out that the villains of the piece are both the most and least obvious people, operating in collusion, and any halfway astute reader will be chapters ahead of him. The conclusion is totally ludicrous, with one of the villains "luring" Spenser to the most obvious of ambushes, and Spenser going along to ambush the nominal ambushers--somehow he neglects to inform the police, even though he has a perfectly decent contact with them. Frankly, it's just a poorly thought-out excuse for Spenser to shoot people, since he hasn't had such an opportunity to do so previously in this expedition. Whatever would a Spenser novel be without gunplay? He's no Miss Marple, but oddly enough Parker even includes an old-fashioned denoument after the flying bullets, in which Spenser confronts everyone involved in a single room and says who dunnit.

And the thing of it is, that in spite of a non-plot and a non-mystery and the most annoyingly stereotypical cast of characters--they've all stepped right off the plane from the set of Dallas--we don't really mind much. Spenser is about snappy dialogue, and it is light escapist reading without question. So pop open the lid, pour yourself a glass, and admire the quips bubbling to the top. It's less filling, and tastes, well, okay.