The Judas Goat [Mass Market Paperback]

Robert B. Parker (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Dell Pub Co (1996)
• ASIN: B000OYPVCE
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

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

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best Spencer books, January 23, 2000

By 

Douglas Buckser - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Judas Goat (Mass Market Paperback)

This book shares equal-first placing with Small Vices as my favourite Spencer books, because Spencer is not the smartest, strongest, all-conquering hero. He makes mistakes and wears the consequences.

The Judas Goat is probably the least predictable of the Spencer books. Hawk and Susan are introduced to a large degree in this book, so they are fresh and unpredictable. Hawk is morally ambiguous and hasn't developed into a boy scout with a ghetto accent. Susan is quite intelligent and hasn't been reduced to alternating speeches of undying love for Spencer and self-righteous whinging about the unfairness of life.

As Australia is currently in the last stages of preparing for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, the book's references to the 1976 Olympics are particularly interesting. Robert Parker wins a gold medal for this effort.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most action packed of the Spenser novels., July 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Judas Goat (Mass Market Paperback)

This is my favorite Spenser novel. It is action based and shows Spenser and Hawk at their best. This is the earlier Spencer who has little regard for the rules. Hawk has no regard for the rules. Spenser before he was civilized by Susan Silverman.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Spenser Reviews: This Won't Betray Your Time, October 5, 2003

By 

Samuel Louis "raisindot" (Natick, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Judas Goat (Mass Market Paperback)

In The Judas Goat, Spenser takes a vacation from his usual Bostonian suspects and takes on a job in Europe hunting down terrorists who killed his latest client's family.

While certainly not reaching the complexity of the "great Spenser period" soon to come, the story advances some of the key elements that would later gel (and, ultimately ossify in some ways) in some ways. Although her role is peripheral here, Susan Silverman is a lot more likeable here than in previous books. And here Hawk finally emerges as his own character, finally becoming Spenser's true doppleganger.

The only flaws are a rather plastic set of villains, including an unfortunately portrayal of a seriously demented nymphomaniac terrorist. Clearly, Parker is still struggling with his tendencies to characterize the non-Silverman women as either good time girls or pyschotic whores.

But the action scenes here are among Parker's best, including an astonishing, multi-page set piece involving Spenser's attempt to lure a couple of assassins waiting to kill him.

This probably isn't the first Spenser you should read, but it's among the best of the earlier Spensers.