Mortal Stakes [Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Robert B. Parker (Author), Michael Prichard (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1989

Everybody loves a winner, and the Rabbs are major league. Marty is the Red Sox star pitcher, Linda the loving wife. She loves everyone except the blackmailer out to wreck her life.

Is Marty throwing fast balls or throwing games? It doesn't take long for Spenser to link Marty's performance with Linda's past...or to find himself trapped between a crazed racketeer and an enforcer toting an M-16.

America's favorite pastime has suddenly become a very dangerous sport, and one wrong move means strike three, with Spenser out for good!

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

6 1-hour cassettes

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Books on Tape, Inc. (April 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 073661530X
• ISBN-13: 978-0736615303
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,497,843 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 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Parker knocks one out of the park!, August 23, 2002

By 

Neal C. Reynolds (Indianapolis, Indiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mortal Stakes (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the second Spenser book I've read, and it's definitely a home run.

Spenser's hired to find out if the Boston Red Sox' leading pitcher is on the take or not, gets involved with a few nice folks and quite a few who aren't as nice. The characters and their interplay with Spenser help make this a superior P. I. story. The pitcher and his wife, the madame of a New York bordello, a flashy pimp, a flamboyant sports announcer and his bubblegum chewing martial arts expert assistant, an on-the-edge mob boss and his hit man, a knowing and not altogether unsympathetic cop, Brenda from the first novel, and Susan from the second each provide good scenes moving the story along.

What lifts this novel above the average Spenser novel and the basic tough detective genre is Spenser's personal code, the set of principles that he lives by, and the struggle he faces when the only way to bring about a satisfactory resolution to the situation is to violate one of those principles.

This is, on one hand, a fast, enjoyable read and also, on the other hand, a satisfying look at what makes the main character tick.

Very highly recommended to casual P. I. readers as well as serious ones.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, January 20, 2000

By 

Harmoni (United States of America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mortal Stakes (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the 3d in the Spenser series.

Next to Sandy Kofax, Marty Rabb is the best pitcher Spenser has ever seen. Rabb is with the Red Sox, and someone in the organization hires Spenser to find out if there is any truth in the hint of a whisper that he is throwing games or allowing hits.

There are lots of laughs in this story, especially in the first half. Spenser is also quite introspective. He sleeps with Brenda Loring twice, and, while that disturbed me, I liked what he thought when he first kissed her: "There is excitement in a new kiss, but there is a quality of memory and intimacy in kissing someone you've kissed often before. I liked the quality. Maybe continuity is better than change."

Brenda is not dating Spenser exclusively, and there is no mention whether Susan is. At one point, Spenser needs to talk about something, and he realizes that Brenda is only for fun times and that he can discuss serious issues with Susan. This story presages the commitment to each other made by Susan and Spenser in _Promised Land_.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Spenser and Baseball!, November 20, 2000

By 

Eric M. Schmidt "Ezri" (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mortal Stakes (Mass Market Paperback)

Against the backdrop of baseball Spenser finds himself undercover and investigating the Sox's top pitcher. This is third in the Spenser series and features Spenser without much of the normal cast of characters that surround him in later books--nonetheless--it is classic Spenser with all the usual wit. Susan and Spenser do seem to connect on a higher level late in the book. He is able to confide in her. In the aftermath of the case Susan pegs Spenser's moral makeup right on. My favorite instance of this is later in the book when Susan says, "Two moral imperatives in your system are never to allow innocents to be victimized and never kill people except involuntarily." The plot in this is as exciting as ever. If you like this, I'd recommend trying one of Troy Soos baseball mystery series as well.