Small Vices (A Spenser Novel) [Paperback]

Robert B Parker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 20, 1999 | Series: A Spenser Novel

Ellis Alves is no angel. His lawyer says he was framed for the murder of college student Melissa Henderson and asks Spenser for help. From Boston's back streets to Manhattan's elite, Spenser and Hawk search for suspects, including Melissa's rich kid tennis-star boyfriend. But when a man with a .22 puts Spenser in a coma, the hope for justice might just die along with the detective.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

While the rest of us grow older, Spenser seems suspended in perpetual early middle age. Oh, he talks about getting older, but his body is still firm, his muscles toned, and his reflexes are still hair-trigger fine. Even so, it is Spenser's body that betrays him when he is almost killed by an assassin's bullet two-thirds of the way through Robert B. Parker's latest Spenser adventure, Small Vices. Hired to discover the truth behind a doubtful murder conviction, Spenser soon runs afoul of "the Gray Man," who eventually shoots and partially paralyzes him. Spenser, his stalwart girlfriend Susan, and his almost mythical friend Hawk then hole up in Santa Barbara until the detective can get back on his feet again.

There's never any doubt that Spenser will get back on his feet, or that he will eventually track down the man who shot him and solve the mystery that started the whole ball rolling in the first place. What makes the Spenser mysteries interesting is Spenser himself, the thinking person's private eye, a man of honor and of conscience who understands that every action has consequences. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Maybe you've drifted away from the Spenser series, now in its twenty-fifth installment, and started paying more attention to the younger fellows--Hiaasen, Mosley, and countless others. Well, it might be a good time to check back in with Parker, who can still sling similes with the best of them. This time the inimitable if aging Spenser (he's a Korean War vet!) shows definite signs of losing a step--he's shot, nearly killed, and must undergo a grueling rehabilitation before tracking down his assassin for round two. Along the way, he investigates the wrongful conviction of a Boston gangbanger who was framed for the murder of a rich college girl. Spenser and longtime lover Susan are still trading quips about relationships, sex, and, this time, adopting a baby, and Spenser and even-longertime pal Hawk are still exchanging knowing nods and meaningful monosyllables as if they were Gary Cooper and Ernest Hemingway. What is it about Spenser and his pals that makes it hard to stay away for long? Certainly, it's not realism. We love the dialogue, but clearly nobody talks that way--we're not tough enough, quick enough, and we certainly can't spout literary allusions well enough. But if we were quick enough, it sure would be fun to talk like Spenser and to hang out with Hawk and Susan, and, let's face it, it might also be fun to beat up the bad guys in our lives every now and then. Spenser lives in the real world and deals with it the way we imagine we would if only we knew how. Hemingway called it grace under pressure, and smirk though we may, it still feels good, even just to read about. Bill Ott --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: No Exit Press (July 20, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1901982580
• ISBN-13: 978-1901982589
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,631,153 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

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars parker is still good, November 22, 1997

By 

Scott A. Butki "http://www.fotolog.com/butki13" (Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Small Vices (Spenser Mystery) (Hardcover)

- It wasn't until I started reading "Small Vices" that I realized how much I'd missed Robert Parker and his Spenser series. During an 18-month period about two years ago I read all of Parker's books. I haven't read any of his books since. And then recently I picked up this new book and, although I was having a bad day, I was soon smiling and laughing. Spenser was back and I was sure enjoying his company. I've tried before to determine exactly why I love this series so much, since the basic concept is so cliched: Spenser is a tough, strong private eye, but with a heart of gold, who usually gets the bad guy. He's very ethical and serious at times, like Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder character, but he is also quite funny at times, a la Donald Westlake. Mostly, though, he is witty, sharp and smart. I suspect that part of me thinks that I could be Spenser if I buffed up and learned how to throw a punch. The writing is always tight in his books. During one conversation, for example, Spenser tells the reader simply, "I had nothing to add to that," whereas other writers would elaborate on that thought. There is also a racial element to the series, with Spenser's buddy, Hawk, a black tough guy who acts dumber than he is and plays to the racial stereotype but is actually quite intelligent and uses people's expectation of him to his advantage. All of this results in great dialogue. At one point in this book, for example, Spenser is injured. "I don't need that much help," Spenser said. "He ain't heavy," Hawk said. "He's my brother." In this book, Spenser is hired by a law firm concerned that a black man convicted of murdering a white girl in an almost all-white college may actually be innocent of that crime. The suspect is guilty, though, of raping other women so few go out of their way to help Spenser unravel the truth. Spenser also encounters great deal of racism. Soon some tough guys tell Spenser to quit his investigation and throw him some muscle. He pretty much ignores the threats until he starts getting followed by a guy who prefers to let his bullets do the talking. And then things get really interesting. Meanwhile, Spenser's long-time girlfriend, Susan, wants to adopt a child but Spenser is against the idea but doesn't want to make her mad either. This is certainly not Parker's best book, but even a weak Parker book is better than much of the novels currently available. Part of the problem may be that Parker has been writing this series for too long, more than 20 years now, so it will be interesting to see how a new non-Spenser book he has out compares. And when I read that one, I'll tell you my conclusion.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bravo!, January 16, 2006

By 

G. B. Talovich (Wulai, Taiwan, ROC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Small Vices (Spenser) (Mass Market Paperback)

Robert Parker writes like a skater on ice who floats effortlessly. He may put a lot of work into his writing, but he does not groan and grunt for our benefit. He presents the reader with polished pieces. This is elegance.

I have read a dozen of Parker's books, and enjoyed every one. However, I would say Small Vices is the most heroic, in that this book deals with grand themes. Academics may sneer at mystery novels, or come slumming, but these are our myths for the modern world.

If you haven't read the book, please stop reading this review here, because I wouldn't want to spoil anybody's enjoyment. The book has the classic Spenser scenes: the Threat, Displaying the Weapons, Pearl the Wonder Dog, great dialogue, vivid character sketches, and so forth. Spenser is careless, though. He shouldn't have been out running alone with the Grey Man on his trail.

Curious. In the end, everybody gets off. Spenser gets off with wounds, the Grey Man gets off without jail, the parents get off, the murderer gets off, the wronged prisoner gets off, and Hawk gets off with no pay for ten months' TLC. The only person who really loses is the victim, and she died happy.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spenser falls . . .and gets up!, August 7, 2003

By 

Larry Scantlebury (Ypsilanti, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Small Vices (Spenser) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is one of my favorite Spenser tales. And we love him because . . . . I guess it's kind of that John Wayne feeling, you like to have a big guy around who can always be relied upon to take care of business. Here, he almost fails, and that's the magnetism of Small Vices.

Spenser is hired by the now successful, leggy Rita Fiore. There is the usual overt flirting ". . . too bad you didn't . . ." and "Boy, if you only had . . ." and "you had your chance . . " that we've come to chuckle at and with the honorable sleuth.

Here he's asked to track down 'the real murderer' which will free a man wrongfully doing life in the hard place.

It's hard to pity the imprisoned man Spenser is asked to free. It seems most feel he doesn't really deserve to be freed . . . even the loyal friend Hawk feels that Alves belongs in jail, "either for this crime or one he got away with."

But Spenser, who again tells someone his first name but not us, gets too close and takes three slugs to the shoulder, leg and chest.

It takes Susan, Hawk, Quirk, Belson, Lee Farrel and Vinnie nearly a year to rehab Spenser, who loses 40 pounds in the process, has a hard time making his limbs do what he wants them to, and basically can't walk. But they do and honor and heroism prevail, villains are suitably thrashed, and Susan and Spenser hook up. Again. And again.

There's a lot of vulnerability in Spenser this time. Like Joe Pike in The Last Detective, his body has betrayed him and he is lost. Sadness, even tears. The pages describing Spenser trying to get up the hill in Santa Barbara after again learning how to walk again are riveting. Good stuff.

If I had a disappointment, it was Spenser's laissez faire attitude towards Hawk who took a year off to mentor/train/help him. But maybe that's part of the mystique, he knew how he felt and so did Hawk.

Great stuff. Rachel Wallace is still #1 for me but Small Vices is a close second.