Widow's Walk (Spenser) [Mass Market Paperback]

Robert B. Parker (Author)

Book Description

Series: Spenser | Publication Date: March 4, 2003

One of Boston’s elite has been murdered. The accused is his new wife. She’s blonde, beautiful, and young. The jury’s going to hate her. With next-to-no alibi, and multi-million reasons to kill her husband, she needs the best defense money can buy. His name is Spenser, and he’d give anything to believe her.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's good to see private eye Spenser back in Boston, after his ludicrous imitation of a frontier lawman in Robert B. Parker's Potshot. But he's getting nowhere investigating the gunshot murder of banker Nathan Smith in Widow's Walk. The cops figure Smith's ingenuous but unfaithful young wife, Mary, pulled the trigger. She denies it. Spenser, hired by former prosecutor Rita Fiore to help build Mary Smith the best defense her money can buy, isn't sure either way, and the more time he spends on this case (dense with business and sexual deceptions), the more perplexed he becomes.

Of course, our poetry-spouting hero finally catches a break by linking Smith's demise to a convoluted real-estate scam. The rest of the novel offers plenty of Parker's characteristically witty dialogue, the slayings of several informants that you know from the get-go are toast, and ample opportunities for Spenser and his robustly menacing sidekick, Hawk, to intimidate lesser thugs. Unfortunately, the author isn't as attentive to the needs of other series regulars, including Spenser inamorata Susan Silverman, whose restrained jealousy toward lawyer Fiore ("Rita is sexually rapacious and perfectly amoral about it. I'm merely acknowledging that") and self-flagellation over a gay client's suicide somehow add no new depth to her character.

Parker has a propulsive prose style and can still concoct engrossing stories; his 2001 standalone Western, Gunman's Rhapsody, is a fine example. Widow's Walk doesn't quite meet that standard. Though entertaining, it's an unsatisfying chapter in a series that's become too predictable. --J. Kingston Pierce --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Last year Parker published three strong novels including the excellent Spenser mystery Potshot. So he's entitled to a miss and a pass and gets one with this forgettable Spenser entry. Attorney Rita Fiore, who's worked with the Boston PI before, hires Spenser to find out if her new client, Mary Smith, whom Spenser's cop pal Quirk describes as "dumber than my dick," indeed shot to death her husband, banker and Mayflower descendant Nathan Smith, as the evidence indicates. Spenser's search for the truth takes him into one of the most confusing (for the PI and the reader) cases of his long career; unusual for Parker, pages are needed at book's end to explain who did what and why. Sidekick Hawk pitches in to protect Spenser, and gunsel Vinnie Morris lends a hand, too, as several folks Spenser talks to wind up dead, and as the PI is trailed, then attacked, by thugs headquartered at a crooked land development company with ties to the dead man's bank. Susan, Spenser's beloved, offers some advice as well, but the ritual appearances by Spenser's crew, human and animal (Pearl the Wonder Dog, ancient and slow, waddles in here and there), while earning a nod of gratitude from series fans, do little to advance or deepen the proceedings. The novel stirs to life only fitfully, most notably in the confrontational exchanges between a female lawyer implicated in the crimes and her powerful attorney father; here, Parker taps into truth about familial loyalties. The writing is as clean as fresh ice, and from the opening sentence (" `I think she's probably guilty,' Rita Fiore said to me"), it's clear that readers are in the hands of a vet who knows what he's doing; but what Parker is doing here is, alas, not very interesting. (Mar.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; First Edition edition (March 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 042518904X
• ISBN-13: 978-0425189047
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (88 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,094 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #31 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( P ) > Parker, Robert B.

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

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Who Killed Nathan Smith?, April 12, 2002

By 

R. Shaff "Velocipede" (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Widow's Walk: A Spenser Novel (Spenser Mysteries) (Hardcover)

After reading Robert B. Parker's latest Spenser incarnation, WIDOW'S WALK, I don't think I can answer that question. I suspect that anyone else reviewing this book will come to the same conclusion if they re-read the last 75 pages of the book. As such and given the incredibly high marks given by most reviewers of this book, I fear my review will be quite unpopular.

Spenser is hired by the leggy redhead attorney, Rita Fiore (a returning character) to find out who killed Nathan Smith. Smith, a blue blood banker with an impeccable reputation in Boston, was killed in his bed allegedly while his much younger wife, Mary, was watching television in another part of their three-story home. Without the appearance of a break-in or security breach, all circumstantial evidence points to Mary as suicide has been ruled out given the absence of the gun at the crime scene. When Spenser begins questioning Mary, he immediately finds that she lacks the intellectual capacity to string together basic sentences much less understand how or why her husband has been killed. Spenser's not so certain that Mary is deficient in mental faculty department or is putting on a grandiose act.

As Spenser begins his investigation, he immediately picks up a tail. After interviewing the Smiths' stockbroker, Spenser is accosted by the two tailing thugs. In true Spenser fashion, he provides his would-be attackers with the beating they so richly deserve. Shortly thereafter, people directly and peripherally attached to this case begin dying in savage order. Parker takes the reader through the typical investigatory scheme and provides a climax that left this reader scratching his head.

I've read all of Parker's Spenser novels and typically wait anxiously for the next offering. However, with this particular novel, I'm wondering what Bob was thinking. He maintains his easy-to-read chapters and storyline cadence of previous Spenser offerings but in this reviewer's opinion, that's about it. Several things were missing here: 1) a heavy dose of Spenser witticisms {Parker typically has me laughing out loud with Spenser's one-liners; not so here}, 2) an incredible lack of Hawk and his captivating mannerisms {if one is a true fan of Spenser, you know what I mean), 3) lack of character development of the resident villain (I don't know what to say here; Parker has an uncanny knack of providing the reader the psyche of the book's villain; not so in WIDOW'S WALK), and 4) WHO KILLED NATHAN SMITH?! As to my last comment here, the individual(s) responsible for the death of Nathan Smith is never disclosed.

All in all, a very disappointing Spenser for me however, as a true fan, I'll be there for the next offering.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nobody Cares, May 12, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Widow's Walk: A Spenser Novel (Spenser Mysteries) (Hardcover)

In a scene in Robert Parker's "Widow's Walk," Spenser is explaining his newest case to Susan Silverman while she makes egg salad. When I found myself thinking about why Susan would decide to use Miracle Whip instead of mayonaise, and paying no attention to whether Spenser's ditsy blonde client killed her husband, I realized that something had gone seriously wrong here. Even Parker is more interested in the egg salad than he should be. He doesn't seem to care about the people he created, nor about what happens to them.

I can understand it, poor guy. Imagine trying to keep caring when you're writing the twenty-ninth book of a series. But, although it is easy to understand, it is not at all easy to keep ploughing through the result.

"Widow's Walk" is a badly written book, and even Spenser himself -- who's greatest appeal for me is his rock-solid resolve to help wherever he can -- can't help on this one. He says, more than half-way through the book, that he has no idea what is going on with his case. And neither do we.

The novels we never forget share one thing in common. They make us care a very great deal about what happens to their characters. Pick up "The Count of Monte Cristo" and you'll see that Dumas accomplished it in what may be a record, in the first paragraphs of the first page. Dickins does it. Tolstoy does it. Flaubert does it. And Parker does it. Paul Giacomin as he grew into himself, under Spenser's inimitable guidance, is a beautifully wrought and memorable character.

Spenser lends his strength, his wit, his savvy and his great heart to his clients because he cares what happens to them. And so do we. But not in "Widow's Walk."

Forget this one happened, Parker, and please do it for us again.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A standard Spenser novel -- and that ain't bad, March 24, 2002

By 

Bruce Trinque (Amston, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Widow's Walk: A Spenser Novel (Spenser Mysteries) (Hardcover)

There are no big surprises in "Widow's Walk" and no great social questions to be explored. It is very much a standard Spenser novel, where the stalwart and flippant Boston PI takes on the bad guys. The case is simple: investigate the murder of a wealthy banker to help his much younger blonde wife beat the homicide charge. She can't be as dumb as she seems. Or maybe she really is. Spenser and Hawk and Susan are their usual selves. Not an earthshaking novel, but a good fast read that kept me turning the pages as more and more bodies piled up. Hey, "Widow's Walk" isn't going to win the Pulitzer Prize, but I'll be waiting happily for next year's Spenser novel...