Back Story: A Spenser Novel (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "It was a late May morning in Boston..." (more)
Key Phrases: bank holdup, master detective, blond guy, Abner Fancy, Emily Gordon, Dread Scott Brigade (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In this 30th entry in one of mystery fiction's longest-running and best-loved series, Spenser--the tough yet sensitive Boston private eye with no first name--takes on an unsolved murder nearly three decades old. The client, an actress, is a friend of Paul Giacomin, Spenser's surrogate son (who first appeared in 1981's Early Autumn). Her mother was slain by leftist radicals at a bank holdup in 1974, and now she wants to know who fired the shot. As Spenser digs into the past, he soon learns that powerful people on both sides of the law want the case left alone--badly enough to kill.

These death threats provide a fine excuse for Hawk, Spenser's extremely scary (yet sensitive) bad-guy pal, to tag along in nearly every scene as bodyguard. The interaction of the two friends is one of this series's familiar pleasures, as is the presence of Susan Silverman, Spenser's longtime love interest. Another pleasure is Parker's stripped-down prose, a marvel of craftsmanship as smooth as 18-year-old Scotch. (Plus we get the first meeting between Spenser and Jesse Stone, hero of another Parker series.) Alas, the whole enterprise feels a little tired. The plot never generates much sustained suspense, and the author's adoration for his central characters renders them at times almost cartoonesque. Still, Back Story is excellently prepared comfort food, even if it isn't five-star cuisine. --Nicholas H. Allison

From Publishers Weekly

Spenser's respectable 30th outing (he debuted 30 years ago in The Godwulf Manuscript) finds the veteran Boston PI teaming briefly with Jesse Stone, the cop hero of a newer Parker series (Death in Paradise, etc.). The move works because Parker plays it low-key, presenting Stone as just one of many characters who cross Spenser's path as the PI-hired by a friend of his adoptive son, Paul, for the princely sum of six Krispy Kremes-digs into the 28-year-old murder of a woman during a bank robbery; the friend is the slain woman's daughter and wants closure. Before Spenser bumps into Stone, the top cop in Paradise, Mass., he connects the killing to the daughter of big time Boston mobster Sonny Karnofsky, an old foe. When Spenser won't back off, Karnofsky threatens Spenser's girlfriend, Susan, then orders a hit on the PI. Enter as protection longtime sidekick Hawk; other series vets make appearances too on Spenser's behalf, including cops Belsen and Quirk and shooter Vinnie Morris. An interesting new character, a Jewish FBI agent, also helps out. The repartee between Spenser and Hawk is fast and funny; the sentiment between Spenser and Susan and the musings about Spenser's code are only occasionally cloying; and there's a scattering of remarkable action scenes including a tense shootout in Harvard Stadium. Series fans will enjoy this mix of old and new, but the title kind of says it all: this series, probably the finest and most influential PI series since Chandler, could use some forward momentum.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; 5th printing edition (March 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399149775
• ISBN-13: 978-0399149771
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #95,510 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In defense of Spenser, March 29, 2003

By	O'dell Isaac "sailorike" (Virginia Beach, VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Many of the reviews I've read about Robert B. Parker's latest Spenser novel, Back Story, suggest that it is unlikely to win any new Spenser fans. This may be true, but Parker's 30th Spenser offering seems to be designed not with new fans in mind, but for old Spenser junkies like myself who have grown older along with the gumshoe, Susan, Hawk, Lt. Quirk, and the rest of the series characters. After several novels, a series become less story-driven and more character-driven. Back Story is a classic example.

Hired by surrogate son Paul Giacomin for a box of six Krispy Kreme donuts, Spenser sets out to solve the murder of a woman who died in a 1974 bank robbery. Following a trail that's nearly thirty years old, he soon discovers that several people don't want the murder solved -- and that some people are willing to kill to keep it under wraps.

Character-wise, Parker pulls out all the stops. In addition to Hawk, Paul, Quirk and Belson, we are re-united with some of Parker's more colorful characters: former Joe Broz gunman Vinnie Morris; Junior and Ty-Bop, two enforcers for black crime kingpin Tony Marcus; and Ives, the mysterious Company man (too bad Parker didn't find a way to weave Rachel Wallace into the story). There is very little suspense in the book, but that's never been Parker's strong suit anyway. Action-wise, the series peaked with A Catskill Eagle, but there are just enough punches and bullets here to keep the story rolling, culminating with a shootout in Harvard Stadium. And of course, there's the fabulous verbal interplay between Spenser, Hawk, Susan, Quirk, Frank Belson, and just about everyone else. Susan, whom I've often found superfluous to the series, shows her value here, as she helps Spenser through a brief bout of self-doubt. Hawk is -- well, he's Hawk: unfailingly loyal to Spenser and Susan, deadly to just about anyone else. And Spenser never lets us down, working a dangerous case for no money, finding out things his client (a co-worker of Paul's) would rather not know, determined to see the case through to the end. Not many people can understand the complex moral code he lives by, but Susan does, Hawk does --and maybe that's enough.

If you're a fan of detective fiction and you've never read a Spenser novel, I would recommend that you begin from the beginning and pick up The Godwulf Manuscript, the inaugural novel of the series (I would also wonder what planet you are from, but that's neither here nor there). The Spenser novels truly are one of the great treasures of contemporary American fiction. Back Story is a satisfying read, but it is nothing special -- unless you spend a little time with the characters first.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Got Two Hours to Kill?, April 22, 2004

By	Patrick Burnett "penngos" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I don't know what compels me to keep reading Robert B. Parker's "Spenser" series. The plotting has become almost nonexistent, the dialog is recycled from book to book, the books are getting shorter and shorter and Parker mainly seems to amuse himself by seeing how many characters from previous books he can pack into the current one, so it obviously isn't for the fresh, original take on the private eye genre.

But it's still fun, dammit. Somehow, Parker always manages to engage my attention. The interaction between Hawk and Spenser still amuses, Spenser's twisted honor code still thrills and Susan's soppy shrinkiness still annoys.

In this outing, we are on the hunt for the perpetrator of a killing 30 years in the past. The actual plot is incidental, as Parker seems to be making things up as he goes. The characters are, as usualy, thinly written and heavily dependent on stereotypes. But Spenser gamely travels from Boston to New Hampshire to California and back, giving us all our two hour's worth of lively description and jaunty heroism.

If you are already a fan of the series, you've already bought this one and don't need my review. But if you are not already a fan, don't start here. Go back to the fabulous days of Ceremony, A Catskill Eagle, The Judas Goat and you will become a fan, ready to read and grouse over each new entry in the Parker oeuvre.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars what can you get for 6 donuts?, March 18, 2005

By	Paul Skinner (Manassas, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews

You can get Spenser, that's what. A lady wants Spenser to solve her mom's murder from 28 years ago, and once Spenser starts snooping, he discovers both the mob and the FBI wants him to stop. But why? He snoops around a bunch that reminded me of the Sybonese Liberation Army (remember Patty Hearst?), i.e., overgrown hippies who break laws in their quest for social justice.

As usual, Robert B. Parker keeps his book moving quickly, with rapid fire action and snippy dialog between Spenser, Hawk and Susan. A classic Spenser novel.