A Savage Place (Paperback)

by Robert B. Parker (Author) "I WAS SITTING in my office above the bank with my tie loose and my feet up, reading a book called Play of Double Senses:..." (more)
Key Phrases: Candy Sloan, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"The best new private eye in fiction since  Raymond Chandler." -- Dan  Wakefield

"As tough as they come and spiked with a  touch of real class." -- Kirkus  Reviews

"Tough,  wisecracking, unafraid, lonely, unexpectedly literate--an  many respects the very examplar of the species."  -- The New York Times  

"Spenser gives the tribe of hard-boiled  wonders a new vitality and complexity."  -- Chicago Sun-Times -- Review

Review
"The best new private eye in fiction since  Raymond Chandler." -- Dan  Wakefield

"As tough as they come and spiked with a  touch of real class." -- Kirkus  Reviews

"Tough,  wisecracking, unafraid, lonely, unexpectedly literate--an  many respects the very examplar of the species."  -- The New York Times  

"Spenser gives the tribe of hard-boiled  wonders a new vitality and complexity."  -- Chicago Sun-Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 186 pages
• Publisher: Dell (October 3, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440180953
• ISBN-13: 978-0440180951
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #14,475 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #22 in	Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( P ) > Parker, Robert B.
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• This is item 8 in The Spenser Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Spenser is tarnished, December 11, 1999

By A Customer

This could have been a good story. Instead, it was a conglomeration of events and choices that made no sense and was horribly mired by Spenser's plummet from hero status. The image of Spenser dancing, slow and tight, with his client was disturbing enough. (This story comes after his commitment to Susan Silverman. A _slow_ dance with another woman on the balcony of her hotel room should be against Spenser's honorable "system" for living.) But it doesn't end there. He strips her and himself, carries her to bed, and spends the night. The next morning he explains that, since he doesn't have a relationship with this woman, having sex with her was alright and wouldn't bother Susan _much_. Bothering Susan _at all_ by sleeping with another woman should be against his system. He later reveals his stunning logic that sleeping with this woman a second time _would_ be cheating on Susan. Spenser's shining armor is bashed to bits in this story.

Also, the client (her name is "Candy" for heaven's sake) is an investigative reporter for a television station who is trying to prove that she is more than a pretty face and a swaying backside: she is good at her job. How does she go about proving this? By sleeping with men for information! She enhances this image of intelligence by zombe-like chanting of "I want it all, I want it all." As a result, instead of going to the police with information regarding very dangerous people, she meets dire consequences. Quite an intelligent lady.

Spenser dreams of Susan on his flight home to Boston. How wonderful of him.

This is the eighth entry in the Spenser series and is very disappointing. The 10th, 11th and 12th stories (_The Widening Gyre_, _Valediction_, and _A Catskill Eagle_) help restore some of Spenser's honor.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Savage awakening, June 8, 2007

By	K. Sozaeva "Obsessive bibliophile" (Athens, GA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

To this point, Spenser's adventures have been (relatively) light-hearted - some kidnappings, shake-downs, things of that nature. However, when he travels to Tinseltown to work as a bodyguard for Candy Sloan, an up-and-coming young investigative reporter on the trail of corruption in a movie studio who has been threatened, things turn very serious, very fast. The very first night he is in town, after Candy drops him off at his hotel - assuring him she will be fine on her own this first night - she gets grabbed off the street and beat up. Not too much later, a man she has been seeing is murdered. I don't want to get into more than this, as I do not want to ruin the story for those who have not read it - but this is not a story with a shiny-happy feel to it - this is detective noir at its grittiest. Beautifully envisioned, wonderfully written - filled with Spenser wise-cracks - but dark and gritty nonetheless.

I loved it. This is life. Thank you, Robert Parker, for giving us this day our Spenser.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorites in the series..., May 26, 2003

By	Colleen Barry (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Are you tired of the typical formula novel or tv series? Parker isn't afraid to give Spenser, and his readers, a kick in the gut with this plot twist. As Spenser visits L.A. (a savage place) and experiences its cold indifference, he finds his own savage side. Spenser is such a poised but quick P.I. We see his (rarely shown) visceral reaction to brutality. Candy Sloan, his reporter/client, is a woman making her path (any way that she can) in a man's world.