[.ca] Small Vices (ISBN 1597770159)

From Amazon.com:
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 four-year-old murder, 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.

Spenser falls . . .and gets up!:
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.

SUSPENSEFUL AND HILARIOUS:
_Small Vices_ is the second Parker I_ve read, and it does not disappoint (the first being _Playmates_). I just wish I had discovered Parker a long time ago. Parker writes a tight prose reminiscent of Sue Grafton, but in the male voice. The main character, Spenser, is charming, tough and a little deviant. He is a PI who is not scared to use his fists when he has to and his brain when it becomes more appropriate. In _Small Vices_, Spenser has to uncover the truth about Alves, a young colored man who has been accused and sentenced for the rape and murder of a white coed, Melissa Henderson. What follows is a tale of treachery, deceit, lies, police corruption, contract killing and violence. When Spenser is shot trying to uncover the truth, he hangs on to his life by a thread. Parker has done another magnificent job at blending humor, suspense and believable settings. We are taken from Boston to New York, and even on a trip to Santa Barbara in Southern California. The sub-plot with Spenser_s wife Susan and dog Pearl blends in nicely with the suspense and does not slow down the pace of the story. If you_ve never read a Parker, you can_t go wrong with this one. But then I_ve got another sixteen of his to read, so I_ll let you know as I proceed.

Excellent and Original:
This is one of Parker's best. The mystery is new and fresh - Spenser is hired by a law firm to learn the truth about an old murder. The enigmatic Gray Man is powerful and very creepy; it's about time Spenser met an enemy worthy of him. Susan almost redeems herself for all the stupid things she's done in the past, and Hawk is as much fun as ever. After some pretty weak novels, like 'Thin Air' and 'Walking Shadow,' and the abominable 'Hugger Mugger,' this one proves that Parker hasn't lost it. Thank heaven.

Excellent and Original:
This is one of Parker's best. The mystery is new and fresh - Spenser is hired by a law firm to learn the truth about an old murder. The enigmatic Gray Man is powerful and very creepy; it's about time Spenser met an enemy worthy of him. Susan almost redeems herself for all the stupid things she's done in the past, and Hawk is as much fun as ever. After some pretty weak novels, like 'Thin Air' and 'Walking Shadow,' and the abominable 'Hugger Mugger,' not to mention the Jesse Stone/Sunny Randall mess, this one proves that Parker hasn't lost it. Thank heaven.

BEST IN YEARS:
I've read every Parker novel, most multiable times. This is the most powerful of all the Spenser novels. Less funny, more serious without giving in to being dark. Everyone is here, Spenser, Susan, Hawk, Pearl.But someting feels, larger in this one. Most Spenser novels feel like a TV program. This installment feels more like a movie.