[.ca] Pastime (ISBN 1597770213)

Sequal to "Early Autumn":
You will find this Spenser novel more entertaining if you read "Early Autumn" first since two of the characters are introduced in the earlier book. Parent-son relationships are an important theme here. Paul's mother has come up missing and the youth contacts Spenser who in many ways has acted like a father to Paul in earlier books. In following her trail, Spenser again faces mobster Joe Broz and his son, Jerry. You get to know and understand the gangster a bit better here. That father-son relationship is also well explored. Parker uses another element to add suspense. Susan has ended up with ex-husband's dog Pearl who accompanies Spenser and Paul. Well, we all know how high the animal mortality rate is in crime and suspense fiction, so dog lovers will be holding their breath everytime the dog goes out with Spenser. All in all, a good and satisfying read.

My favorite Spenser:
Loved it! The plot is involving, the action is exciting, and best of all, the backstory is important, intriguing and holds it all together. Paul Giacommin is back, as is his mother, and their relationship leads Spenser to explain a bit of his own family dynamic to Susan (and us). I include his relationship with Hawk in that, as he has become family to Spenser. Speaking of families, the Broz crime family turns out to be a family in more ways than one. And, best of all, this is the book where we meet the beloved Pearl. As an animal lover, I did cringe every time Spenser brought Pearl along on his adventures. If there's any opportunity that fighting might break out, I think the precious "Baby" is better off left at home.

Middling entry in an increasingly self indulgent series:
"Pastime" reintroduces a character first glimpsed in the book "Early Autumn" ,the dancer Paul Giacomo .In the early novel he had been taken in hand by Spenser and turned from an unprepossessing and gangly 15 year old slacker into an achiever .Now he re-enters Spensers life and asks for help in finding his mother who has gone missing. Unfortunately she has absconded with a man named Beaumont who just happens to have fleeced the local mob and is being hunted down by Gerry ,the no good incompetent son of the local mob chief.There is every chance that Paul's mother is in harms way by virtue of her association with Beaumont During the course of the book Spenser battles mobsters ,is sseriously wounded and eventually comes to an understanding with the mob. There is a great deal too much back story in the book for my taste -the ever over inquisitive Susan probes Spenser for details of his past and his relationship with his sidekick Hawk while the conversation of Paul is saturated with psycobabble to a teeth clenchingly irritating extent What has knocked the series off the rails for me has been the increasing space given to Spencers relationship with the shrink Susan -it has transformed what were sharp and almost over readable crime stories into "touchy-feely "exercises redolent of the self absorbtion I see as the ultimate sin of psychoanalysis The action when it comes is crisp and sharp but there is too little of it and until Parker dumps Susan and the damnable dog they share this series will continue to be seen as the irrelevance it at present is What a waste.

Come meet Pearl!:
This installment does have Paul back, lots of action, and a great woods scene in the end. But more importantly, you get to meet Pearl, the Wonder dog! Actually this Speenser novel is one of the better ones. I've gone back and re-read it many times. Highly recomended.

A good outing but not the revelation advertised...:
Although I should be used to this by now, this Spenser outing doesn't live up to the jacket hype. This book, we are told, will tell "all" about Spenser's "mysterious" past. Which turns out not to be so mysterious after all. Unfortunately, Parker does NOT clear up references in the early novels (God Save the Child, The Promised Land) about a woman Spenser refers to as his "mother" since we are informed that his mother died whilst giving him birth. This isn't a big problem, after all a girlfriend of his father or a favored aunt good have filled the role and gotten the title. Still Parker should have cleared up the apparent inconsistency... The almost skeletal, almost negligible, plot involving Paul Giacomin's mother hardly sizzles. Hawk and a long chase through the woods save the book. This is a must read for the Spenser fan. Just don't expect anything shocking, or, terribly interesting about Spenser's past.