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Cold Service
by Robert B. Parker
A middling Spenser novel
In Robert Parker’s Cold Service, Spenser’s inimitable sidekick Hawk is shot while working as a bodyguard. After a lengthy recovery, Hawk with Spenser’s assistance, has to balance the books, and the pair are off to a Boston suburb to deal with bad guy Boots Podolak and his Ukrainian gangsters. If this sounds vaguely familiar, it may be because in 1997 Parker published Small Vices in which Spenser was gunned down and almost killed, and after a lengthy recovery seeks retribution against those responsible.
The usual crew is here-- Susan Silverman, Martin Quirk, Captain Healy, Tony Marcus and Vinny the shooter. To further remind the reader of Small Vices, Parker even brings back the Gray Man, the assassin who had shot Spenser in the earlier story.
This is an odd book in that much of the action happens “off camera” so to speak. What happens on camera and at undue length is Spenser trying to explain to Hawk’s current girlfriend, why Hawk can’t act and be like she would like him to. I’d advise readers to skim these sections.
Parker seems to be running a bit low on gas in Cold Service. But even a middling Spenser novel is welcomed by fans of this long-running series. Let’s hope the next Spenser novel has a bit more action.
Title: Cold Service
Author: Robert B. Parker
Publisher: Putnam
ISBN: 0399152407
Review written by: William Keogan
Reviewer's Rating:7.5
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0
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