To be fair to the author, I bought the book as something of a litmus test against my own WIP. I wanted to see where my narrative worked and did not work against a much better author (who graduated with a Ph.D in English from Boston University).
In reading "Cold Service," I already had images in my head from the ABC television series with Robert Urich and Avery Brooks playing the lead roles. In that sense, my view of the book was tainted. But not really. I'm fairly open-minded and can divded my media; the book world and the Tv world are two entirely different places.
Synopsis: Spenser's sidekick Hawk is shot. A lot. He spends a lot of time recouperating and, as you might expect, wanst revenge on whoever shot him. As it turns out, it's a group of Ukranian mobsters. They are moving into new territory. So, Hawk must figure out how to bag the Ukranians and keep the balance within the Boston mob. Neither Hawk nor Spenser wants to die, either.
So, here's the review: I enjoyed reading. The pace is slow initially. The reader is treated to some interesting back story that I believe needs more context. You're told a lot about Hawk and his recovery. You're also introduced to a love interest that needs some other context for her to make sense. That is, if you picked up another Spenser book, maybe it would make more sense (not that it doesn't; it does. It just leaves you hanging for more).
Also, I didn't see this as a mystery. Everything's in the open for you to see. As the reader, you're watching mostly to see if Hawk and Spenser can succeed. This bothered me. i wanted to get to the endo f the book and go, "Ah ha!" However, I didn't get that, though there were clever moments.
Parker's dialogue is fantastic and, as Wikipedia points out, Parker does know Boston like the back of his hand. The hardcover of this hit stores in March 2005. The paperback in 2006. So, this is an older read.
I wanted more Spenser. Instead, he's the floating observer in this one. There's a lot of Hawk, which is fine. He's a multi-dimensional character, for sure. In this, however, he is single-minded.
The next book I have is called "Blind" by Matthew Farrer. It's a book written specifically for the Warhammer 40,000 genre. So, far, pretty good.
v/r, jt
In reading "Cold Service," I already had images in my head from the ABC television series with Robert Urich and Avery Brooks playing the lead roles. In that sense, my view of the book was tainted. But not really. I'm fairly open-minded and can divded my media; the book world and the Tv world are two entirely different places.
Synopsis: Spenser's sidekick Hawk is shot. A lot. He spends a lot of time recouperating and, as you might expect, wanst revenge on whoever shot him. As it turns out, it's a group of Ukranian mobsters. They are moving into new territory. So, Hawk must figure out how to bag the Ukranians and keep the balance within the Boston mob. Neither Hawk nor Spenser wants to die, either.
So, here's the review: I enjoyed reading. The pace is slow initially. The reader is treated to some interesting back story that I believe needs more context. You're told a lot about Hawk and his recovery. You're also introduced to a love interest that needs some other context for her to make sense. That is, if you picked up another Spenser book, maybe it would make more sense (not that it doesn't; it does. It just leaves you hanging for more).
Also, I didn't see this as a mystery. Everything's in the open for you to see. As the reader, you're watching mostly to see if Hawk and Spenser can succeed. This bothered me. i wanted to get to the endo f the book and go, "Ah ha!" However, I didn't get that, though there were clever moments.
Parker's dialogue is fantastic and, as Wikipedia points out, Parker does know Boston like the back of his hand. The hardcover of this hit stores in March 2005. The paperback in 2006. So, this is an older read.
I wanted more Spenser. Instead, he's the floating observer in this one. There's a lot of Hawk, which is fine. He's a multi-dimensional character, for sure. In this, however, he is single-minded.
The next book I have is called "Blind" by Matthew Farrer. It's a book written specifically for the Warhammer 40,000 genre. So, far, pretty good.
v/r, jt
