Compared to one of James Lee Burke's novels, a Parker adventure is practically a cosy. The bad guys are dangerous, but rarely cruel or sadistic, and innocence is seldom their victim. The hero has a sense of humor and his girl is never in danger because of anything he does. Both authors have created detectives with a personal code, but Dave's often causes him serious trouble, while Spenser's sets the world straight. Burke is strong medicine, and Parker is the ice cream you get as a reward for taking it.

(If anyone ever tries to sell you a stereotype of the English professor, point them at these two authors, and ask them which one it fits.)

In The Professional, Spenser agrees to stop a blackmailer (not try to stop, you understand--not Spenser), and then finds the situation a bit more complicated than it first appeared. Regular readers know it will all come mostly right in the end. The usual banter with Hawk, sexual and intellectual interplay with Susan, and plain old think-it-through detective work. The occasional literary allusion drops into the text, and you either get it or you don't. Parker doesn't insult his readers by explicating, or embarrass them by making them wonder what he's talking about. I probably miss a handful of references in every book, because they fit so seamlessly into the characters' conversation or thoughts. He never disappoints, and always leaves me October 2009 ( )

One of Robert B. Parker’s later entries in the Spenser series, I recalled this one fondly, so recently read it again. I found this to be much better than expected, confirming my initial opinion of it years ago. There is just enough Vinnie and Hawk to keep it interesting, and though any of the vain and pretentious Susan Silverman is almost too much for this reader, the interludes between her and Spenser are brief enough that they don’t have time to descend into snobbery, or nauseating dissections of a love so special they just are too liberally cool and enlightened for marriage. Un-huh.

What really makes this one interesting is a story-line peppered with women every guy over forty has known, and the same type of homage that Spenser used in Potshot, with a twist. Whereas Parker paid homage to a film — The Magnificent Seven — in Potshot, here he pays minor homage to Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men.

This one begins when Spenser is hired through an attorney out of her depth to help four relatively young, upscale and beautiful women get a blackmailer off their back. All of them are “kept” women who’ve married wealthy older men, and each is in jeopardy of losing her Sugar Daddy, due to fooling around without compunction with Gary Eisenhower. Lovable Gary has video and audio of their encounters and has seen a way to make a buck.

This becomes interesting because Parker pulls no punches here in showing the four women, beyond their well-described outer appearances, to be shallow and petty. The inference is that they are perhaps more culpable than hound dog Gary Eisenhower, whom Spenser is surprised to discover he likes. One of the young babes is a drunk, another thinks — with good reason — she’s a nymphomaniac, and all the women were quite enamored of good ole Gary; at least until blackmail reared its ugly little head. In fact, one of the women may still want to be with him.

Oddly, the only marriage where any affection exists is a sham in ways that go far beyond Sugar Daddy and nymphette. Gary could, in fact, unknowingly destroy a Senate candidate. Unfortunately, the husband of another of the women already knows about Gary, and is none too pleased with his wife’s philandering ways. His name is Chet, and his millions mask a business that has him familiar with Tony Marcus. Yeah, that Tony Marcus. Enter Chet’s top man, his shooter Zel, and Zel’s buddy Boo, an ex-fighter Zel looks out for, and suddenly the whole affair — or should it be affairs? — takes on a more dangerous pallor.

The premise sounds simple enough, but there’s actually a lot going on here. First, there is Gary’s swinging relationship with Estelle, who knows about all of Gary’s women, and approves. And someone involved in this mess may be more twisted than Spenser, Gary, Chet or Tony Marcus ever imagined. The Professional is in fact a more complex entry than it initially appears.

Of course we get the inevitable and ongoing discussion between Susan and Spenser about pathology, and just who is being used here. But as Spenser alludes to at one point during the mystery, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and Gary appears to be exactly what he seems — a happy-go-lucky guy who likes rich and attractive married women he can hit up for cash when times get lean. While Spenser doesn’t necessarily approve of Gary, he finds it difficult to work up any sense of anger at the affable hound dog, and has equal difficulty sympathizing with “victims” who are anything but innocent. The women in fact have already found other playmates with whom to cheat on their respective spouses.

Faint echoes of Steinbeck’s classic get louder as this one turns unexpectedly bloody. The Professional has a poignant conclusion you’ll see coming midway through the narrative, yet still be moved by, making this well worth reading. A surprisingly good one in the series, despite it being a later entry in the Spenser canon. A fine read. ( )

Good story, a different kind of case. Enjoyed the book from start to finish. As a plus, only a couple of mentions that Susan was a Harvard PHD...LOL ( )

Hired to help a group of wealthy women get rid of a blackmailing gigolo, Spenser finds himself more fond of the blackmailer than his victims. Not much of a mystery here, but it's an enjoyable trip anyway. ( )

I'm a fan of Robert B. Parker, especially the Spenser series. But this is not up to his normal standards. Yes it's pithy, yes the normal entourage is there, yes it's heartwarming at times. Unfortunately that's not enough to save this one. There's lots of sex but it attempts to come close to Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men It fails. Can't recommend this one. Take a pass. ( )