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Books for
Parker, Robert B.
A Catskill Eagle
Spencer travels to Mill Valley, California, to assist Hawk and Susan.
Words I Had To Look Up:
Jocasta (pg. 235) -- Mother of Oedipus.
Quote:
She dog-eared the page to mark her place and smiled at me. (pg. 232) Caitiff!!! (Not the first word I thought of)
Read:
7/2008
Back Story
A friend of Paul asks Spencer to look into who killed her mother during a bank robbery 28 years ago.
Quibble:
On page 9 the text refers to a "M1 carbine. Fully-automatic." DISCLAIMER: I am not a weapons expert! As far as I can find, the M1 is semi-automatic, and it is the M2 that is fully-automatic. And there is a big difference between semi and fully.Read:
8/2008
Bad Business
Spencer is hired for a little marital investigation, finds out he is not the only one on the job, plus there's some other sordid stuff going on.
Words I Had To Look Up:
Portman lobbies (pg.17) -- John Portman, an American architect, is known for his atrium hotel designs.
Atrium -- Glazed courtyard often extending through several floors at the entrance to a building.
Cantabrigian (pg. 142) -- A student or graduate of Cambridge University; or a native or resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Read:
8/2008
Brimstone
First of the Westerns I have read. Seems very like the Boston books, don't ya think? Still, they are fun.
Read:
7/2013
Chance
Spenser ends up in Vegas looking for a gangster's son-in-law. Meets that short guy there.
Words I Had To Look Up:
Postlapsarian (pg. 73)-- Of, relating to, or characteristic of the time or state after the fall of humankind described in the Bible.
Tripartile (pg. 231 --Divided into or composed of three parts
Quote:
Outside the bright desert air hinted faintly of carbon monoxide as we walked down the Strip. -- (pg. 293) I think it is odorless and colorless, but i know what he means!Donut Quote:
I opend the box. Plain donuts. Perfect.
"Do you know how to eat a donut?" I said.
"I'll watch you on the first one," Susan said.
...I ate half a donut.
"Ugh," Susan said. "Is that how it's done?"
"Girls sometimes take smaller bites," I said. -- (pg. 181)
Read:
8/2008
Chasing The Bear
Spencer tells Susan about his adventures growing up.
Read:
12/2009
Cold Service
Hawk is almost killed while protecting a bookie. When he recovers, he and Spencer go after the Ukranian gangster responsible.
Quote:
My favorite quote is about the pumpkin pie Susan made, on page 41. To wit, in part, "Don't call her that thing," she said. "What if she hears you?"
Read:
8/2008
Double Deauce
Spencer and Hawk investigate the murder of a kid and her kid in the 'hood.
Read:
7/2008
Edenville Owls
Parker's first book for younger readers. But not TOO young! A lot less cussing and violence than his adult books. A bit of bad language and teen yearnings by 14-year-old Bobby, who tries to help out his new teacher who is being threatened by a strange man. I enjoyed it.
Read:
5/2009
Hugger Mugger
Spenser travels to Georgia to investigate race horse shootings.
Donut Quote:
"Donuts put a nice foundation under your morning." -- pg. 51.
Words I Had To Look Up:
Club Man (pg. 136) -- Probably refers to the Clubman line of colognes and such. I never heard of it, I was more of a Russian Leather kind of guy, back in the day when I used the stuff.
Quote:
"Just so we're clear,", I said. "I'm not after your wife."... -- (pg. 31) I didn't understand the point of this exchange.
Read:
8/2008
Hundred-Dollar Baby
April Kyle asks Spenser to deals with some guys trying to cut in on her house of ill repute.
Words I Had To Look Up:
Tsimmis (pg. 174) -- Probably Tzimmis, one meaning of which is a state of confusion.
Read:
7/2008
Hush Money
Spenser helps out Hawk by investigating why a professor was denied tenure.
Words I Had To Look Up:
Defenestrated (pg. 65) -- Throwing of a person or thing out of a window.
Linguiça (pg. 104) -- Portuguese cured pork sausage.
Polemic (pg. 136) -- An aggressive attack on or refutation of the opinions or principles of another.
Formulaic Berbers (pg. 213) -- Don't know, maybe refers to something earlier in the story that I missed?
Quote:
"What she does," I said, "is she tries not to want me to do things I don't want to do." -- (pg. 123) Spenser on the successful male/female relationship.
Read:
8/2008
Night Passage
For some reason I thought this was another Spencer story, but although it takes place in the same world (i.e., Gino and Vinnie are present), it introduces a new guy, Jesse Stone, who just got a new job as a small-town police chief after getting fired from the LAPD for being a drunk.
Read:
7/2008
Now & Then
Spencer, who I mistakenly keep calling "Parker", starts out on a cheating spouse case, ends up in the middle of some sort of terrorist thing.
Quote:
"Or maybe it is Margaret that I mourn for" -- Related to a poem by G. M. Hopkins (pg. 50)
Words I Had To Look Up:
Bench strength (pg. 219) -- The quality of the players sitting on the bench.
Inextricable (pg. 169) -- Incapable of being disentangled or untied.
Read:
7/2008
Painted Ladies
Spencer takes on the chore of bodyguard to an art professor who is to fetch the ransom for a painting to the picture-nappers. Said painting explodes, killing the art professor. Spencer returns his fee, and goes after the fiends.
Quote:
"Frees their minds," I said,"to romp with the mind of god." -- (pg. 154)-- Now I have to read The Great Gatsby!
Words I Had To Look Up:
cathexis (pg. 220) -- Concentration of emotional energy on an object or idea. One source suggests a "crush" as an example.
Read:
12/2010
Paper Doll
Spenser investigates the murder of a perfect wife on behalf of her perfect husband and perfect kids. Not so perfect, any of them.
Read:
8/2008
Pastime
Spencer helps Paul locate his missing mother.
Words I Had To Look Up:
Cathexis (pg. 41) -- From MSN Encarta: the concentration of a great deal of psychological and emotional energy on one particular person, thing, or idea
Ineffable (pb. 188)-- Incapable of being expressed in words. I've used the word, but, as usual, couldn't have put a coherent meaning to it.
Read:
7/2008
Playmates
Spencer investigates points shaving in college basketball. See the website http://bullets-and-beer.com/ for comments on this and other books by Robert Parker.
Words I Had To Look Up:
Lunsmen (pg. 47) -- Probably mispeled "landman", fellow native in yiddish.
Read:
7/2008
Potshot
Spenser travels to the town of Potshot to investigate the murder of some cute chicks husband by some bullies. Lot's of clever quips, I think I will abandon the Stephenson I'm reading and read all the Spenser titles.
Smoke Quote:
"This is exactly the right moment," I said, "for me to light two cigarettes and hand one to you."
"Makes you regret not smoking for a moment," Susan said.
Read:
7/2008
Promised Land
Parker, I mean Spencer, is hired by some guy to find his wife who has run off, possibly to find herself. At the guy's house Spencer runs into Hawk. What has this guy got himself into? Good story, no donut or cigarette quotes I can remember, but there WERE two English muffins consumed. Or at least one, for sure, was.
Read:
11/2018
20 books displayed
[Parker - Parker] [Parker - Parker]