Pale Kings and Princes, Audio Version

Pale Kings and Princes, Audio Version (1987/1988) Robert B Parker narrated by Michael Prichard

Spenser is sent to Wheaton Mass to look into the death of a reporter who was looking into the cocaine trade. Almost immediately things spiral out of control.

First, no mention of Korea or military service in this book. The last book I find it mentioned is Taming a Seahorse.

I have to admit that I find the resolution to be a little but much–Hawk and Spenser and a Statie in a shoot-out with the locals and the coke people. It just seemed over-the-top. Not that there aren’t often over-the-top resolutions. This one just felt a bit much.

One thing I do like is the little peeks into Spenser’s relationship with manhood, and how it seems to be quite different from what you might expect.

Susan had a new car, a bullet-shaped red Japanese sports car with a turbo-charged engine that would go from 0 to 5 million in 2.5 seconds. She blazed around in it like Chuck Yeager, but it scared me half to death and whenever I could I drove it with the cruise control set to fifty-five so it wouldn’t creep up to the speed of light on me when I glanced at the road.

That is not what you’d expect from a private detective, and I like him so much the better for it. Of course, he had been a cop, which might make a difference. (ie seeing the results of sports cars in car wrecks.)

I also like the emphasis that is put on the suffering of the widow. She’s not brought up and then shunted off, we keep checking back on her, seeing how difficult things are and how terrible a time she is having.

And we also get more of Spenser’s strange ethics, when he won’t turn in someone who has done something pretty awful partially because she is a woman, and partially because that might harm the window. It’s frustrating, but it’s part of Spenser.

Publisher: Random House Audio

• Browse the archives:
  
• Child of a Rainless Year » »
• « « Shinju