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Ron Miller's DARK CORRIDORS VOL. 9, No. 3 |
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ROBERT B. PARKER'S "NOW AND THEN" THE NEW SPENSER MYSTERY |
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It's a treat if you're a fan,
but it's by the numbers
By RON MILLER
of TheColumnists.com
As I was reading Robert B. Parker's latest Spenser mystery, "Now and Then" (Putnam, $25.95), I became acutely aware how important it was to have read the 34 previous Spenser novels in order to enjoy this one to the fullest degree.
Parker does something I always appreciate in an author of novels in a series: He makes lots of links to past novels, often by bringing in characters from earlier novels and giving them something important to do in the new one. Sometimes he also augments those links with brief references to other characters or events that really aren't all that material to the current story. This penchant for links to other books even has inspired Parker to make Spenser links to the Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall mystery series he also is writing, so far containing six volumes each.
The result of this special Parker activity is a reward for all those fans who have read ALL of his series novels. I've read all the Spensers and all the Stones, but still have a couple of Sunny Randalls to catch up on. Consequently, Parker keeps me in an almost blissful state of satisfaction.
But then it dawned on me, while reading the new Spenser, that he also may be simultaneously confusing any new readers who pick up "Now and Then" and start getting to know Spenser so late in the game. For instance, Spenser calls in "Chollo" and "Vinnie" to help him and his regular sidekick, Hawk, deal with this new mystery. He doesn't waste much time setting up these characters because those of us who've met them many times before don't need their back story.
At the same time, I imagine there will be some new Spenser readers who will ask themselves, "Who are these goofballs?" Especially when Vinnie seems to be listening to his IPod or sleeping whenever Spenser is explaining what they should do next.
I'm guessing the past links gimmick will really drive some readers up the wall if they haven't read that novel way back in the 1980s in which Spenser breaks up with his seemingly eternal main squeeze, Susan Silverman, and she takes up with another guy. It seems Spenser never has completely healed from that psychological trauma--and suddenly it becomes a part of the new case in "Now and Then."
(Ultra diehard fans of Spenser also will know the Spenser-Silverman breakup imitated Parker's own reality. That novel was inspired by his own breakup with wife Joan, which was resolved when they amicably made up, just like Spenser and Susan did on paper.)
Perhaps all the linking and forced flashbacks to old cases was responsible for me reaching the conclusion that Parker has begun to "paint by the numbers" when putting together his new Spenser novels. As much as I enjoyed this one, it ultimately left me with the notion Parker is growing tired of Spenser, which may account for his recent focus on Jesse Stone, Sunny Randall and a number of "stand alone" mysteries that don't fit into any of the three series.
Then again, Parker is also in his seventies now, so I suppose it's possible he's saving energy by letting all these past characters and situations plump up his Spenser novels so he can get them done quickly and keep up his prodigious flow of mysteries to his doting public.
All that aside, though, "Now and Then" by no means is a dud. It has, in fact, one of the best central plot ideas Parker's had in some time: Spenser, the Boston private eye, has hit a dull spot in his "practice" and agrees to take on the job of finding out if client Dennis Doherty's wife, Jordan, is cheating on him. Spenser isn't real keen on doing such domestic surveillance cases, but he needs the work, so he starts tailing Mrs. Doherty and, sure enough, she's seeing a guy on the side.
This is when Parker turns up the flame on his plot. Spenser discovers his client, who was reluctant to give Spenser any details about his own life and business, is an agent for the FBI--and his wife's lover is a high-powered guy who runs a sinister company that raises money to finance terrorists. Just when Spenser figures his part of the case is closed, three principal figures in it turn up dead. Naturally, he wants to find out why.
Curiously, the surveillance of the two lovers has sparked Spenser's memory of the time his own girl was involved with another man. This comes at a time when, believe it or not, Susan has brought up the topic he thought was ruled out of bounds a long time ago: Their possible marriage after decades of unwedded bliss.
Parker really starts racing his creative engine when Spenser realizes the dead people got that way because that aforementioned sinister organization was trying to recover something from them--something they now think Spenser may possess. When this outfit decides the best way to force Spenser to cooperate is to seize Susan, Spenser goes into magnum force action, calling upon thug pal Hawk to cover his back, calling upon professional assassin Vinnie Morris to help protect Susan and importing Chollo, the East L.A. mob tough, to double up with Vinnie.
Let's say I was a little letdown by the quick conclusion of all this mayhem, but Parker still held me in thrall for four-fifths of the novel, so I'm not complaining.
And, in fact, I highly recommend Spenser fans not miss this one because it's beginning to look as if Parker is steering Spenser and Susan toward the wedding chapel and this may be where future mystery historians will say it all started.
Now don't get too excited prematurely.
Parker swears he'll never reveal Spenser's first name, so he's
not conforming the poor guy totally even if he makes him tie
the knot with Susan. Anyway, it ought to be a really unusual
marriage, even if it actually takes place. Spenser and Susan
already tried living together once and decided that never would
work. There are no hints in "Now and Then" that they've
changed their minds about that topic, so try to picture them
married and you'll probably figure, as I do, that their married
life wouldn't look that much different from their decades of
unmarried life.
©2008 by Ron Miller.
The book cover illustration is courtesy of Putnam. This column
first posted Jan. 7, 2008.
Ron
Miller is a former nationally syndicated television columnist
and the author of "Mystery! A Celebration," the official
companion book to PBS' "Mystery!" series. He currently
writes about television mysteries for MYSTERY SCENE magazine.
You can comment on this column online. Please address your message to either "The Editors" or Ron Miller. To send an email, click here and don't forget to mention Ron's name: talkback@thecolumnists.com
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