Potshot

Here's a real treat for fans of the long-running Spenser series: a sort of class reunion in which Spenser and all his favorite fellow tough guys get together to trade quips and bang a few heads. In a combination parody of and homage to The Magnificent Seven, Spenser takes on the job of clearing out a gang of "mountain trash" who are intimidating the residents of Potshot, Arizona. Even the supremely resourceful Spenser needs a little help with this one, so he drafts six of his compadres from previous adventures. There's the imperial Hawk, of course, Spenser's costar throughout the series, but in addition, this rainbow coalition of right-thinking thugs includes Latino Chollo, Native American Bobby Horse, gay ex-cop Teddy Sapp, and lovable mobsters Vinnie Morris and Bernard J. Fortunato. Much of the fun here is in the pregame strategizing between the players, as the ever-sensitive Spenser tries to avoid as much bloodshed as possible, and his henchmen argue for the efficiency of a guns-blazing ambush. (The master of understatement, Hawk merely rolls his eyes at Spenser's tough-guy morality and mutters, "Being your faithful Afro-American companion ain't the easiest thing I've ever done.") In the end, of course, there's plenty of violence (as we knew there would be) but not so much as to keep the thugs from their horseplay, much of which involves delightfully deadpan commentary on one another's racial and sexual characteristics. If the idea of mixing The Magnificent Seven with a touch of Blazing Saddles appeals to you, saddle up with Spenser and Hawk. --Bill Ott

HThe Spenser series remains fresh after 28 novels in about 30 years. How does Parker do it? Through recurring characters as alive as any in fiction, and through exceptionally clean, graceful prose that links the novels as surely as do the characters. The author also refreshes himself through other writings the Sunny Randall series, for example, or Gunman's Rhapsody, a tale about Wyatt Earp that Putnam will publish in June. So even when Parker resorts to a bit of gimmickry, as he does here, the vitality of his storytelling prevails. The manifest gimmickry is Boston P.I. Spenser's corralling of sidekicks from previous novels Hawk, of course, but also gay Tedy Sapp from Hugger Mugger, sharpshooter Chollo from Thin Air, Vinnie Morris (from several novels) and a few others to deal with trouble in the Arizona town of Potshot. Spenser is hired by a sexy blonde to look into the shooting death there of her husband, who tangled with an outlaw group known as the Dell, which for years has extorted the citizens of Potshot. There's an eventual shootout, of course (there are enough parallels between this tale and that of Wyatt Earp to guess that Parker's forthcoming Earp novel inspired this one), but not before Spenser digs into the town's secrets, uncovering the expected but in detail, always surprising domestic mayhem and corruption. Genuinely scary villains, sassy dialogue, a deliciously convoluted mystery with roots in the classic western and Parker's pristine way with words result in another memorable case. (Mar.) Forecast: A BOMC Main Selection, this novel will hit the charts, as Spenser novels do. The gimmick involving the many sidekicks should only help sales and may even draw back a few readers who have strayed from the series. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

This time, Spenser is out WestÄin Potshot, AZ, to be exactÄcharged with quelling a local gang preying on the millionaires who have resettled the former mining town. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Spenser's 29th case takes him to faraway Potshot, Arizona, where somebody's gunned down Mary Lou Buckman's husband Steve on the main street in broad daylight. Parker ( Hugger Mugger , 2000, etc.) spins out his opening moves so effortlessly that you may never ask why demure Mary Lou has to go as far as Boston to find an avenger who'll come down hard on a local outlaw called The Preacher and the gang of extortionists she's convinced pulled the trigger. But after a preliminary trip in which the town fathers offer him big bucks to clean out the criminal element and restore Potshot's reputation as a haven for L.A. yuppies, even Spenser, back home to start gathering his Magnificent Seven, has to wonder whether there's more to the story than he's been told. And the overlong second movement devoted to his cross-country recruiting drive—which nets a WWII movie platoon updated for the new millenium: an African-American, a Mexican, a Native American, an Italian-American, a gay guy, and a straight guy who's a great cook—offers him more than enough leisure to ponder. The Preacher had already admitted to extortion but not murder; now a West Coast mobster warns Spenser to lay off The Preacher, then announces that he's changed his mind. Meanwhile, a series of catty ex-wives have claimed that Mary Lou played the field at least as freely as Steve. Amid the susurrus of poets (Frost, Stevens, Wordsworth, Hopkins) whose taglines get dropped as freely as stars' names at a Hollywood party, even Spenser, though several twists behind the gentle reader, has to wonder which side he's on. Like Mickey Spillane and Elmore Leonard, Parker reminds you how much hard-boiled fiction owes to western dime novels. This time, though, what gets recycled is mostly faux nobility—Spenser won't shoot unless the bad guys shoot first—and male attitude. Book-of-the-Month Club main selection

Here's a real treat for fans of the long-running Spenser series: a sort of class reunion in which Spenser and all his favorite fellow tough guys get together to trade quips and bang a few heads. In a combination parody of and homage to The Magnificent Seven, Spenser takes on the job of clearing out a gang of "mountain trash" who are intimidating the residents of Potshot, Arizona. Even the supremely resourceful Spenser needs a little help with this one, so he drafts six of his compadres from previous adventures. There's the imperial Hawk, of course, Spenser's costar throughout the series, but in addition, this rainbow coalition of right-thinking thugs includes Latino Chollo, Native American Bobby Horse, gay ex-cop Teddy Sapp, and lovable mobsters Vinnie Morris and Bernard J. Fortunato. Much of the fun here is in the pregame strategizing between the players, as the ever-sensitive Spenser tries to avoid as much bloodshed as possible, and his henchmen argue for the efficiency of a guns-blazing ambush. (The master of understatement, Hawk merely rolls his eyes at Spenser's tough-guy morality and mutters, "Being your faithful Afro-American companion ain't the easiest thing I've ever done.") In the end, of course, there's plenty of violence (as we knew there would be) but not so much as to keep the thugs from their horseplay, much of which involves delightfully deadpan commentary on one another's racial and sexual characteristics. If the idea of mixing The Magnificent Seven with a touch of Blazing Saddles appeals to you, saddle up with Spenser and Hawk. ((Reviewed February 15, 2001)) Copyright 2001 Booklist Reviews

This time, Spenser is out West in Potshot, AZ, to be exact charged with quelling a local gang preying on the millionaires who have resettled the former mining town. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

HThe Spenser series remains fresh after 28 novels in about 30 years. How does Parker do it? Through recurring characters as alive as any in fiction, and through exceptionally clean, graceful prose that links the novels as surely as do the characters. The author also refreshes himself through other writings the Sunny Randall series, for example, or Gunman's Rhapsody, a tale about Wyatt Earp that Putnam will publish in June. So even when Parker resorts to a bit of gimmickry, as he does here, the vitality of his storytelling prevails. The manifest gimmickry is Boston P.I. Spenser's corralling of sidekicks from previous novels Hawk, of course, but also gay Tedy Sapp from Hugger Mugger, sharpshooter Chollo from Thin Air, Vinnie Morris (from several novels) and a few others to deal with trouble in the Arizona town of Potshot. Spenser is hired by a sexy blonde to look into the shooting death there of her husband, who tangled with an outlaw group known as the Dell, which for years has extorted the citizens of Potshot. There's an eventual shootout, of course (there are enough parallels between this tale and that of Wyatt Earp to guess that Parker's forthcoming Earp novel inspired this one), but not before Spenser digs into the town's secrets, uncovering the expected but in detail, always surprising domestic mayhem and corruption. Genuinely scary villains, sassy dialogue, a deliciously convoluted mystery with roots in the classic western and Parker's pristine way with words result in another memorable case. (Mar.) Forecast: A BOMC Main Selection, this novel will hit the charts, as Spenser novels do. The gimmick involving the many sidekicks should only help sales and may even draw back a few readers who have strayed from the series. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.