Walking Shadow (Spenser Series #21)

by Robert B. Parker

Overview

A murder draws Boston PI Spenser into the dramatic world of theater in this New York Times bestseller in Robert B. Parker’s long-running series.

In a shabby waterfront town, an actor is shot dead onstage. Granted, the script left much to be desired. But there's more behind the scenes than an overzealous critic—and Spenser and Hawk are combing Port City’s underworld to find it...

“Great fun...[Spenser] is still the cockiest and wittiest P.I. on the block.”—The New York Times

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101546581
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/01/1995
Series:	Spenser Series , #21
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	5,419
File size:	427 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Robert B. Parker was the author of seventy books, including the legendary Spenser detective series, the novels featuring Police Chief Jesse Stone, and the acclaimed Virgil Cole–Everett Hitch westerns, as well as the Sunny Randall novels. Winner of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award and long considered the undisputed dean of American crime fiction, he died in January 2010.

Date of Birth:

September 17, 1932

Date of Death:

January 18, 2010

Place of Birth:

Springfield, Massachusetts

Place of Death:

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Education:

B.A. in English, Colby College, 1954; M.A., Ph. D. in English, Boston University, 1957, 1971

Website:

http://robertbparker.net/

Table of Contents

Editorial Reviews

In fine form here, Parker's sardonic Boston PI Spenser, last seen in Paper Dolls , encounters danger, venality and plenty of comic material in this brisk tale spanning the worlds of experimental theater and illegal immigration. While he'd rather be at work renovating the old farmhouse that he and his lover, psychiatrist Susan, have bought in nearby Concord, Spenser agrees to find out who is following the Artistic Director of the Port City Theater Company, on whose board of directors Susan sits. The detective is utterly bored by a performance of the latest production in Port City, ``a town 50% Portuguese and 50% Chinese''--until one of the actors is fatally shot from the audience. The shooter gets away, leaving Spenser with murder to probe as well. After talking to one of the board members, Spenser is warned out of Port City by the woman's husband, an important member of a Boston tong. The threat prompts a call to his old pals Hawk and Vinnie, who, he notes, blend in to the theatrical scene ``like two coyotes at a poultry festival.'' As Spenser discovers that the influx of Chinese illegals into the area is being overlooked by the Port City Chief of Police, an actress in the company reports that she too is being followed. Another murder and a kidnapping occur before the mysteries are resolved and Spenser can get back to his sledgehammer. Although the detective lags in reaching a conclusion readers may have sussed out earlier, the expected pleasures of an adroit Spenser adventure are here in full supply. BOMC selection. (May)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The latest from the best-selling author of Paper Doll (Putnam, 1993) is a whodunit starring the redoubtable Spenser. According to the publicist, Parker breaks new ground with a truly ambitious plot.

Library Journal

There was a time when the only mystery in a Spenser novel was when our hero would shoot the bad guy and how often. Perhaps as a concession to his protagonist's advancing age, though, Parker has recently been letting Korean War-vet Spenser do as much sleuthing as shooting. Here he's hired by the Port City Theater company's board--longtime love Susan Silverman is a member--to find out who's shadowing the group's director. The stalking stops--if it ever existed--as soon as Spenser becomes involved. But ho-hums turn quickly to screams when an actor is killed onstage. As Spenser investigates, he runs afoul of Asian gangster Lonnie Wu, whose wife, Rikki, is a significant contributor to the Port City Theater. To cover his back, Spenser enlists the aid of both his inimitable friend Hawk and onetime nemesis Vinnie Morris. Into the mix toss a tough, former state cop named DeSpain, who is now Port City's crooked police chief. If Spenser lost his moral focus, he'd be a ringer for DeSpain; as is, the cop makes a formidable adversary. This is a tough, cleverly plotted novel in which each character's essence is revealed as Spenser sorts through the tangle of apparent motives. Toss in the usual Spenser-Susan-Hawk repartee, some fun with Pearl the wonder dog, and an intriguing new regular in Vinnie Morris for as strong an entry in the series as there's been in a long time. Spenser is definitely back.

Wes Lukowsky

Praise for Walking Shadow

“Will captivate both longtime and soon-to-be devoted Spenser lovers.”—Kirkus Reviews

“The opening premise is particularly delicious...neat jolts of action, crisp, witty dialogue, the signature understated, deadpan zingers that Spenser and Hawk toss off so effortlessly and a lean, mean narrative that rockets the book along. If you're already a Spenser fan, you'll like this one. If you've never read Robert B. Parker, welcome aboard. After Walking Shadow, you'll have a lot of books to catch up on.”—The New York Times

“Brisk...the expected pleasures of an adroit Spenser adventure are here in full supply.”—Publishers Weekly

“Entertaining, as always.”—Boston Globe

“A really good story.”—Chicago Tribune

“A deft storyteller, a master of pace, with a plot that pulls us along like taillights vanishing down a dark highway...The wisecracking, deadpan dialogue is as snappy as ever...sheer escapist entertainment.”—Philadelphia Inquirer

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