A Catskill Eagle

Robert B. Parker

Spenser, Susan, and Hawk are back for another adventure. This one spends its time ketting between the two coasts. When we last left our intrepid adventurers, Susan and Spenser had decided to spend some time apart, and Suze was out in San Francisco dating some other guy. Now, out of the blue, Spenser gets a letter, saying she's in trouble, Hawk is in jail in a nothing little Frisco suburb, and Spenser's help would be greatly appreciated. Spenser heads out to the left coast to get his pal out of jail, find his is-she-or-is-she-not? girlfriend, do some sleuthing, and break a few heads.

Parker has kept the Spenser dynasty going for almost three decades now, and the quality of the novels has remained high as time has gone on. Still, the series has its high and low points, relatively, and A Catskill Eagle is one of the high points. Hawk and Spenser one-liner each other more than the whole WWF on amphetamines. Plot twists abound. The boys get their hands dirty. Government agencies get involved (can't tell you how without spoilers-- I told you, plot twists abound, which makes it hard to get into any detail after the first six pages or so). Pretty much everyone ends up mad at Spenser, Hawk, or a combination of the above, but no one (who survives) can deny a good time was had by all.

In other words, it's classic Spenser-- funny, fast-paced, and thrilling. If you haven't caught the bug yet, do yourself a favor and start reading Parker, who's one of the best in the business today.