From the jacket flap:
Heidi Bradshaw is wealthy, beautiful, and well connected – and she needs Spenser’s help. In a most unlikely request, Heidi, a notorious gold digger recently separated from her latest husband, recruits the Boston P.I. to accompany her to her private island, Tashtego, for her daughter’s wedding. Spenser is unsure of what his role as personal bodyguard will entail, but he consents when it’s decided that he can bring his beloved Susan Silverman along.
It should be a straightforward job for Spenser: show up for appearances, have some drinks, and spend some quality time with Susan. Yet when his old nemesis Rugar – the Gray Man – arrives on Tashtego, Spenser realizes that something is amiss. With a hurricane-level storm brewing outside, the Gray Man jumps into action, firing fatal shots into the crowd of wedding guests and kidnapping the bride – but Spenser knows that the sloppy guns-for-hire abduction is not Rugar’s style. Unable to prevent the attack, Spenser will stop at nothing to recover the kidnapped bride and figure out how the Gray Man is connected.
The Snapshot Review
What I Liked: Snappy dialogue, and that great camaraderie between Spenser and Hawk.
The But: Reactions to the murders are a bit unbelievable.
Ms. Bookish’s Very Quick Take: A good, fast read – Spenser fans should enjoy this one.
The Full Review of Rough Weather
Rough Weather is filled with the things I’ve come to expect from a Spenser novel: snappy dialogue and the easy relationship between Spenser and Hawk.
I’ve always liked the fact that Spenser can – and does – rely on Hawk to guard his back; Spenser is sensible, and when the deck is stacked against him, it doesn’t occur to him to go it alone. Not when he doesn’t have to. Not when he has Hawk. It’s all good, common sense, and it’s one of the things I really like about the Spenser novels.
Rough Weather is a good, quick read; an enjoyable way to pass the night, surrounded by familiar characters, and the resolution, aside from one thing, is satisfying.
And that one thing? It’s something that happens throughout the book; the characters all seem rather unperturbed by murder. And while the solution to the story is nice and neat, this non-reaction to murder is definitely an odd note.
Not that it took away from my enjoyment, though. I have read most of Parker’s Spenser novels, and just being with Spenser and Hawk again is great fun. I suspect most Spenser fans will feel the same. Ms. Bookish’s Rating: Good Read Plus ?
Where to buy:
Title: Rough Weather
Author: Robert B. Parker
Publisher: Putnam
Genre: Mystery
Format and length: Hardcover, 294 pages
Published: 2008
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Welcome back
Good review.
Dorte H’s last blog post..Bait in the Box # 6
Looking at the cover, I would have guessed that was chick lit (bullet holes and all). The mystery sounds good.
Kathy’s last blog post..Review: Coraline
Welcome back! Nice review. I’ve been meaning to read the Spenser books. One of these days . . .
Beth F’s last blog post..Booking Through Thursday: Collectibles
Thanks for the warm welcome back! I had a wonderful time, and now I’m aiming to get all my reviews up this week.
I too found the almost casual character reaction to the murders surprising as well.The fantastical circumstances of the entire setup were rather out of norm for Parker as well.
Another odd thing, usually in a Spenser book you are gradually enlightened as to the nature of the circumstances. You are clued along at the same speed as Spenser himself, helping to immerse you into the story.
This one just sort of rode along and then with sqealing tires you’re twisted into a pretzel of “Wait… what?” with the plot… sort of just BAM-TWIST-BOOK OVER. I didn’t care much for that as it was atypical of a Spenser experience.
Still, I enjoy a good Spenser read and as a fan am rarely disappointed.
Nice review.
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