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Cold ServiceRobert B. ParkerPublished 2004 |
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Reviewed and Researched by Lisa Shea
In a twist, Hawk is the center of this story - he's been shot, and Spenser must help him get better and get revenge. There's the piper to pay not only for Hawk's injuries, but also for the family that was destroyed in the process. There's a ton of talk in here about why Hawk is the way he is, why Spenser is the way he is, and how the two women in the story learn to deal with it.
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Lisa's Notes I admit that I found this story a bit light. I really do enjoy philosophical discussions, and there were several bits of wit that had me laugh out loud. I love the stuff like Hawk saying "Oui" when Spenser quotes the "All for One and One for All". I also loved it when Quirk was talking about the Ukes and said "He speaks English pretty good." Still, for all that this book claimed to be delving into the psyche of the main characters, it was pretty shallow. There was a lot of pseudo talk, like saying Hawk is the way he is because he's Hawk. Jeez, thanks. Spenser is a lot like Hawk, but different. Hmmmmmm. The Spenser-Hawk-Vinnie situation is great when it just "is". When you try to rationalize what it is by saying things like "it is what it is", then it gets silly. In the meantime, Spenser says "My identity ... is me and Susan". So much for him being an individual. He later says that during his shooting that he was afraid of the grey man - afraid of dying, and of not seeing Susan again. There's a lot of talk about Hawk only needing Hawk, Hawk wanting to be alone. It's OK apparently to need Spenser. There's a bit of resistance on Hawk's part to needing Vinnie but eventually he does ask for Vinnie to join them. Hawk also asks Spenser to talk to Hawk's girlfriend, but Hawk refuses to do it himself. There are several scenes of the Hawk-girlfriend crying interactions. It's fine to say Hawk is afraid, that Hawk needs to do this, but surely a mature Hawk who can talk to anybody can speak intelligently to his own girlfriend, instead of either sending Spenser or just walking out ... It was nice to see Hawk caring for the shopkeeper and his wife, and looking to fund a kid's savings account. But Spenser trots along with the serial assassination plan without more than a quote or two. Talk's cheap, they say, and this story seemed to have an awful lot of talk in it and very little substance to the action. I also found it odd that Hawk only took maybe 6 months to heal to full strength (counting from near-Thanksgiving to early March as his true healing time) while they comment that it took Spenser a year. Surely these two men are in equally good shape, and were equally wounded ... I found it a bit annoying that the "worlds were crossing" with Tony's lesbian wife showing up here, as mentioned in one of the other series. If you hadn't read that other series, you'd be missing out on a lot of backstory here. I do enjoy these stories. But I've been reading the 'top selling books of all time' recently and when I read those, it often takes me 6 or more hours to finish a book. I finished re-reading this one in under 2 hours. It really does seem to indicate that Parker COULD write a much longer, more in depth book - if he wasn't just cranking out one a year to keep the pattern going. It makes you wonder what a Spenser book could be like if he wrote a story as if it was going to be the only one that really mattered, no matter how long it took. Marshport is located up 1A from Boston. WHen they follow Boots, they go through Saugus up Rte 1, E on 128, S 114 and end up almost next door to Marshport at Phillip's point section of Sampscott near Tadesco Rocks. For those who care, Spenser wears black silk boxers :) He carries a Browning 9mm and a S&W .38. He also uses a Winchester .45 lever action rifle. Hawk has a magnum .44. For us parakeet lovers, it says "If Boots had a parakeet, the parakeet would be tough enough to keep you out." Vinnie's got an iPod. |
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Traveling in Spenser's Footprints * Mass General Hospital * Spenser's Office * Four Seasons Bar * Suffolk County DA's on Bowdoin Square * Coffee shop - Cambridge Street * Spenser's apartment * Ebony & Ivory on South End (Tony's place) * Town Diner - Watertown * Susan's Kitchen * Duda & Husak 10th floor - building on Boylston near Tremont * Marshport City Hall - brownstone & brick * Duplex off of Market Street in Marshport * 1010 Commonwealth * Central Rotunda at Quincy Market for grey man meeting * Revere St by Charles for Natalie Marcus Goddard * Rowes Wharf Condos w/Boston Harbor Hotel - Brock & Jolene * Public Garden by swan boat lake * Used furniture store on Blue Hill ave * Revere Beach Boulevard * Cecile's gated condo on Cambridge street across from MGH * #5 Naugus Street * Upstairs on the Square * Ritz Bar on Arlington Street * Lock Obers - "Shiny and good under new ownership after omse years of decline" * Chestnut Hill Mall on 2nd level by Bloomingdale's * Boston City Hall steps * Harbor Health Club, few blocks from Boston Harbor Hotel * Boston Harbor Hotel lounge * Susan's house * alley in Marhsport * Wonderland MBTA * Pizza joint in Chelsea by Tobin (Mystic River) bridge * Donut shop on 1A * Bait-n-tackle near marina on Ocean Way in Marshport, few blocks E of city hall * Bar at Ritz * Roxbury - Malcom X Playgrond * Excelsior * Marshport Mall - empty mall on Rte 1A |
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Spenser's Menu and Drinks * Coffee & Oatmeal - maple scones with Quirk |
* (Cecile has cosmo)
* Scotch & soda, tall glass, lots of ice
* (Susan has warm orange vodka with slice of orange, also brings riesling)
* Apple pie w/cheese and coffee
* Scrapple with eggs (grind up a pig? Put it in a can?)
* Coffee at the office
* "Black Bush" Irish Whiskey in office with coffee, cream and sugar
* Coffee with grey man
* shot of Irish whiskey
* beer in office
* bloody mary at Cecile's
* "shrimp wiggle" at Cecile's - shrimp, peas, cream sauce with white wine
* mediocre Chardonnay
* Blue Label + soda (Susan - riesling - new favorite. Hawk - Champagne cocktail)
* Rita Fiore has classic martini up w/olives
* Lobster stew and coffe at Lock
* Coffee + donuts at office
* Beer for Spenser & Hawk (vodka tonic + lime wedge for Susan)
* Chinese + Coffee in office
* Apple fritters + coffee at Susan's
* Pepperoni pizza
* coffee at donut shop
* beer at Ritz
* Hawk has Champagne at Excelsior
* Beer at HHC
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