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Bob & Lisa's
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Crimson Joy
Robert B. Parker
Published 1988
A serial killer is loose in Boston, leaving behind red roses to torment the police. This has an interesting plot twist, though - the killer might be one of Susan's patients. Susan doesn't want to jeapordize her patients' privacy and treatment with random inquisitions by Spenser and Hawk, but time slowly runs out ...
The story mostly takes place around Boston, with Spencer's office and Susan's office, but at the end the killer is up in Marblehead and there are nice descriptions of the beaches there. It's more of an "internal" "how are people handling things" than an external "lots of scenery" novel. Also, I think it's the first time we see scenes from Non-Spenser viewpoints (the killer).
Lisa Says: This was great on many levels. Not only was it
a good storyline with Spenser and Hawk sleuthing around town, but it also got into the
Spenser-Susan relationship, and the psychiatrist-patient situation. Spenser and Susan both
always want to do what's "right", and it was a delicate balancing act. Spenser also wants
to protect Susan, and she wants to be self-reliant. Quite good. A bit too grizzly for me
at times - usually Spenser books aren't quite this graphic.
Susan's actually tolerable in this one! I think she is regaining humanity here. Oh, did you notice that "before she left" she guzzled food and cooked, and now she sips drinks and has an empty fridge? Go figure.
Spenser for Hire Master Listing