Finished Sixkill by Robert B. Parker. This is one of his many books about Boston private investigator Spenser.
In this one, Spenser is asked by Quirk, his old friend on the police force, to look into the death of a young girl, who looks to have been strangled while in the hotel room of movie star Jumbo Nelson. Quirk wants to know if the girl’s death was accidental or deliberate, and Spenser agrees to take the case. Along the way, Spenser finds himself becoming something of a mentor to Zebulon Sixkill, Jumbo’s former bodyguard. There are a lot of questions surrounding the girl’s death, and to make matters worse, Jumbo’s film is being financed by some bad guys who’ll do anything to keep Spenser from finding out the truth.
It was bittersweet reading this book. I’ve been reading the series for years, and it’s sad to think that there won’t be any more of the books written by Parker.
As far as the book itself goes, the mystery is disappointing thin, but that’s been the trend in recent entries in the series. Basically, Spenser talks to people and annoys someone enough until they send some tough guys to take him out.
Still, the dialogue is as snappy and entertaining as ever. Plus, I really liked how Spenser took Z under his wing. You can see Z transforming into his own version of Spenser, and I thought it was a nice twist on the series’ formula.
Overall, this is a solid entry in the Spenser series.
My grade: C
Would I read this author again: Yes. The series has its ups and downs, but I really like Parker’s writing style. I wish he was still with us to write more books.
Memorable quote: “Winning fistfights means being good at fistfighting,” Susan said. “Being tough means looking straight at something ugly, and saying ‘That’s ugly; I’ll have to find a way to deal with it.’ And doing so.”
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