Crimson Joy: A Spenser Novel, Book 15
Written by Robert B. Parker
Narrated by Michael Prichard
3.5/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
A serial killer is on the loose in Beantown and the cops can't catch him. But when the killer leaves his red rose calling card for Spenser's own Susan Silverman, he gets all the attention that Spenser and Hawk can give.
Spenser plays against time while he tracks the Red Rose killer from Boston's Combat Zone to the suburbs. His trap is both daring and brave, and gives the story a satisfying climax.
"Like Philip Marlowe, Spenser is a man of honor in a dishonorable world. When he says he will do something, it is done. The dialogue zings, and there is plenty of action...but it is the moral element that sets this series above most detective fiction." (Newsweek)
Robert B. Parker
Robert B Parker was the best-selling author of over 60 books, including Small Vices, Sudden Mischief, Hush Money, Hugger Mugger, Potshot, Widows Walk, Night Passage, Trouble in Paradise, Death in Paradise, Family Honor, Perish Twice, Shrink Rap, Stone Cold, Melancholy Baby, Back Story, Double Play, Bad Business, Cold Service, Sea Change, School Days and Blue Screen. He died in 2010 at the age of 77.
Related to Crimson Joy
Titles in the series (9)
Walking Shadow Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Small Vices Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Chance Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Paper Doll Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sudden Mischief Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pastime Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thin Air Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pastime Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Double Deuce Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
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Reviews for Crimson Joy
154 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Another lovely tight Spenser... High on suspense and emotional impact, but also very funny. Love this guy!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Yucky ending. While all Spenser books are written in the first person, this one also has the occasional chapter in italics narrated by the killer. There is no mystery to guess beyond the fact that SPOILER Susan Silverman and Spenser both have connections to the case.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5In this one, Spenser and Susan are trying hard to keep their private relationship on an even keel, even though the latest string of murders has their professional lives intersecting far too closely. This book is way farther into the series than where I am (book 2), but I jumped in to join Roberta, Donna and Mamie in a group read. There were several gaps between where I was and here: I hadn't even met Susan or Hawk yet! I liked Spenser less in this relationship than as a lady killer and I hear good things about Hawk, but he had such a minor role here. So, I guess it was a good read, but not great. I am in it of the long haul no matter what though, because I like my fellow readers!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Someone is killing black women using the same MO: duck tape, shot with the same gun, a rose, and leaving evidence of masturbation. He also claims, in a note to the homicide detective in charge, to be a cop. Lt. Quinn asks Spenser to help from outside the department. Soon they are forced to deal with a copycat who has confessed. And then the real bad guy. Predictable.
OK story with the usual humorous banter, but I do get annoyed with the therapeutic babbling indulged in by Susan and Spenser. In this case it even becomes a distraction as the killer and his therapist -- one suspects it's Susan who is bound by confidentiality not to say -- reveal the inevitable: It was Mommy's fault. I mean, really. It's unnecessary and, IMHO, detracts from the story and brings little to their relationship. I mean, really. I still prefer the Jesse Stone series. Spenser can't decide whether to be a gourmet cook or detective.
Parker does have the occasional turn of phrase. I particularly liked, "It was one of those days in April when the wind was a velvet conceit on the lingering days of winter." Can't say if that's good writing or not, not having a graduate degree in English, but I liked it. Then again, I could never see what was wrong with, "it was a dark and stormy night," either. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I like Spenser and I like Hawk which is what makes these books work for me. I like the quips and the sarcasm. Unfortunately I think there was less of that in this one. A lot of the book took place between Spenser and Susan. There is a lot of them working out why their relationship works so well and how they can both can do their jobs, even when they happen to intersect, and still keep their personal relationship strong. At times it seemed to be the focus of the book even more than the serial killer and, for me, it took up a little too much of the book. I still liked the book and I always find Spenser books to be fun quick reads. Spenser fans will read all of the books anyway so what I say won’t make a difference to them but for people who aren’t fans yet I would suggest starting with a different one and working your way around to this one if you find you like the others.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Good. Short, but good. Dialogue is definitely the strong point, as the detectives and cops flip cynical barbs at one another throughout. The M.O. of the killer made for some interesting reading, and I appreciated that, while the killings were gruesome enough, the descriptions weren't as hideously bloody as, e.g. Dashiell Hammett could make them. The killer's motivation comes across the same way, sick but not that sick, with a little surprise twist in the epilogue that you can actually see coming a mile away. Nothing so nausea-inducing as Elizabeth George can come up with, certainly. I want to read more Parkers now.