Stardust
Written by Robert B. Parker
Narrated by Michael Prichard
3.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
First, there's Jill herself. She's spoiled, arrogant, drugged out -- made worse by fear. Someone is out to get her -- does she imagine it, or is it real?
Spenser monitors her neurosis, but finds evidence of harassment. It escalates to murder. Now begins the dangerous part -- while the act may have ended, the murderer lingers on.
"STARDUST is a four-star noir suspense that no Spenser fan will be able to resist." (Publisher's Source)
From the Cassette edition.
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.
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Reviews for Stardust
153 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tough-talking private investigator Spenser, and his loyal sidekick Hawk are back in action again, and this just may prove to be their toughest case yet. When the Hollywood-based television series 'Fifty Minutes' begins shooting locally, Spenser's love Susan - a psychologist who is acting as consultant to the television film crew - persuades Spenser and Hawk to guard the star of the show, Jill Joyce. Spenser can immediately smell the trouble brewing.As soon as he meets Jill Joyce, he knows that trouble is bound to be just around the corner. Jill Joyce is stunningly beautiful; one gorgeously sexy bombshell. Yet, on closer inspection Spenser freely admits that she is, to put it charitably, one screamingly hot mess to deal with. She is arrogant, spoiled and neurotic - and absolutely convinced that someone is stalking her.Spenser really doesn't know what to believe. Jill's abject fear that someone wants her dead may just be a sign that she is out of her mind - a woman who desperately needs to spend some quality time in drug rehab; or she could be one thousand percent right, and someone is actually out to get her. Even though privately, Spenser can hardly blame the potential assassin for their feelings - he and Susan recognize the woman's very real fear hidden behind the celebrity's mask.In Spenser's opinion, Ms. Joyce's reckless off-camera behavior epitomizes the term 'Drama Queen'. Her antics seem to be at the very height of extravagant depravity; yet as the detective investigates the threatening letters and phone calls received by the troubled starlet, he becomes increasingly convinced that she has some very valid reasons to fear for her life. Someone is definitely not a fan of Jill Joyce; and Spenser is soon drawn into a deadly and nightmarish mystery that gives new meaning to the term 'stage fright'.Actually, I know that I have read this book before; I just can't remember exactly when that might have been. The story seemed vaguely familiar to me, although I couldn't have told anyone anything about the mystery. Robert B. Parker was really quite the author; and I've always enjoyed his work. I love his easy writing style and gritty characterizations.I find his plots very intriguing yet still highly readable - and not so convoluted that I can't follow the mystery or understand the solution. There is also a fine thread of dark comedy running through each mystery that seems entirely appropriate to the situation and to each character's personality, as well. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and am looking forward to reading more from this series. I would give Stardust by Robert B. Parker an A!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Taking the case was a favor to Susan, but after his new client throws herself at him then passes out, Spenser is only to glad to pass the bodyguarding off to Hawk. Because if the client won't answer his questions, the next thing to do is start digging for some answers, right? Spenser... fabulous as always.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In "The Journal of Popular Culture," Scott R. Christianson writes about tough talk and wisecracks. "...the hardboiled detective/narrator talks all the time to the reader. He talks tough and he talks smart but mainly - as the narrator of the story as well as the protagonist - he talks a lot."As an example of the above, Robert Parker's wonderful P.I., Spenser, demonstrates in Parker's "Stardust," published in 1990.Spenser is asked to protect a spoiled, temperamental TV star, Jill Joyce. She stars in TV's Fifty Minutes and has been filming the TV show from Boston.The story in "Stardust" seems realistic as we learn that someone has been harassing Jill and she demands protection. She shows that on the TV show she may be a star but off screen she's something else.When violence erupts and someone on the TV crew is killed, Spenser goes into action to find the killer.Jill drinks to excess and seems like a sex starved nymphomaniac, but underneath her outward persona, Spenser recognizes fear and vulnerability.He investigates her background and learns things that make him sad to see. How can someone who had to rise above misfortune gain the public spotlight? And, at what cost?There are lessons of endearment and loyalty that Spenser demonstrates to his own love, psychologist, Susan and we see the empathy Spenser shows for a number of people associated with Jill whose lives have also been shattered.For a dish of mystery topped with a flavoring of humor, this can be the main course.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Stardust is the 17th novel By Robert B. Parker featuring Spenser, the intrepid one-named Boston detective. In this one, Spenser is hired to protect Jill Joyce, the biggest star on television, from an anonymous threatening caller. The beautiful Jill is exceedingly unpleasant and also uncooperative—she refuses to talk about her past, giving Spenser very little to work with in ascertaining a motive for the caller. Later, Jill’s stunt double is found murdered, shot at close range by a .357 magnum. As usual, Parker is more interested in a character study than a “who-done-it” mystery, and so much more of the story is dedicated to the interplay among Spenser, Jill, and her various boyfriends than to determining who shot the double. As in any Spenser novel, there are plenty of clever similes, metaphors, and other tropes. For example:“…facing the pasture was a barn, newly built, that mimicked the old barns of New England the way fashion mimics clothing.”“…a formal gesture of self deprecation, as sincere as a congressman’s handshake.”“…two well groomed young women in tailored suits…sipping Gibsons. Everything about them said, We have MBAs.”“…there were enclaves of rural poverty where the official town mascot was probably a rat.”Spenser takes a trip to Los Angeles to investigate Jill’s past, and there he meets (I think for the first time) the enigmatic Chollo, a Mexican hit man who in later novels will be described as the best shooter Spenser has encountered. Parker’s art enables him to create a character, Jill Joyce, that you know you could not stand to be around, and yet you feel sorry for her and sympathize with her in the end. Not one of his best, but still pretty good. (JAB)