When we finished the guest house up the hill and across the dirt road in Vermont, I decided to use the new bookshelves to hold my collection of Robert B. Parker Spenser detective novels.  Parker, who died several years ago, was an early inheritor of the Raymond Chandler school of mystery writing—-hard boiled, heart of gold, wise cracking private investigator.  To that Parker added a Black dude named Hawk, a Jewish psychotherapist named Susan Silverman, and a cast of characters unique to Boston.  The action takes place in Boston and Eastern MA which is another draw for me.

Having the books at the guest house enables me to pick one up from time to time and settle into a pleasurable time warp of Spenser action.  This novel is a bit far-fetched revolving around a Chinese gang in Port City, a town of 100,000 on the ocean north of Boston, probably fashioned on Gloucester.  When the artistic director of the community theater on whose board Susan Silverman serves, is sure he’s being stalked, enter Spenser and then Hawk and finally Vinnie Morris.  Illegal immigration, the Dragons of Death, a murder on stage, and a crooked police chief all combine for a fast moving and fun read.  The politically incorrect treatment of Asians would never work today, but seems okay in this context.

Another great Spenser re-read for summer fun.