By the 1980s Robert B. Parker had begun to hit his stride. The books become a bit longer–though they are still quick reads–and the plots more complex. Again though, it is the characters who are the most interesting in Parker novels. In the 1982 novel Valediction Susan Silverman becomes Dr. Silverman, a Ph.D. psychologist, after her graduation from Harvard. It is almost as if Spencer, Susan, and Hawk are one big unconventional family, with Hawk more than willing to act as Susan’s protector. By the 1980s, Spenser is a convert to feminism and neither he nor Susan have a racist bone anywhere in their bodies.
As the 1984 novel A Catskill Eagle shows, there is some trouble in the passionate love affair between Spenser and Susan. This book centers on the filthy rich Costigan family. Susan has left Spenser, is living with Russell Costigan, and has moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. In good liberated fashion, Spenser has given Susan space to make up her own mind whether she’d rather have him or Russell. Spenser is forced to intervene, though, when he gets a letter informing him that Hawk is in a jail in Mill Valley facing a murder charge and that Susan’s relationship with Russell might not be entirely voluntary.
You might not buy into the dynamics of the Costigan family, especially Russell’s mama complex–he’s “Rusty” to her–but Spenser must first leave Boston, head to California, and bust Hawk out of jail. Getting him out of the Mill Valley jail involves some cleverness and isn’t all that hard, but being on the lam and staying out of jail is harder. Even that is easier than getting into Jerry Costigan’s house, a veritable fortress. Jerry is Grace’s husband and Russell’s father, though why he stays with the frumpy Grace is a psychological conundrum of its own. He is one of the most respected industrialists in Northern California. Spenser is convinced he's crooked, but Jerry certainly has more allies than he. A Catskill Eagle is a thrill of minute. You can be forgiven if you are a bit suspicious of Spenser’s hair-raising escapes or how the book resolves. The best plan is to let the adrenaline course through you and enjoy the twists and turns. Ya’ think Spenser and Susan will get back together?
You will also encounter Rachel Wallace, a friend of Susan and Spenser. You might wish to go back to an older novel called Looking for Susan Wallace (1980) to find out more about her.
In the 1982 book Ceremony we met prostitute April Kyle and New York City madam Patricia Utley. Both resurface in Taming A Sea-Horse (1986). Utley and Spenser don’t move in the same circles, but she respects the big lug so when April leaves her establishment, she actually hires Spenser to find her. Utley’s running a business, not a mission for wayward hookers, but she suspects that April might not be calling her own shots. She has heard bad stuff is going down and it’s in her best interest to get to the bottom of it. Spenser starts asking questions but when one of his street sources is murdered, the search becomes personal.
It’s not hard to find April, who purports to be in love with Robert Rambeaux, a Juilliard student who also happens to be her pimp. You’ve probably know how that “love” story works out, but if you think you know how sleazy the sex trade can be, you’ve no idea. Spenser enters a world in which women are recruited, trained, and traded like postage stamps. Some are even pushed into the trade by abusive parents. This tale takes Spenser to Maine, back to metro Boston, into some less-than-legitimate clubs, and forces him to make sense of a supply chain that would make Walmart jealous. At one point Spenser meets a man who helps move hookers from one place to another. Spenser asks if he collected a finder’s fee for doing so. He casually answers, “Sure. She’s product, man…. You raise cattle, you give the cows away?” Spenser and Hawk visit mob boss Tony Marcus and even he isn’t the apex predator. Plus, there’s the problem of whether April cares that Spenser is looking out for her. This is one of my favorite Spenser novels. Hardboiled fiction has the benefit of not needing to have a moral!
Rob Weir
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