Widow's Walk

By Robert B. Parker

This is a review of an audiobook I listened to on my commute, another novel in Parker's Spenser series. Much to my chagrin, this book was on audiocassette, so it was more of a hassle than a CD version, but it was still enjoyable.

As I've said before on this blog, I have pretty much the same things to say about every Parker novel I listen to. The writing is even, easy to listen to and enjoyable. Again, as Spenser gathers clues, the case just becomes more baffling. Marvelous. I can't really find anything negative to say about these books, except for the fact that Parker is a little too fond of the F-word.

Spenser is hired by the redhead bombshell lawyer Rita to find out all he can about the murder of a client's husband. The sexy but incredibly stupid Mary Smith found her husband murdered in their home late one night. She's the prime suspect, but Rita wants to know everything about the case. She can afford to hire Spenser because Mary is loaded. As he starts investigating—of course—things turn deadly and more murders follow. Spenser turns up seemingly unrelated clues that prove only to make the case of the true murderer of Nathan Smith even more puzzling than when his investigation began.

Without giving anything away, this book includes several Spenser favorites, including Susan, Hawk and Vinny Morris.

This audiobook was also narrated by Joe Mantegna, the actor who also narrated Then and Now, so it was a good listen. He gets all of the characters right again. Even though he doesn't really sound like a woman when he portrays a female, he still gets their character right and really gives a good feeling for how they may sound in real life. Mary Smith sounds stupid, not only in what she says, but how she says it. Mantegna nails it, every character.

This Spenser novel is engaging and well worth a listen (or read).

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