| Now and Then (Large Print Press) |  | Author: Robert B. Parker
Publisher: Large Print Distribution
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  65 reviews
Sales Rank: 829529
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 338
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.7
ISBN: 1594132895
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781594132896
ASIN: 1594132895
Publication Date: October 4, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
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Product Description
When a simple case turns into a treacherous and politically charged investigation, Spenser faces his most difficult challenge yet-keeping his cool while his beloved Susan Silverman is in danger.
Spenser knows something's amiss the moment Dennis Doherty walks into his office. The guy's aggressive yet wary, in the way men frightened for their marriages always are. So when Doherty asks Spenser to investigate his wife Jordan's abnormal behavior, Spenser agrees. A job's a job, after all.
Not surprisingly, Spenser catches Jordan with another man, tells Dennis what he's found out, and considers the case closed. But a couple of days later, all hell breaks loose, and three people are dead. This isn't just a marital affair gone bad. Spenser is in the middle of hornet's nest of trouble, and he's got to get out of it without getting stung. With Hawk watching his back, and gun-for- hire Vinnie Morris providing extra cover, Spenser delves into a complicated and far-reaching operation: Jordan's former lover, Perry Alderson, is the leader of a group that helps sponsor terrorists. But Perry doesn't like Spenser poking around his business, so he decides to get to Spenser through Susan. The Boston P.I. will use all his connections both above and below the law to uncover the truth behind Perry's antigovernment organization. But what Alderson doesn't realize is that Spenser will stop at absolutely nothing to keep Susan out of harm's way; nothing will keep him from the woman he loves.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 60 more reviews...
 first time Parker reader September 16, 2008
As a newcomer to the Robert Parker Fan Club, I must say I found "Now and Then" to be charming, engaging, a fast read and lots of fun! I really enjoyed his style (don't know if this is his usual style or not) but it was most enjoyable! Patty T.
 The worst Spenser novel so far September 16, 2008
This is the worst of the Spenser novels. FBI agent Dennis Doherty walks into Spenser's office and asks him to follow his wife, as he believes that she is having an affair. After he takes the case, Spenser has no difficulty in proving that she is involved with Perry Alderson, a professor and leader of a terrorist group. When Doherty confronts his wife with the evidence and kicks her out of the house, she goes to Alderson and he refuses to allow her to stay with him.
Shortly after this, Doherty's wife is killed and the assassin is immediately killed by Spenser operative Vinnie Morris. There is nothing that can be used to identify the slain assassin, so it clear that it was a very professional job. When Doherty is killed, the FBI and other major governmental groups join in the investigation. When Spenser informs Alderson that he has a tape of him plotting terrorist acts, Alderson sends operatives after Susan Silverman only to be thwarted by Hawk and Vinnie Morris. Morris kills another Alderson operative in the battle. That operative also cannot be identified.
After all this buildup, the climactic battle between the Alderson forces and Spenser's group is very weak. Parker describes the Alderson operatives in the battle as untalented amateurs; there is no hint of the level of professionalism used earlier. The domestic terrorism plotline is not used, there is no hint of the foiling of any terrorist conspiracy, that scenario seems to have been included just to attract attention.
 Now & Then September 15, 2008
Here's yet another "Spencer" novel from this prolific writer. Spencer, the private dick with the psychiatrist girl friend have to work to learn about a supposed guy that's not quite all he's pretending to be. Turns out this fellow killed a couple people and took one of 'ems name. This baddie could recruit young innocent men for, perhaps, terrorist activities. But ya can't beat Spencer. He figgers it all out and he and girlfriend live happily ever after...or at least until Parker's next adventure. charles A. Reap, jr., author, "Devil's Game," and "My Friend Sam."
Getting long in the tooth September 11, 2008
I have a friend who no longer likes to read Spenser novels because he says they dwell too much on Spenser's relationship with Susan. Up until now, I've disagreed with him. I've pointed out that the relationship has been a sidebar to the main storyline in all the novels. Unfortunately, I'm coming around to his point of view after reading this most recent Spenser book.
Parker has created an icon of modern detective fiction with the Spenser character and it would be extremely sad if this series declined into a psychobabble quagmire of interpersonal relationship. Previous books have dealt with Spenser and Susan within the structure of the story. In this book, the self-analysis is intrusive and drags down an already significantly lightweight plot.
And the plot is indeed light. The terrorist organization portrayed is made up of mindless android-like followers of a 1960s-style pseudo-charismatic anti-government radical. This portrayal is so convoluted the reader can't distinguish whether the bad guys are right-wing or left-wing. This is evocative of a politically correct screenplay of a made-for-TV movie that doesn't want to offend any group so it creates a stereotypical villian that is 40 years out-of-date. It's as if Parker wrote the story as filler for the Spenser/Susan sidebar.
And what is really disappointing about this book is that Parker is capable of better. The reader deserves better.
WOW! August 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Nobody, but nobody, writes like Robert Parker. I've been a fan of Spenser since "Godwulf" came out, and he is second to none in packing volumes of wit and information into a few words. Even if the plots weren't great (and let's be honest here, sometimes they're not), he'd be worth reading just for his use of language. "Now and Then" was an absorbing read on both counts, and in my opinion is one of his best. He just gets better.
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