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5.0étoiles sur 5
Red and Green Do Not Always Mean Christmas., Avril 27 2007
This time the reader was grabbed by the neck and held for a while as CRIMSON JOY opened onto an in progress investigation of a fresh murder scene of the Red Rose killer's "signature." From there the plot ran relentlessly into the seamless consequences and serious carnivals of media, political, and social "consciousness" pushes polluting professional pursuits of a serial killer. Parker had precisely pegged the gestalt of this "scene" and its take-off sidelines, with this # 15 in the Spenser series featuring the king pin of Boston homicide detectives, Lieutenant Quirk. Serving as his posse were Sergeant Belson, Spenser, Susan, and Hawk.
Presented on page 67 of the current mass market paperback, was one of the most cleanly accurate dialogues I've read of the position and essential attitude of a professional police person in charge of such a situation. Quirk, the good-guy cop (those types do exist), was confronted by representatives of the worst examples of human self-enhancement posed as social consciousness, from a shark-frenzied media, higher-echelon police presence, racial political-punk, religious frock, and feminist frizz ("The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly," exist in each of those Rings).
And the mad-cap chase was on.
Realistically, though, with Parker unable to present it any other way, this type of investigation gets nowhere fast, through grueling, non-stop, prime effort of dedicated noses sniffing dirt, and grinding stones.
(I worked for a couple months in 1985 in Portland, Oregon and Tacoma, Washington, with a couple private detectives trying to pick up the Green River Killer's trail. I'm still not sure what trail we were following, but it didn't give a successful conclusion at that time, fast, slow, or otherwise. Anne Rule recently published a flawlessly professional book, GREEN RIVER RUNNING RED, about that horrifying nightmare's various trails and conclusions.)
So, the chase was on, in CRIMSON JOY. The actual investigation (in this Spenser novel) had begun effectively and efficiently a day or two prior to the rush (even though getting nowhere fast is the result for a frustratingly long time for heroic pursuers in this reality "show") and would continue relentlessly, in spite of being watched by a carnival of the calculated concern of users of the situation. Observing through Spenser's eyes those humans who pose primely (and primly) in pseudo-self-righteousness while they're using a serial killing arena to further professional, social, or personal causes; I was wondering (as directed by Parker's crisply chosen words) where the evil of rankest stench stewed. Was it in the killer, in his background, or in the foreground of the words: "We're watching you, Quirk, to be sure you do your job to the specifications of our suck-power interests."
As anyone who has read even a few pages of a Spenser novel would know, he has a nose to sniff the goods on anything, even in innocent seeding phases of personal rot. Hold your noses, folks, and dive in. Before taking the riveting descent, however, be aware of your time, place, and reading pose. You might not be leaving that setting before you crack the book's spine in the middle. Not to worry about time as much as muscle strain. The reading speed could be near double your norm for a Spenser novel, and the sinew tension should be set and held by the third line.
This plot is cold, as it should be. It's not over shocked; yet it's true to base reality, as it should be. Having read and reviewed the first 14 and a few of the later Spenser novels, I would expect no less from this author honoring through prime literature, sub-cultural significance in three pivotal decades of human evolution.
CRIMSON JOY is another insightful winner in the Spenser annals, not only flawlessly featuring all the above, but also allowing Spenser and Susan's relationship to culture-out cleanly in the heat of overlap of their personal and professional lives, as they slosh as a team in the middle of this carnival's sewers.
It's interesting to me, from our current temporal perspective, to note the original copyright date of each Spenser novel. I then note the fact that a book is usually conceived and written a year or two prior to the copyright date, around situations which had begun brewing a year or so prior to a novel's conception. Most often, in the case of an established, successful author, that manuscript would have been published around a year after the copyright date. Of course, in this Third Millennium these time frames are in flux, getting wherever faster.
Linda Shelnutt
Author of several Amazon Shorts and KINDLE Books
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4.0étoiles sur 5
A surprise or two for Spenser fans, Janv. 6 2003
There's more than one interesting twist in this installment of the Spenser series, evidence that Parker's working hard to stay out of a rut. First, this is a bit more serious than usual in that the unknown killer is a psychopathic serial killer. Our hero isn't quite up to his usual quota of wisecracks. Secondly, some of the narrative is from the killer's viewpoint, a first for a Spenser novel. Thirdly, there is a hint at the Harry Bosch type conflict between solving a case and playing police politics & protecting the police image. (This was written 4 years before the first of the Connolly series) And fourth, there's a real testing of Spenser's relationship with Susan as there's a serious conflict between his need to protect her and her need for autonomy & adherence to her profession's practice of condifentiality between doctor & patient. The reader might have a bit of trouble suspending disbelief over the points of Spenser's openly working with the Boston police and of the extreme coincidental factor, but it is an entertaining read up to the average Spenser.
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4.0étoiles sur 5
Crimson Joy, Sep 10 2002
Par Un client
My husband and I are big fans of the Spenser series. He has read all of them; I have not, but I'm working on that. My husband wasn't all that crazy about this book and the following three (Playmates, Stardust, Pastime). I can't get into Playmates because I'm not a basketball fan (AT ALL), but I found Crimson Joy to be pretty good. I like psychological thriller type stuff. This may not be the most thrilling psychological mystery one could read, but I liked it a lot for what I think it is intended to be. The only reason I bring up the other three books is because if you read Crimson Joy and you like it, you might be more likely to enjoy the next three. I haven't gotten there yet, but I intend to read all of them (if I can get through that dang basketball!). I won't go into the plot, you can get that from other reviews and the synopsis. I do recommend the book, though, and that's what counts here.
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