In Pursuit of Spenser by Otto Penzler

Otto Penzler is the owner of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City and is thought to be the world's foremost authority on crime, mystery and suspense fiction, the most popular genre reviewed on Men Reading Books.  In Pursuit of Spenser is Penzler’s tribute to the late Robert B. Parker (RBP).  In this book, Penzler has gathered together essays about the fictional character, Spenser and RBP, his creator.  These essays are written by a collage of crime fiction writers, including Lawrence Block, Ed Groman, Ace Atkins, Dennis Lehane, Loren Estleman and several others.  They not only deal with RBP and his characters, they also address RBP’s place in the evolution of the genre.

I’m a longtime fan of RBP but have mostly kept in the closet about it.  His writing style seems elementary with the short chapters and brief but clever exchanges between characters that frame simple linear plots… not much to stimulate the intellect. But I am always intrigued by the lead characters… strong personalities with high integrity… righteous tough guys.  Whether it’s Spenser, Jesse Stone, or Sunny Randall, Parker’s protagonists each have that individual idealistic code of honor from which they never stray.  It’s Parker’s characters that win him the most accolades from his peers.

 

But Penzler elevates Parker’s status amongst mystery writers.  He states that in the realm of the hardboiled private detective story, the trajectory of its greatest proponents is a straight line from Dashiell Hammett to Raymond Chandler to Ross Macdonald to Robert B. Parker.  Interestingly, Chandler and Macdonald were the subjects of Parker’s doctoral thesis in 1971.

So, if you are a nerd of the mystery and suspense genre, this book deserves a look.  Of course Robert B. Parker is showcased but much is touted about the history and development of the genre that we love to exploit at MRB.  Parker was an inspiration to many of our favorite authors.