Now and Then

By Robert B. Parker

As I said in my Appaloosa review, I've taken to listening to audiobooks on my commute. This is another audio book version of a Parker novel, Now and Then, a rather recent (2007) entry into Parker's famous Spenser series of novels. I listened to the CD version of the audiobook, which I much prefer over audio cassettes, though I can listen to either in my car (do they even make cassette audio books anymore?).

Though this is the first one I'm reviewing here, 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. As with most Parker novels, as the protagonist gathers more clues, the case just becomes more and 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 (hey, I don't use it, people I work with normally don't use it, no one in my family uses it, why does Parker use it so much?).

Spenser is hired to follow an FBI agent's wife, who he suspects of cheating on him. Of course, things quickly take a more serious and deadly turn and Spenser is determined to get to the bottom of the enigmatic case. Does it have something to do with the time when Susan left him for a time several years ago?

Without giving anything away, this book includes several Spenser favorites, including Susan and Pearl (of course) and also Hawk, Vinny Morris and a rented thug/sharpshooter from L.A., Cholo.

Since I can't say too much about the plot without giving anything away, I'll talk about the narrator. This book as well as another Spenser novel I'm listening to right now are narrated by Joe Mantegna, an actor I know almost nothing about. But I can say he is a great narrator for Spenser novels. At first, I thought I noticed a slight lisp, which I found irritating. But after awhile I stopped noticing it (or it was just my imagination that there was a lisp in the first place) and I fell right into the story. Like other great book readers, Mantegna is able to manufacture beleivable and recognizable voices for the various characters in the story. So instead of sounding like listening to someone reading a book, you feel like you're listening to someone tell a story, which is much more engaging.

So, in conclusion, like many of the other Parker novels, and Spenser novels in particular, this book is engaging and well worth a listen (or read).

Similar posts

• Appaloosa