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    Bad Business
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    Bad Business
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    Bad Business
    Audiobook6 hours

    Bad Business

    Written by Robert B. Parker

    Narrated by Joe Mantegna

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    When Marlene Cowley hires Spenser to see if her husband Trent is cheating on her, he encounters more than he bargained for: not only does he find a two-timing husband, but a second investigator as well, hired by the husband to look after his wife. As a result of their joint efforts, Spenser soon finds himself investigating both individual depravity and corporate corruption.

    It seems the folks in the Cowleys’ circle have become enamored of radio talk show host Darrin O’Mara, whose views on Courtly Love are clouding some already fuzzy minds with the notion of cross-connubial relationships. O’Mara’s brand of sex therapy is unconventional at best, unlawful–and deadly–at worst. Then a murder at Kinergy, where Trent Cowley is CFO, sends Spenser in yet another direction. Apparently, the unfettered pursuit of profit has a price.

    With razor sharp characterizations and finely honed prose, this is Parker at the height of his powers.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMar 9, 2004
    ISBN9780739309506
    Unavailable
    Bad Business
    Author

    Robert B. Parker

    Robert B Parker was the best-selling author of over 60 books, including Small Vices, Sudden Mischief, Hush Money, Hugger Mugger, Potshot, Widows Walk, Night Passage, Trouble in Paradise, Death in Paradise, Family Honor, Perish Twice, Shrink Rap, Stone Cold, Melancholy Baby, Back Story, Double Play, Bad Business, Cold Service, Sea Change, School Days and Blue Screen. He died in 2010 at the age of 77.

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    Reviews for Bad Business

    3.5/5

    203 ratings18 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 3/5
      Review: good jazz, armchair detectiveQuality: average for this genre
    • 3/5
      A quick fun read with most of your expected characters in a Spenser novel. This one was long on detecting (and angst about how the detecting was going) and somewhat short on the action you usually can expect from RBP.

      3 stars for a quick read and recommended for Spenser fans...
    • 4/5
      Pretty good book.
    • 5/5
      A Spenser novel which I had somehow overlooked
    • 4/5
      Mr. Parker's writing is like a cuddling up under your favorite blanket and watching an old movie. You know what to expect, but that is a good thing sometimes.
    • 4/5
      Parker was always so sparing with words. He learned to say a lot with very little. That was his main thing, as far as I'm concerned. His characters are well established and their words are almost predicable, but comforting and always up to mark.

      The timeline of the Spenser novels no longer exists. Logically Spenser should be a very old man with no business in fistfights and gunfights. The sense of danger that surrounded Hawk, Vinnie and Quirk is also no longer there. They have become quite tamed in “old” age, and have lost their double-sided take on life, that was so refreshing in the beginning.

      Nevertheless, I still see these late novels as refined and comforting examples of character-driven mystery fiction. Moreover the humour throughout the book is a blast… Sometimes I was laughing out loud…I always come back for more, when I’ve read too many books not worth a damn thing! Parker is almost always a safe haven…
    • 2/5
      I happened to be listening to the audiobook of this 2004 Spenser novel at the same time I was reading a 1982 Spenser novel and, well, I became utterly depressed at the clear decline of the series. I guess I shouldn't abuse an author as prolific as Parker over slacking--who wouldn't get lazy?--but this cliched, repetitive, and downright dull entry into the series was a bit of a wake up call. Maybe I should just stop in the 80s.
    • 4/5
      Bad Business is the 31st (!!) novel by Robert B. Parker featuring Boston private detective Spenser. This one, unlike many of the others, is an actual who-done-it of the Agatha Christie form. It features many of Spenser’s sub-characters, notably Hawk, Vinnie Morris, and Boston homicide detective Healy, all acting in their usual macho-competent roles. Susan Silverman is also present, and not as cloying as she can be. When a woman hires Spenser to see if he is cheating on her, Spenser discovers that the husband has hired his own p.i. to check up on his wife. It gets more complicated from there.This one is better crafted and more suspenseful than most Parker novels (which sounds like quite a complement), but it is also pretty repetitive in its themes and the tone of its conversations. For Parker fans (and I count myself among them), it delivers what we have come to expect, but maybe is just a little too much like all the others in the series. (JAB)
    • 4/5
      I started and finished this Sanford novel too soon after the last. I like his stuff, but found the silly back and forth chatter a little much. I recommend at least a month between novels to reset your mind. And I guess I was wrong about his later stuff. He was a really potty mouth back then in this earlier work.
    • 3/5
      Like all of his other books, this was an easy read. Not much substance, but kind of fun.
    • 3/5
      It goes without saying, even though I'm saying it, ALL Robert B. Parker books are very very well written. My only complaint with Bad Business was the use of a lot of business accounting jargon that was hard to keep straight (something Spenser himself mentioned).
    • 4/5
      I agree with the other reviewers: cotton candy for the brain, but his candy always has some meat hidden inside. This time he tries to explain Enron. The only thing that bothered me is that if Hawk's current girlfriend had been someone else, Spenser might have never found out what was really going on. No one writes warm cozies like Parker. (Maybe I should increase my number of stars.)
    • 4/5
      Good solid Spenser. There's nothing wrong with a formula if you can make it interesting. Late in a series it's hard to come up with plausible plotlines and the thinly disguised Enron company in this one must have been a nice inspiration. I didn't care for the "free love" angle as I don't think truly high-powered executives would expose themselves to that kind of blackmail opportunity. But all the fun characters and snappy dialog are here; good read.
    • 1/5
      The Spenser novels were always lightweight, but fun and smart in the beginning. By the time this novel came out, it was truly formulistic. Actually, it was just plain tired. Simplistic plot, characters who were just going through the motions. Move along, nothing to see here.
    • 3/5
      Marlene Crowley hires Boston PI Spenser to find out if her husband is cheating on her. What seems like a simple case quickly becomes complicated when Marlene's husband, Trent, is murdered. Trent was a CFO at Kinergy, an energy trading company. Investigating the murder, Spenser discovers several wrong-doings at Kinergy, including spouse swapping, shoddy accounting practices and another murder. Spenser has plenty of suspects and works with the usual crew, including his long-time love, Susan Silverman, and his friend, Hawk, to solve the crime. Robert Parker's Spenser series is what I call cotton candy for the brain. There's nothing groundbreaking here, it's just a highly entertaining read and there's nothing wrong with that. What makes the series work is the snappy humorous dialogue between the characters. My only complaint is that there's not enough Hawk, he doesn't show up until halfway through the book. The mystery itself is fine, if transparent, but I don't read Parker's books for the plot but for the interactions between characters, especially Spenser and Hawk. This is a good beach book.
    • 3/5
      Read it a couple of days ago, can't remember what it's about now. Typical Robert B. Parker, fast moving, easy to read and Spenser is always delightful even if there are no surprises left.
    • 4/5
      Spenser, initially hired to get proof of adultery for a divorce case soon finds himself investigating the man's murder. Trent Rowley, a high ranking executive at the energy firm Kinergy, was shot twice in his office. Spenser, investigates, soon finds Rowley was a student of Darrin O'Mara, a radio host who champions courtly love (a.k.a. open marriage). Aside from wife swapping, Spenser also uncovers a costly scam at Kinergy, which may have gotten Rowley killed.One of the better Spenser books, although the sex plot and the corporate malfeasance plot don't really gel all that well. Parker wrote this in the age of Enron, giving it a certain verisimilitude. As with most Spenser books, the culprits are fairly obvious about 3/4 of the way through the book, and the fun is in how well he gets you to the end. Not bad.
    • 4/5
      A Spencer book involving corporation corruption on the level of Enron. Found the CPA's explanation of money finagling difficult to understand but the charm of Spencer, Hawk, and Susan made it an interesting book