Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Painted Ladies: A Spenser Novel, Book 38
    Unavailable
    Painted Ladies: A Spenser Novel, Book 38
    Unavailable
    Painted Ladies: A Spenser Novel, Book 38
    Audiobook5 hours

    Painted Ladies: A Spenser Novel, Book 38

    Written by Robert B. Parker

    Narrated by Joe Mantegna

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The brilliant new Spenser novel from the beloved New York Times-bestselling author Robert B. Parker.

    Called upon by The Hammond Museum and renowned art scholar Dr. Ashton Prince, Spenser accepts his latest case: to provide protection during a ransom exchange-money for a stolen painting.

    The case becomes personal when Spenser fails to protect his client and the valuable painting remains stolen. Convinced that Ashton Prince played a bigger role than just ransom delivery boy, Spenser enters into a daring game of cat-and-mouse with the thieves. But this is a game he might not come out of alive...

    Completed the year before he passed away, Painted Ladies is Spenser and Robert B. Parker at their electrifying best.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateOct 5, 2010
    ISBN9780739343937
    Unavailable
    Painted Ladies: A Spenser Novel, Book 38
    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.

    More audiobooks from Robert B. Parker

    Related to Painted Ladies

    Related audiobooks

    Suspense For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Cabinet of Curiosities

      Nov 11, 2020

      This Month: Tinsel Pictures and Toy Theatres One of my favourite ‘single owner’ collections was the Sotheby’s sale of Vivien Leigh’s estate in September 2017. As you can imagine, she had impeccable taste. One lot that caught my eye was her set of

      2 min read

    • Article

      Staff Picks: Detritus, Dreamin’, Dinos

      Jul 14, 2017

      From Paleoart.   First published in 1966, Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain, by Justin Kaplan, is still the standard biography of our most enduringly funny writer—or, at least, the earliest writer who makes me actually laugh. I avoided it till now because I

      5 min read

    • Article

      Rio At Large In Stockport

      Mar 6, 2024

      “I HAVE a question about a weird bird at my window. It looks like a pet and isn't right.” So emailed my stepson on seeing a male cockatiel sitting on his kitchen window ledge in Stockport at 9pm one late November evening. There are lots of cats in th

      3 min read

    • Article

      ‘We Are All Animals’

      Jan 27, 2021

      ‘We Are All Animals’
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Tale of Peter Rabbit

      Jul 7, 2021

      The Tale of Peter Rabbit
      2 min read

    • Article

      One Man And His Dog

      Oct 20, 2021

      One Man And His Dog
      4 min read

    • Article

      Fiction

      Sep 21, 2022

      Fiction
      9 min read

    • Article

      Editor’s Letter

      Jul 6, 2022

      LAST WEEK’S LETTERS featured a questioning piece about the London fancy canary from regular contributor David Urmston, with a response from LF aficionado Andy Early. Both gentlemen are experienced canary breeders; I’m not, but I’d like to add my two

      1 min read

    • Article

      Pinky And The Brain

      Oct 4, 2023

      Pinky And The Brain
      2 min read

    • Article

      Story Seller

      Nov 28, 2023

      Story Seller
      3 min read

    • Article

      Shane Forrest

      Jun 29, 2022

      Shane Forrest
      1 min read

    • Article

      Small Press Submissions

      Jun 1, 2023

      The Parliament House is a small press whose team curates fantasy of every scope. Be it contemporary, steampunk, paranormal, urban, or otherwise, it has to be ‘the sort of magic that captures our attention and leaves a lasting impression.’ Query initi

      3 min read

    • Article

      Darker Side Of Peter Rabbit

      Apr 13, 2024

      Darker Side Of Peter Rabbit
      4 min read

    • Article

      Fourteen First and Last Sentence Novels

      Apr 22, 2022

      I think of this as a new literary form, a type of novelistic prose poem, a hybrid, a chimera, whose main currency is delight, wonder, and mystery. The post Fourteen First and Last Sentence Novels appeared first on The Millions.

      13 min read

    • Article

      All The World’s A Stage

      Apr 6, 2023

      All The World’s A Stage
      5 min read

    • Article

      Swansongs And Southern Discomfort

      Oct 27, 2022

      THE BORDERLAND BETWEEN popular fiction and literary fiction is now fertile territory. Once upon a time it was easy to tell them apart. Popular and genre fiction were in small format paper-backs, literary fiction larger: now all have been promoted to

      6 min read

    • Article

      Think Outside The Fox

      Dec 13, 2023

      Think Outside The Fox
      5 min read

    • Article

      Steve Martin Brings The Cartoon Fun In ‘A Wealth Of Pigeons’

      Dec 8, 2020

      A collaboration with New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss yields a droll collection that pokes fun at human foibles and offers gems of comic wisdom.

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Houses That Women Built

      Nov 29, 2023

      The Houses That Women Built
      5 min read

    Reviews for Painted Ladies

    3.5/5

    213 ratings20 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      One of the last Spenser novels written by Parker, and a good one!
    • 2/5
      It pains me to do this but this was my least favorite Spenser book ever. I finished it but I was not happy with it.
    • 3/5
      One of Robert B's last novels before he popped off. We listened to it on a trip to the mountains. Fun Spenser. There were some slightly different tones in this one, and a new champagne for us to explore: Iron Horse.
    • 4/5
      As usual Parker writes an entertaining page turner of a book, this time surrounding art theft and the holocaust. Parker was one of the greatest mystery writers who ever lived.
    • 4/5
      Some very funny things in this one, like "Molly Pitcher's" reaction to Spenser's "charm".
    • 4/5
      Spenser is hired by the Hammond Museum to protect Dr. Ashton Prince as he attempts to exchange money in return for a recently stolen painting. However, when the exchange goes awry, Spenser sets out to personally find the stolen painting and bring the thieves to justice.
    • 4/5
      Very good Spenser book. Qick read. Miss Hawk, though, if he's not in a book. None of the "underworld" regulars, either. Not quite as much punch in the writing as some of his other books. But still better than almost any other detective author's best day.
    • 4/5
      Absolutely loved the repartee. Author, Robert Parker, had such a gift for dialogue and clean crisp story lines. I am truly sorry that he has passed, and will be even sorrier when I finish reading all of his works. Painted Ladies is the perfect reading escape for an evening of leisure reading.
    • 3/5
      I came to Spenser years ago when Parker was putting far more effort and time into creating plots for the books. As the years progressed, the plots became Thinner, the action had fewer consequences, and the books began to exist in a sealed world where you knew Spenser and the few main characters would survive. That said, I loved each new Spenser book, if only for the chance to get a bit of literary comfort food, so I find it sad to think the Spenser series is coming to a close with another by the numbers effort from Robert B. Parker. Painted Ladies involves Spenser investigating an art theft with ties to the Holocaust. Spenser works the case mostly solo, tracking down leads among academia and a Jewish organization, spewing typical Parker dialogue with a bit of action along the way. It's strictly pain by numbers, but not as bad as some of his more recent efforts.
    • 3/5
      The Holocaust was bad; Susan is perfect - that is pretty much the entire story here. I'm assuming Parker was starting to be in bad health with this one, or that he was just bored with the Spencer books too.
    • 4/5
      A good finish to a series that was always fun to read with little squibs of information tucked in.
    • 4/5
      Spenser is as cool and suave as ever. More revealing in his relationship with Susan. Having visited Boston recently, I realize we were staying close to his office and apt (fictitious, oc course).Very sad that Parker died, but what a way to go, with pen in hand.
    • 4/5
      In this novel, probably the last in the late Robert B. Parker's Spenser series, we work through the mystery with Spenser on his own, in some ways mirroring "The Godwulf Manuscript," the first Spenser story. Like "The Godwulf Manuscript," the theft of a historical artifact prompts the action. In this story, I am reminded of some of Parker's earlier tales about the wise-cracking detective - his first confrontation of the villain bringing out some of that dark side, where violence may not be a means only, but an end in itself - "my frustration level was saturating and I needed to hit someone." Though I missed Hawk, whom Spenser tells us is in central Asia helping the CIA, it is somehow fitting that Spenser takes this job so personally that he won't call for backup from any of his other stalwart companions. He is joined as always by his main squeeze, Susan, and regulars Healy, Quirk, Belson, and Rita Fiore come on the scene. But in the end this is a book about Spenser, setting right a situation that went bad on his watch, catching the killers of a client he didn't even like very much, clearing his name and proving he is better than the goons that set out to stop him. It is definitely not the best of the series, but it works as an endcap.
    • 4/5
      Every once in a while I like to read a Spenser book, just because he's such a great character and such fun to read (especially if you love hard-boiled detectives, as I do). This one does not disappoint, although knowing that it's the last one is a bit bittersweet. Definitely recommended if you enjoy this genre.
    • 4/5
      Last one he finished
    • 4/5
      Dysfunctional families, art theft, art stolen during the Holocaust, people getting killed and the usual Spenser and friends repartee.
    • 5/5
      Robert Parker may be dead, but his beloved Boston PI, Spenser, will live pretty much forever.This was one of the last Spenser novels. I'm still trying to come to grips with that fact.
    • 4/5
      Robert B. Parker was arguably the wittiest and most intelligent American writer of his time – no doubt paving the way for other luminaries such as Harlan Coban and Dennis Lehane – but of all his many creations Spenser, subject of his first and last books and very many in-between, is surely the character readers love best. Painted Ladies is the penultimate book Parker wrote before a heart attack killed him at his desk last year so it is fitting that it features the tough Boston-based private eye Spenser [first name never disclosed in over 30 books], his adored long-term girlfriend Susan Silverman, and their beloved German short-haired pointer Pearl, in an art world adventure with roots in the Holocaust and paintings stolen from Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe. Kidnapping, forgery, theft, murder, snappy dialogue, literary references, fast pace and clever plotting – the only thing missing from this almost-ultimate adventure is Spencer’s inimitable and immaculate sidekick Hawk, who is allegedly somewhere in Central; Asia on a mission for the CIA.All the other regulars are here though, like Martin Quirk, Spenser’s police contact Captain Healy, and the sexy Rita Fiore, always waiting to scoop him up should he break up with the queen of his heart, Susan. And as an added attraction for his canine fans, Parker even creates a love interest for Pearl in the form of a yellow Labrador called Otto, and the book ends with the two of them gamboling away into the sunset, watched fondly by their proud ‘parents’.
    • 4/5
      Painted Ladies is another solid Spenser Series story, which is unfortunately one of the last in this long running and successful series. In Painted Ladies, our dear Spenser enters the realm of the art world. When a much sought after painting is stolen from a local museum, Spenser is hired to guard a curator during a ransom trade-off. The trade-off doesn't go as planned, and the curator is killed, now as a matter of pride Spenser vows to track down the killers. This vow may be his last if he isn't careful. Spenser quickly finds out that he isn't dealing with armatures, and must be at his best to avoid becoming another casualty in this case. Although I enjoyed the storyline, I didn’t find Spenser to be quite as witty as he usually is. I am not sure if Parker was growing weary of writing the series, or if it was just a lull. In any case, any true Spenser fan will still enjoy their favorite gumshoe’s tales.
    • 4/5
      I was excited to stumble across a new Spenser novel last week!This was finished the year before Robert Parker passed away.It's classic Spenser. I enjoyed it a lot. Hawk was not in it but everyone else was. Hopefully Hawk will be back in the last Spenserbook (?) which is due out next May.