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    Now & Then: Spenser, Book 35
    Unavailable
    Now & Then: Spenser, Book 35
    Unavailable
    Now & Then: Spenser, Book 35
    Audiobook5 hours

    Now & Then: Spenser, Book 35

    Written by Robert B. Parker

    Narrated by Joe Mantegna

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Spenser knows something's amiss the moment Dennis Doherty walks into his office. The guy's aggressive yet wary, in the way men frightened for their marriages always are. So when Doherty asks Spenser to investigate his wife Jordan's abnormal behavior, Spenser agrees. A job's a job, after all.

    Not surprisingly, Spenser catches Jordan with another man, tells Dennis what he's found out, and considers the case closed. But a couple of days later, all hell breaks loose, and three people are dead. This isn't just a marital affair gone bad. Spenser is in the middle of hornet's nest of trouble, and he has to get out of it without getting stung.

    With Hawk watching his back and gun-for-hire Vinnie Morris providing extra cover, Spenser delves into a complicated and far-reaching operation: Jordan's former lover Perry Alderson is the leader of a group that helps sponsor terrorists. The Boston P.I. will use all his connections-both above and below the law-to uncover the truth behind Alderson's antigovernment organization. Alderson doesn't like Spenser poking around his business, so he decides to get to him through Susan. But what Alderson doesn't realize is that Spenser will do anything to keep Susan out of harm's way; nothing will keep him from the woman he loves.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateOct 23, 2007
    ISBN9780739339961
    Unavailable
    Now & Then: Spenser, Book 35
    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 Now & Then

    3.5/5

    247 ratings14 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Reading Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels is like eating potato chips -- crunchy, salty, greasy, and utterly without nutrition, but who cares? There will be a case to solve -- sometimes even the case he was hired to solve, there will be sexy banter with Susan and macho banter with Hawk. There will be some meals described, and some fashion choices, and then to remind you that Spenser is a real he-man, despite the cooking and fashion commentary, somebody will get punched. Or shot. Or both. This time around, what starts out as a tail on a cheating wife turns into a double murder investigation after a bugged conversation reveals possible connections with domestic terrorism.Fun way to spend an afternoon, and it won't even spoil your dinner.
    • 4/5
      If you like Spenser, you like Spenser. You might, say, read all of the books in sequence every once in a while just to remind yourself of what Boston is like — it's not like it takes more than a week or two (~3 hours per book?). Now & Then is the story of a is-my-wife-cheating-on-me case turned into a multiple homicide involving a shady professor with connections to terrorist organizations. The case resonates with Spenser since it might allow him to resolve some things about Susan's interlude with Russell Costigan. Hawk, Vinnie, Chollo, Quirk, Agent Epstein, CIA guy Ives and Pearl II all make appearances.
    • 4/5
      First off, too much Susan Silverman. Spencer and her mentioned her Harvard PHD so many times, it eventually became irritating. Actually the presence of Silverman in the plot sort of dragged the whole book down. The ending seemed more like it was time to end the book without really completing the plot.
    • 1/5
      Maybe the worst book I've ever read. Don't waste your time. I got the book for a dime at a local library when I found myself on the way to a place where I would spend time waiting, sans book. Hadn't read this author and won't again. All the characters speak in the same clipped style; they all sound alike except for Hawk possibly and only in minor ways is he different. It's an adolescent book, at best. I'm sorry I wasted time I could have spent reading something worthwhile. It would be nice to at least give the author credit for spending a few days writing it, but substance is lacking in books that are churned out by the dozen, it seems.
    • 4/5
      Now and Then is the thirty-fifth of Robert B. Parker’s forty novels featuring the redoubtable Spenser (with an “s”), a Boston based, literate, ex-boxer turned private eye. In this one, Spenser is retained by a jealous husband to find out whether his wife is seeing another man. Sure enough, she is unfaithful, but shortly after Spenser breaks the bad news to the husband, both wife and husband are murdered. Spenser doesn’t like his clients to be murdered, so he sets about trying to catch the killer even though there is no client paying for his services. He is pretty sure of the killer’s identity, but in order to obtain proof, he sets up an elaborate scheme that endangers his One True Love, Harvard educated psychologist, Susan Silverman. Spenser needs the help of three of his not-very-legal, but very tough buddies (Hawk, Vinnie Morris, and Chollo), all of whom have appeared in previous Spenser novels, to protect Susan. It’s always fun to be around Spenser’s buddies. Big, minatory, and black Hawk refers to “the honkie in the woodpile.” Chollo, a Latino hit man, who always says “si” instead of “yes” often refers to his humble native “village,” which turns out to be Bel-Air. As in all Spenser novels, the dialog is saucy, e.g., as when Spenser first meets his client (and murder victim) to be:"You Spenser?" he said."And proud of it," I said.He looked at me aggressively and didn't say anything. I smiled pleasantly."Are you being a wise guy?" he said."Only for a second," I said. "What can I do for you?""I don't like this," he said."Well," I said. "It's a start.""I don't like funny either," he said."Then we should do great," I said."My name is Dennis Doherty," he said."I love alliteration," I said."What?""There I go again," I said."Listen, pal. You don't want my business, just say so.""I don't want your business," I said."Okay," he said.He stood and walked toward my door. He opened it and stopped and turned around."I came on a little strong," he said."I noticed that," I said."Lemme start over," Doherty said.I nodded."Try not to frighten me," I said.Spenser and Susan usually engage in sexy bedroom banter, but in this novel they actually discuss getting married. Spenser novels are a lot of fun and easy reading. This one is no exception, although I would rate it a little below some of the others. (JAB)
    • 5/5
      Yes, I loved it. Read in very short time. I began to find the Spenser/Susan thing a bit much ... but I survived. Loved the dialogue and characters. Perhaps a little too "rough" for my tastes ... but I survived. Very prolific writer, Parker. One of my favorites.
    • 1/5
      I was well aware of the whole Parker-Spencer series, so I read this one, (my first one) and I finished it. It's an easy read--sparse, to the the point, and not over the top with gratutious violence, the latter has become a big turn off in my reading novels of this pop suspense/mystery genre. Thus, in that aspect Now and Then has a positive. After about 2/3rds of the book, however, I found myself losing interest. I can't even remember the cast of characters except for Spencer and his sidekick, Hawk. There's some past baggage with Spencer and his main gal, a shrink, who seems to be in trouble with the antagontist.I have two more Spencer novels awaiting a future read; I'm glad I didn't pay for any of them.Anyway, ho-hum.
    • 4/5
      Sorry, Spenser still charms me, as repetitive, predictable, shallow as they are, I've been reading them with pleasure for two decades. I still get at least one out-loud chuckle from every book.Spenser books are the ultimate cheeseburgers...lacking any nutritional value, and utterly delicious.
    • 4/5
      Thirtyfive Spenser novels over 35 years is quite enough to establish whether you like this series or not. Either way, this is not the place to start reading Robert B Parker. Because the plot is essentially referential to a couple of novels from the late 1980s and because Parker has honed his already spare style to a core, this is a book for afficiondoes. Personally, I was pleased to see Spenser and Susan discuss marriage. Apart from this, only details are new. It is like visiting an old friend; we grew up together and the familiar need not be dull or repetitious.
    • 4/5
      If you like Spenser, you like Spenser. You might, say, read all of the books in sequence every once in a while just to remind yourself of what Boston is like — it's not like it takes more than a week or two (~3 hours per book?). Now & Then is the story of a is-my-wife-cheating-on-me case turned into a multiple homicide involving a shady professor with connections to terrorist organizations. The case resonates with Spenser since it might allow him to resolve some things about Susan's interlude with Russell Costigan. Hawk, Vinnie, Chollo, Quirk, Agent Epstein, CIA guy Ives and Pearl II all make appearances.
    • 2/5
      This is about the 757th Spenser novel, and like the last 5 or so, it's very routine. The book zips along, but it's not much fun. And Spenser and Susan just keep discussing or failing to discuss their temporary split up of 20 years earlier. Does anyone really care? Not me. Spenser should be retired.
    • 3/5
      I never thought I would say this, but I"m getting tired of Spenser. This book makes Spenser recall how he felt 20 years (20years!!) ago when Susan had an affair, and the whole book was essentially about that, and I just felt like, it was 20 years ago, get over it. I mean he kept saying he was over it, but he hadn't let himself kill the man then, and has to deal with the fall out of an affair for the man who approached him and his wife. The dialogue wasn't as witty or felt more predictable, and the mystery wasn't so mysterious. There were also way too many bodies, to have no repercussions for Spenser and his gang. So this one didn't work for me. I prefer John Sandford right now.
    • 3/5
      The "Spenser" series has been running for so long (The Godwulf Manuscript appeared more than 35 years ago) and the characters have become so well-established that reading a new one is a little like reading a Greek myth you've never encountered before. You know how Spenser, Susan, Hawk, and the rest of Parker's stock company are going to think and act . . . just like you know that Achilles is going to be proud and invincible, Odysseus wily and cunning, Athena wise and grave, and so on. You don't really want to see Achilles embark on a second career as a minstrel or Athena get plastered and whoop it up with Bacchus and Apollo.Viewed on those terms, Now and Then delivers the goods in the solid, polished, professional way we've come to expect from Parker. Spenser, Susan, Hawk, and the rest do what they do and the mystery--does it really matter what the details are, at this point in the series?--unspools in competent if not especially inspired fashion. Long-time fans of the series will, inevitably, find many of the scenes familiar (the Nth visit to a suspect's old high school, the Nth dig at pompous college professors, another instance of Susan endangered by a client (see Crimson Joy) and so forth. Among the familiar bits, however, Parker still manages to offer details that are fresh: Frank Belson's eye for crime-scene detail, Vinnie Morris' long-ago career as an electrician, the need to patch bullet holes in the wall after a shoot-out. If you still enjoy a few hours spent in the company of the old gang, watching them be their archetypal selves, you'll enjoy the book.Note: Many fans of the series have, over the years, become a little fed up with the relationship between Spenser and Susan and the amount of time that Parker spends showing us how besotted they are with each other. I don't fall into that category myself (I like the idea of a tough-guy detective in an adult, emotionally fulfilling relationship with a woman, and I can put up with Susan's implausible perfection on the grounds that we only see her through the eyes of someone blind to her faults). If you do fall into that category, be warned: The principal subplot in Now and Then is Spenser and Susan talking about their relationship and how the events of his current case echo what they went through twenty years earlier (in Valediction and A Catskill Eagle). I'm not sure whether I buy the subplot or not, but I have to give Parker credit for being willing, at this stage of the series, to examine one of its least-examined elements.
    • 4/5
      Spenser and Susan edge towards getting married. A bad guy edges towards endangering Susan, but doesn't actually do it. Parker should have pushed this closer to the edge.