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A Nick Williams Mystery #13
The Paradoxical Parent
Monday, March 7, 1955
It's been a big year for Nick & Carter and they are finally back home in San Francisco, trying to take it easy after all their globe-trotting adventures.
But, there's no rest for the weary, not yet, as Nick learns about the last place his mother lived before she died and is off again, across the country, going from the warm waters of the South Pacific to his first real-life snowstorm in New England.
As he and Carter, helped by Frankie & Maria Vasco, meet some of the people who once knew Nick's mother and learn more about who she was and who she loved, they also encounter one of the most disturbing things to come from Nick's own past.
After a policeman is murdered and other innocent people are threatened, Nick realizes it's time to put a stop to a killer's madness, even if it means that he has to pull the trigger himself.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 31, 2017
23 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
Frank W. Butterfield
123 books106 followersFrank W. Butterfield, not an assumed name, loves old movies, wise-cracking smart guys with hearts of gold, and writing for fun.
Although he worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast.
Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983.
After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he currently makes his home in a hurricane-proof apartment with superior water pressure that was built in 1926.
While he hasn't met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.
Although he worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast.
Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983.
After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he currently makes his home in a hurricane-proof apartment with superior water pressure that was built in 1926.
While he hasn't met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 30, 2017
The Pardoxical Parent (Nick Williams #13)
Frank W. Butterfield
BY the author 2017
Four stars
“I saw a small purple flowers poking out through a patch of grime-covered snow.”
“And, gee. Wow. I didn’t realize you were both real.”
Ack. Book 13 in a series, and it just gets more intense! This one is very emotional, something we should have anticipated in the previous book, when Nick finds sixteen letters written to his father by his mother—after she was supposed to have died. Trick is, Nick’s father never read those letters.
There are tears. And anxiety. And, strangely enough, more joy than one might have anticipated.
Nick and Carter head East, to rural New England, where neither have ever been. They’re on the trail of Alexandra Williams, Nick’s long lamented mother, who supposedly died back in 1929 when Nick and his sister were just children. We thought we knew what had happened, until these letters turned up.
Volume 13 of the adventures of Nick and Carter, and their band of unconventional men and women, seems broadly to be about the meaning of life—and death. There is some rather unpleasant death in it, although the mystery is about a death that happened in the past. It is a journey of discovery for Nick, and therefore also for Carter, because this highly-charged narrative always circles back to these two young men, who have become internationally known—and not necessarily in a good way—simply because they love each other.
What is home? What is family? What is cruelty? What is generosity? These and other questions add the emotional spice that makes this book strikingly different from the dozen that have preceded it. The life we live is only partly decided by what other people do. Ultimately, our choices decide what our life will be. For a series of novels that purport to be all about hijinks in the fabulous fifties, there is an unexpected profundity in Frank Butterfield’s never-ending story.
Frank W. Butterfield
BY the author 2017
Four stars
“I saw a small purple flowers poking out through a patch of grime-covered snow.”
“And, gee. Wow. I didn’t realize you were both real.”
Ack. Book 13 in a series, and it just gets more intense! This one is very emotional, something we should have anticipated in the previous book, when Nick finds sixteen letters written to his father by his mother—after she was supposed to have died. Trick is, Nick’s father never read those letters.
There are tears. And anxiety. And, strangely enough, more joy than one might have anticipated.
Nick and Carter head East, to rural New England, where neither have ever been. They’re on the trail of Alexandra Williams, Nick’s long lamented mother, who supposedly died back in 1929 when Nick and his sister were just children. We thought we knew what had happened, until these letters turned up.
Volume 13 of the adventures of Nick and Carter, and their band of unconventional men and women, seems broadly to be about the meaning of life—and death. There is some rather unpleasant death in it, although the mystery is about a death that happened in the past. It is a journey of discovery for Nick, and therefore also for Carter, because this highly-charged narrative always circles back to these two young men, who have become internationally known—and not necessarily in a good way—simply because they love each other.
What is home? What is family? What is cruelty? What is generosity? These and other questions add the emotional spice that makes this book strikingly different from the dozen that have preceded it. The life we live is only partly decided by what other people do. Ultimately, our choices decide what our life will be. For a series of novels that purport to be all about hijinks in the fabulous fifties, there is an unexpected profundity in Frank Butterfield’s never-ending story.
August 10, 2017
Best of Series Thus Far
I have read and enjoyed the series, but this was special. We got to see Nick on his most challenging case because it was his most personal.
Discovering what happened with his mother and confronting an old boyhood acquaintance. I look forward to these stories anxious to read them, but hate when they are over. I hope you have many more for us.
I have read and enjoyed the series, but this was special. We got to see Nick on his most challenging case because it was his most personal.
Discovering what happened with his mother and confronting an old boyhood acquaintance. I look forward to these stories anxious to read them, but hate when they are over. I hope you have many more for us.
October 21, 2017
So, I will admit that I like these books so much, I try to savor them and only read one chapter a day. That was really hard with this one, because so many things happened. New characters introduced, old characters... well, no spoilers. This series continues to surprise and delight.
August 1, 2017
The next instalment in the Nick Williams PI series finds Nick and Carter reading the letters they had found in the travel chest and going in search of Nick’s mother who had left home then disappeared when he was a boy. The plot becomes complicated when people they have met along the way are mysteriously murdered.
This is an intriguing and exciting story and, as we have come to expect from Frank, extremely well written. He keeps the suspense going and is not afraid to let our heroes show their emotions.
This is an intriguing and exciting story and, as we have come to expect from Frank, extremely well written. He keeps the suspense going and is not afraid to let our heroes show their emotions.
August 3, 2017
I just love this series! Truly I hope they never end!
March 8, 2019
Another month in the lives of Nick and Carter, this time he is uncovering the mystery of what happened to his mother.
July 8, 2019
Nick finally learns what happened to his mother, and it's a mixture of sad and satisfying and lovely. And I love how Butterfield writes about Carter and Nick's love for one another. A secondary character, explaining to Carter how differently he sees the world after the war:
"I used to be cynical and laugh at anyone who cared too much about anything. How I know what's precious. What's important. And that's love [...] there's nothing more important."Sigh - beautifully written.
Looking up at Carter, he said, "But I don't have to tell you that, Mr. Jones, do I?"
Carter smiled."No."
"What makes you that say?" I [Nick] asked.
The doctor put this hand on my shoulder and looked into my eyes. "You can't see the way he looks at you when you're looking at someone else. But I know that look. I saw it upstairs as you were talking to your friends and he was watching you. It's how I look at my wife when she's chatting with her friends at a party or talking to the parish priest. I'm in love with her in a way now that I couldn't understand before I left."
January 28, 2019
All the feels! So much at stake emotionally even while knowing that Nick was never in mortal danger himself, his attempt at protecting the circle around him was intense.
Three deaths, one in the past, one in the present time of the story and one in the future (Which is setup but happens off-page), taken in the aggregate with everything else that's happened I'm sure the only reason Nick is so resilient is due to Carter's love and support. Just the idea that Carter could be removed from his life had me on the edge of my seat.
From the first book, Nick has lost the two most important women in his life, and it was touching to see him reflecting upon the fact that he has the four terrors and Marnie and an abundance of important women in his life to love and support him. That level of self-awareness is something he often brushed aside to get here. I hope he'll have more time for self-reflection and that he continues to grow as a person.
Three deaths, one in the past, one in the present time of the story and one in the future (Which is setup but happens off-page), taken in the aggregate with everything else that's happened I'm sure the only reason Nick is so resilient is due to Carter's love and support. Just the idea that Carter could be removed from his life had me on the edge of my seat.
From the first book, Nick has lost the two most important women in his life, and it was touching to see him reflecting upon the fact that he has the four terrors and Marnie and an abundance of important women in his life to love and support him. That level of self-awareness is something he often brushed aside to get here. I hope he'll have more time for self-reflection and that he continues to grow as a person.
December 28, 2019
Wow
I loved this book. I could so relate to what Nick was going through as he searched for answers to why his mom suddenly left when he was a young boy. My heart broke for him. My mother also suddenly left me and my two older siblings leaving my father to raise us as a single parent. Oh boy, the tissues were used throughout this book like crazy. But as with all this author’s books in this series so far, the depth of the plot included much more than just this one theme. There are surprises galore. I’m talking one after the other and mixed in among others, if that makes any sense, lol. There are so many OMG moments. And well, I knew Nick had a hot temper, well guess what? So does Carter. I mean hot, give it to me baby sizzling HAWT! Another 5* book.
I loved this book. I could so relate to what Nick was going through as he searched for answers to why his mom suddenly left when he was a young boy. My heart broke for him. My mother also suddenly left me and my two older siblings leaving my father to raise us as a single parent. Oh boy, the tissues were used throughout this book like crazy. But as with all this author’s books in this series so far, the depth of the plot included much more than just this one theme. There are surprises galore. I’m talking one after the other and mixed in among others, if that makes any sense, lol. There are so many OMG moments. And well, I knew Nick had a hot temper, well guess what? So does Carter. I mean hot, give it to me baby sizzling HAWT! Another 5* book.
December 30, 2017
Number 13 and the Most Satisfying Yet
Since Nick spends so much time in the air these days, I decided it was fitting to post this review right away and while flying through the air...
The Paradoxical Parent goes down as another of my favorites. I might dare to say, the new best of the best. I've read each Nick Williams P.I. mystery in order, and yet I was not only surprised by the whole general subject of this volume, but also by all the many meandering paths within it. What magic to find the 13th in a series so fresh, so satisfying, and so delicious! Frank Butterfield astounds...once again! My love for so many of these characters continues to grow.
Since Nick spends so much time in the air these days, I decided it was fitting to post this review right away and while flying through the air...
The Paradoxical Parent goes down as another of my favorites. I might dare to say, the new best of the best. I've read each Nick Williams P.I. mystery in order, and yet I was not only surprised by the whole general subject of this volume, but also by all the many meandering paths within it. What magic to find the 13th in a series so fresh, so satisfying, and so delicious! Frank Butterfield astounds...once again! My love for so many of these characters continues to grow.
March 31, 2025
I just LOVE this Nick Williams Mystery series from Frank W. Butterfield. I savor the books and get so excited when I decide to treat myself to the next one. This one traces the history of Nick's mother and also he runs into Ricky once again, his juvenile delinquent buddy who seems to be more than a bit crazy. Nick and Carter travel a lot in these books. This time they head to New Hampshire, Vermont, and Boston, MA. So much fun. I breezed through this one and loved every minute of it. 13 read and only 25 more to go!
May 25, 2018
As always, my love of this incredible series just grows! This was one of my favorites in Mr. Butterfield's collection. These books read like an email from an old friend in the way that they are narrated by Nick. I'm glad that both Alexandra and Evelyn has their stories told with such care and precision. When read in order, this series is a must read.
August 22, 2018
Awesome as always.
September 22, 2018
A Good Story
It is the first time I've ever read this Author. I enjoyed the storyline, and the characters.A good mystery indeed.
It is the first time I've ever read this Author. I enjoyed the storyline, and the characters.A good mystery indeed.
October 4, 2018
Yet another fantastic story and time spent with good friends. Can't wait to read the next one but I try and space them out just a bit as I don't want the series to come to and end.
October 24, 2018
Such a sad story for Nick to learn about his mother's leaving.
March 13, 2018
super dooper loved it!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews