Stardust

Spenser #17

by Robert B. Parker

Spenser's never had a client like Jill Joyce, the star of TV's Fifty Minutes. She's beautiful, bitchy, sexy--and someone is stalking her. Spenser can hardly blame the would-be assassin...until he means the true meaning of "stage fright."

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Detective, Crime, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Suspense

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1990

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database named Robert B. Parker.
Robert Brown Parker was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works were the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character in the mid-1980s; a series of TV movies was also produced based on the character. His works incorporate encyclopedic knowledge of the Boston metropolitan area. The Spenser novels have been cited as reviving and changing the detective genre by critics and bestselling authors including Robert Crais, Harlan Coben, and Dennis Lehane.
Parker also wrote nine novels featuring the fictional character Jesse Stone, a Los Angeles police officer who moves to a small New England town; six novels with the fictional character Sunny Randall, a female private investigator; and four Westerns starring the duo Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. The first was Appaloosa, made into a film starring Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen.

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stardust is only two books away from the halfway point of Parker’s Spenser novels, and it wouldn’t be long before the series would begin to decline. If you would have asked me before I began my recent re-read of the series, I would have told you that is was with this book that the rot began to show. But I’ve changed my mind. Stardust is a pretty good novel.

One reason I hated this book the first time around is because the character at the center of the action—Jill Joyce, the beautiful TV actress Spenser must protect, whose stalker he must identify and defuse—is a royal pain in the ass. She’s a drunk who tries to lay any man near her, not out of passion but because of a need for control, and she appears to have no brains, no memory, no emotional depth, and no capacity for loyalty or friendship. So there's that.

This time through I liked the book more because I began to understand better what Parker is doing here. Parker likes to write books in which Spenser, the white knight, tries to save lost souls in trouble, and these lost souls have never been the type that grant to their savior any warm fuzzy emotional rewards. On the other hand, they are usually young people, underdogs, often defenseless, and this makes them easier to sympathize with, if not exactly to like.

This time, though, I believe Parker said to himself: what if I write a novel in which Spenser's lost soul is neither young (Jill is in her late thirties, maybe older), nor an underdog (Jill is at the height of her popularity), nor defenseless (sexuality is quite a weapon, and popularity a formidable bargaining chip), and, what if, in addition, she is responsible for much of what happens to her? Now, first, how can I convince Spenser to save her?. And then— here comes the hard part—how can I convince my reader that she is worth the saving?

As far as I’m concerned, Parker accomplishes these goals in Stardust. How? Well-without giving much of anything away—I’ll just say that it has much to do with a retreat to the woods and some healing involving three orphan dogs with whom Jillian Joyce has a personal historical connection.

It comes very late in the novel though. In fact, it wasn’t till the penultimate page that I realized Parker had successfully worked his magic again. Well, it least the magic worked on me.

[Kemper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series was adapted into a television show called Spenser For Hire in the mid-’80s. Although the show was a cut above the other cops-n-robbers shows of the era, it was still the ‘80s so it was far from perfect and it was a series where the portrayal of sidekick Hawk by Avery Brooks overshadowed the hero. (After the series was cancelled, there was a brief attempt to spin off the character in A Man Called Hawk.)

Parker worked as a consultant on the series but there’s evidence that his experiences with Hollywood didn’t go particularly well. Exhibit A* is the novel Stardust he wrote after the show was cancelled.

* (Exhibit B is radio interview I once heard with Parker where he told a great story that kind of summed up his attitude towards Hollywood. He was in L.A. for some reason, and he got asked to attend a meeting with Helen Hunt. This was around the time she’d just won an Oscar, and she was flavor of the month. Hunt was a fan of Parker’s books and wanted him to write a screenplay featuring a female detective that she’d play.

Parker refused on the basis that he’d done screenplay work before and hated working on projects that either never saw the light of day or were heavily modified. He told Hunt that he’d try to write a book with a female detective and give her first crack at buying the rights if she was interested. That way he’d at least get a book published out of the deal if a film was never made. The result was Family Honor with Sunny Randall. Hunt did buy the film rights and Parker liked the character so he wrote several other book featuring Sunny . However, no movie has been done to date so it seems like Parker knew what he was doing when it came to dealing with writing projects for Hollywood.)

Jillian Joyce is one of the most popular TV stars in America, and she’s in Boston working on a series. When Jill complains that she’s receiving threatening and harassing phone calls, Spenser is brought in to act as bodyguard and figure out if there’s any actual danger. Actually, the biggest danger is that Spenser may lose his temper and kill Jill himself since she is ‘a high octane pain in the ass’.

Jill’s a drunk, a drug user, unusually sexually aggressive and a complete diva. Plus, even though she constantly demands protection from ‘Him’, she refuses to talk about anything that might help Spenser figure out what’s going on. However, Spenser realizes that everyone around her is only interested in propping her up long enough to get the daily filming done and walking away from damsels in distress has never been his style.

Although we’re firmly in the era of ‘Good-But-Past-His-Prime-Spenser’, this is one of the better books of this phase. Parker used the experience from the Spenser For Hire TV show to give the behind the scenes stuff some weight and probably get a little revenge in the process. It’s got a couple of scenes that are among my favorites of the entire series, including Spenser’s response to a thug who has tried to intimidate him by doing karate moves on a heavy bag in a gym.

Unfortunately, this story started the trend towards Spenser trying to protect damaged people where half the mystery was him trying to figure out their psychological issues. It’s got some funny and touching moments and is definitely one of the last highlights before the series began declining.

Next up: Spenser finally reveals his secret origin in Pastime.

[Bobby Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Still I stared at her. She was trouble, alcoholic, drug addicted, nymphomaniac, egocentric, spoiled brat trouble.”


Everything about the opening of this one would lead you to believe it will end up at the lower echelon of Spenser reads; there’s far too much of the pretentious Susan Silverman; Spenser is out of his element with the show biz people; and his potential client, thanks to the starstruck psychobabble-spewing Susan, is even more unlikable than militant/feminist/lesbian Rachel Wallace — a feat all to itself — and nearly as dumb as Mary Smith from Widow’s Walk. And it takes a while to get going anywhere. But once it does, this one has some poignant moments and scenes that easily place it firmly in the upper echelon of Spenser entries.

As in Looking for Rachel Wallace, it’s hard to take Jill Joyce, who appears to have about the same depth as the shallow industry and culture of which she’s a big star — a pain in the posterior star. She’s stunning, and television fans adore her, but Jill Joyce’s cultivated image is in stark contrast to her real-life persona. She is, in essence, everything Spenser states in the opening quote to this review. But she has no one looking out for her, and to please the insipid Susan Silverman and make her happy, the ever soft-hearted Spenser agrees to be Jill's bodyguard/investigator; even though she refuses to offer any details concerning the actions of the person harassing/threatening her.

The narrative, while enjoyable enough due to Parker’s trademark sterling dialog and banter, seems to be pointlessly meandering. For a time Spenser begins to wonder if Jill Joyce is being threatened at all. But then her look-alike stand-in is murdered, and it’s clear that something is going on. Just what, is not clear, and with his client refusing to divulge even a single tidbit that might point him in a direction for investigation, he brings in Hawk to watch her — which he knows will be amusing — while he eventually heads west, to San Diego and Los Angeles, to get a bead on Jill Joyce’s past. What he uncovers brings about some fine and poignant moments, including a startling revelation from a man who had loved well but unwisely, and now only has three mongrel dogs for companionship:


“He was staring down into the swale. I didn’t say anything. It was as if he were a shattered cup, badly mended, with the shards of himself barely clinging together. One of the dogs came back from ranging and sat on Pomeroy’s feet and looked down at the swale too.”


A dirtbag sheriff, a wasted away alcoholic mother, a lover who may still love a nearly unlovable woman, a secret so dark that it explains the woman/child Jill Joyce, Spenser’s first meeting with Victor del Rio and Chollo, three mongrel dogs, a sad moment at Candy Sloan’s grave while Spenser is out in LA, and a poignant resolution to Stardust that reverberates back to the beginning make this a sterling entry in the series. While it starts off as one of the entertaining but forgettable Spenser outings, Stardust is in fact a must-read in the Spenser canon. Highly recommended.

[Bill Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A completely unlikable woman needs help but she has no one. Along comes Spenser and even when she refuses to help him save her he realizes that he is her only chance. This is one of the books that shows just how big of a heart Spenser has. Also, features the first appearances of Bobby Horse and Chollo.

[Daniel Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plot is pretty simple but the one liners carry the day.

[Jason Koivu · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit silly, a bit sad. Spenser coastal hops a couple times while trying to protect an over-the-top actress from an obsessive fan. Seems like every other door is ajar in this one.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stardust, the seventeenth book in the Spenser series, is one of the strongest entries among the first seventeen.

Spenser is hired by a TV production company to protect its most valuable star, the beautiful and sexy Jill Joyce, who is filming her series in Boston. Jill claims she is being harassed by a man, but she can't or won't provide any details. Jill drinks too much and apparently comes on to any man she meets, with Spenser being no exception. Although Spenser finds her difficult to deal with, he recognizes that her fear is real, and he is determined to help her. Ultimately he enlists Hawk's help to guard Jill while he tries to find out who is harassing her. His investigation leads him to uncover secrets from Jill's past that she has long tried to bury.

Stardust features lots of philosophizing and sardonic self-reflection by Spenser, along with the requisite tough-guy banter between Spenser and the cops, the clients, and some other tough guys. Spenser also reveals his sensitive side when dealing with a man to whom life hasn't been kind. There's some of the usual romance with Susan, but thankfully it's not quite as cloying as it often is. Hawk isn't involved quite as much as I'd like, but his scenes are stellar, as they always are.

Spenser excels when his task is to rescue or protect someone who's a lost soul. Jill Joyce doesn't initially seem to fit the bill, but as Spenser learns more about her, his—and the reader's—sympathy for her is fully engaged. In the end, Spenser's plan to save Jill connects this book with Early Autumn, the seventh book in the series. It's probably no coincidence that that is one of my favorites too.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

(The word "maroon" appears only once in this novel)

4.5 stars
I enjoyed this book very much, especially the lyrical walk in the woods at the cabin, and the hopeful, redemptive ending. Things come together sweetly then, a very good "Spenser success" ending. I don't believe Spenser kills or even shoots anyone in this book.

AND ... Jill asks Spenser's first name... and HE TELLS HER !

There are some nice moments throughout, if you can stand Jill's rants.

Personally, I believe that all bad behaviour comes from fear and pain, so I was able to tolerate Jill's antics knowing that Spenser and Susan (and Hawk) would straighten her out. Her hidden story touches on a terrible, and too-frequent occurrence in America these days. Very sad.

One beautiful moment in the book, is Spenser's visit to the grave of Candy in L.A.

The brief affair with Candy, the girl he couldn't save...
Isn't it funny how the tears can just come, sometimes -

I stood in Forest Lawn Cemetery and looked down at the marker. Candace Sloan, it said. B. 1950 D. 1981. The headstones stretched out around me in all directions, measuring the green sweep of the hillside. Behind me the rental car was parked on the drive. My suitcase was in it with the big red letters spelling ADIDAS on the side. In an hour and a half I’d be flying to Boston. In six or seven hours I’d be with Susan.

There were flowers at many of the grave sites. And there were a few other people looking at gravestones the way I was. The only sound was the swish of the water sprinklers as they arched repetitiously over the green grass; and, more distantly, the sound of traffic on the Ventura Freeway; and, over all, the hard silence—made more resounding by the hints of punctuation.

I could feel the high hot California sun on the back of my neck as I stood with my hands in my hip pockets staring down at Candy’s grave. I hadn’t been there for the funeral. The last time I’d seen her was in a degenerating oil field, faceup in a hard rain with the blood washing pinkish off her face.

I pursed my lips a little. Above us the sky was bright blue. There were a few white clouds and they were moving very lazily west toward the Pacific. Some sort of bird chittered somewhere. On the freeway a truck shifted gears on a grade. Still I stared down at the grass in front of the headstone. She wasn’t there. Whatever there was of her there didn’t matter. She probably wasn’t anywhere. I looked up and back, toward the Valley and beyond the Valley, toward the mountains. There wasn’t any smog today, and the snowcaps on some of the highest peaks were clear to see, white above the clay color of the mountains.

None of the stuff that anyone had ever written seemed useful. I had nothing much to offer either. The bird chittered again. Above me the clouds drifted west, and the sun imperceptibly followed. The sky stayed blue, the earth below stayed green. I looked again briefly at the gravestone and blew out my breath once, and turned and walked back toward my rental car.

“Some bodyguard,” I said, and even though I spoke softly, my voice sounded very loud in the still burial ground and the words seemed to hang there as I drove away.



See my review of Crimson Joy for more Spenser Series opinion...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fast-moving, well-written mystery novel, part of the famous/popular Spenser series penned by Parker way back when. The anachronistic elements - people still using beepers, actually looking up information in a telephone directory in a library, etc - are actually charming to me at least since I remember the time before the pre-smart phone, pre-personal computer, pre ubiquitous gadget - so the text somehow puts the reader back into that perhaps more innocent era. There´s that element of nostalgia or looking back in time - what dishes were popular, what the fashions were, all sorts of cultural references that make sense to me, but may not to readers of later generations.

The story of the distraught, high-strung, and rather nutty actress plays out in Mass. & Calif. In the course of his investigations, Spenser, the private detective, interviews people from various socio-economic backgrounds. He skewers phonies and hypocrites from various social classes but seems to be especially pitiless to the poor, using every stereotype imaginable to elicit contempt for various key characters who happen to be poor.

In the 30 or so years that have elapsed since the novel was written, the US has shed millions of jobs. Millions of Americans are victims of globalization. So the parts of the novel that more or less patronize the poor - although they were also pitied, to some extent - were annoying. I imagine though that if I had read the book back when it was written, in 1990, I might have simply accepted or even approved of the negative portrayals of the eccentric and poor people who live in remote, marginalized areas in basically shacks - perhaps in doing so, identified even more with Spenser´s hipness and savvy with respect to investigations, food trends, clothing etc. The description of the rural bar in W. Mass. was brutal - contained every stereotype about backward, suspicious farmers, and rundown, thrown-together establishments imaginable. There was nothing charitable about it at all. Sadly, the poor are often seen by the middle-class or rich as dumber, potentially doing something wrong to be poor.

The book - which is nevertheless well-written, as noted above - does put the reader into the 1980s or 90s. Stores crowded with Christmas shoppers, the weather much colder then, more snow in Mass. etc. That was especially nostalgic for me since I well remember the cold weather and ongoing snowy winters of the past in NYC. He had perfect descriptions of the way there was once frequent snow, different types of snow, and cycles of snow melt and refreeze, which is long gone.

Here are a couple of quotes:

¨Dover is a WASP fantasy of the nineteenth century. ... The architecture was white clapboard and the voters would probably have supported Caligula."

´Beyond the horses and facing the pasture was a barn, newly built, that mimicked the old barns of New England the way fashion mimics clothing."

[Joanne Farley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this Spencer Novel. This novel really demonstrates the traits that I love so much about spencer, and the power of Parkers novels and characters. When faced with a client that is a real pain Spencer does not give up in fact he digs is heels in. He senses there is more to this story than anyone has bothered to find out.
The final pages of this novel were gut wrenching to read and if you were not in love with Spencer before this you will be after.

[ML · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jill was beyond a difficult client for Spenser. Recommended by Susan, Spenser gets hired to guard a tv star and catch her stalker.

When Hawk, Susan and Spenser pooled their talents to try to solve Jill, hilarity ensued. This book didn’t go how you thought it would and it ended very sadly.

Side note: Paul finally gets mentioned and Rachel Wallace too. It’s nice those two are still on the periphery of Spenser’s life.

I’m going to take a break from Spenser for a bit.

[Luke Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid Spenser novel. Not breaking new ground but worth the read!

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It' been a long time since I read a Spenser novel, but he's the same "character" I remembered. His client is totally unlikeable, but he stays on the job to protect her from her harrasser whom he ultimately reveals. One of the more interesting things about the story written in 1990 is remembering the "old technology". When Spenser needs an out of state phone number he goes to the library to look it up in the various phone diretories they have. When's the last time you did that?

[Dan Gillis · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8 rounded up.

Michael I did it and read ur book.

Fast paced enough, when the author started describing the city of Boston I skimmed because I already know what that looks like but the dialogue was fun to read.

I didn’t really have to think while reading it which was nice. Just had to keep track of a few names and the name Sandy was actually a dude so that confused me for the first few chapters.

Honestly I wish some fantasy books were written like this because the pacing was actually something I really enjoyed.

I also want to see if I can put a gif in my review that I see in other people’s comments. It’s 2 am and I’m spiraling

https://media1.tenor.com/m/hkZjtfJgpA...

Well that didn’t work

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 1 out of 5]

Spenser is a private detective in Boston. Jill Joyce is a popular 40ish TV actress in a hit show and they are shooting it in Boston. When she complains that she’s been receiving threatening phone calls, Spenser is hired as her bodyguard. He is also supposed to figure out who is harassing her. He starts to think that maybe she is making it all up to draw attention to herself ... until someone is murdered. Spencer gets no help from Jill because she lies all the time and denies everything ... plus she's usually drunk and/or stoned so he's on his own to investigate.

I thought the story had potential as it sounded interesting but I didn't like it. I hated Jill ... she was an awful unlikable person. She was always drunk, smoking and doing drugs. She kept coming onto Spenser and Hawk and then acting like a bitch when they turned her down (and then passing out). Everyone knew she was like this but no one did anything about it. I found her character unbelievable and way over the top. I was glad when the story was over and I wasn't buying the "whodunnit" and why.

This is the seventeenth in the Spenser series (there are currently 46, with the last six written by Ace Atkins after Parker's death in 2010). Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone. I'd read many of the books over the years and recently started reading them from the beginning of the series ... my intent was to get through the series. I read the first seventeen in the last couple of months and need a Spenser break. It was sad to see a progression of bad storylines and lame and annoying characters.

I did like the writing style ... I found it humorous at times. Spenser is a tough guy with a wisecracking sense of humour. It's written in first person perspective in Spenser's voice. As a head's up, there is swearing.

I'm not a fan of Susan, Spenser's love interest ... she has become picky and princessy as the series progressed.

Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2017/08...

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

In "The Journal of Popular Culture," Scott R. Christianson writes about tough talk and wisecracks. "...the hardboiled detective/narrator talks all the time to the reader. He talks tough and he talks smart but mainly - as the narrator of the story as well as the protagonist - he talks a lot."

As an example of the above, Robert Parker's wonderful P.I., Spenser, demonstrates in Parker's "Stardust," published in 1990.

Spenser is asked to protect a spoiled, temperamental TV star, Jill Joyce. She stars in TV's Fifty Minutes and has been filming the TV show from Boston.

The story in "Stardust" seems realistic as we learn that someone has been harassing Jill and she demands protection. She shows that on the TV show she may be a star but off screen she's something else.

When violence erupts and someone on the TV crew is killed, Spenser goes into action to find the killer.

Jill drinks to excess and seems like a sex starved nymphomaniac, but underneath her outward persona, Spenser recognizes fear and vulnerability.

He investigates her background and learns things that make him sad to see. How can someone who had to rise above misfortune gain the public spotlight? And, at what cost?

There are lessons of endearment and loyalty that Spenser demonstrates to his own love, psychologist, Susan and we see the empathy Spenser shows for a number of people associated with Jill whose lives have also been shattered.

For a dish of mystery topped with a flavoring of humor, this can be the main course.

[Nanosynergy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uber popular nymph/lush star Jill Joyce needs a bodyguard. She is filming a show in Boston and reporting threats. Spenser's girlfriend, Susan, is a consultant on the Joyce's TV series. When Joyce reports threats, Susan recommends Spenser for the job of bodyguard. This eventually draws in Hawk as Spenser pursues figuring out who is threatening Joyce and why. However, Jill Joyce is obstinately doing everything possible not to provide information or assist Spenser and Hawk in this investigation. And her past is a bit of Breakfast at Tiffany's on steroids. The investigation did not really meander to anywhere/way that was all that believable.

Some aspects of this book remind me of book #8, A Savage Place, in which Spenser also was a bodyguard - that time for start Los Angeles television reporter Candy Sloan. A failed stint as a bodyguard that ended in her brutal murder - something that still haunts Spenser. Candy's physical description sounded similar to Jill's. Spenser even visits her LA grave in Stardust.

Spenser seems to be getting hired regularly as a bodyguard, with investigation on the side. Not sure that bodyguard equals PI.

[Brent Soderstrum · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 17th book of Parker's Spenser series and quite frankly it is one of his better ones. In this novel Spenser is hired by a TV studio to investigate the harassment their star actress, Jill Joyce, is receiving while filming in Boston. Spenser is also suppose to protect her.

Unlike most Spenser novels we are kept in suspense as to who is the person harassing, if anyone, till the end of the book. Jill is a spoiled actress who abuses any and all substances and wants to mount any man who comes around her. No a likeable person. She is a good example of someone who the public sees and envies because it appears on the outside that she has it made. We learn throughout the book that Jill really is messed up by what has gone on with her life and is miserable.

She tells Spenser she is receiving harassing phone calls but she doesn't know who from. She also won't share anything about her life and her past. Spenser has to find out about lovers, husbands and family all on his own with no help from Jill. Things ramp up when a stunt double for Jill is killed.

Quite a few references to characters from past books so it will help with your enjoyment of the book if you start from the beginning and read all of Spenser's adventures. They are quick easy reads with witty banter between Spenser and others. Especially entertaining is the Hawk/Spenser relationship and interaction.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always like reading Robert B Parker... the Spenser novels are quick reading usually, and I use them as sort of a "palate cleanser" between other books. I always get a kick out of the interplay between Spenser and Hawk. I like the dedication of this one, which is to his wife, Joan, and is "No dream in vain", a reference to the classic song "Stardust". I also like reading the descriptions of Boston.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The client Spenser was hired to find out who is stalking her...tests even the kind hearted big guy. Jill Joyce the hottest TV star, comes across as a spoiled biatch. With the ever present wit, and Spenser wanting to get to the bottom of it all, to find out what really is going on....another good tale by Mr. Parker.

[Bing Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the best things about Spenser

Teamwork, toughness, terseness. Here was a good interchange, as Spenser warns about an incoming threat: “Remember that big geek named Randall, thinks he’s tougher than Oliver North?” “Wow,” Hawk said. “Randall does karate.” “Good,” Hawk said. “It’s fun to watch.”

[Michael McCue · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 17th in Robert B. Parker's mystery novels about the Boston private detective Spenser. This one, Stardust, was published around 1991. It doesn't seem dated, though when characters need a telephone they look for one with a cord. Readers should consider starting with Parker's books in order of publishing. The characters and and relationships an plots build on each other. Spenser is far from perfect, but he is loyal, kind and ethical. A former heavyweight boxer he can still deliver a knockout punch and he knocked down at least one pushy offensive bad guy in this book. In Stardust Spenser is hired to guard a troubled actress who is on location in Boston. Spenser's girlfriend, the psychologist Susan, is also involved as a consultant to the movie that the story revolves around. The actress, Jill, has many problems including a serious drinking issue. Who is stalking Jill, or is she making it all up. When Jills stunt double is murdered Spenser sets out to find who did that and why. Was the double mistaken for Jill, or was her murder about something else. Spenser follows lead and hints from Boston and the nearby suburbs to the Berkshire hill towns, Los Angeles and San
Diego and back. Along the way he rescues the three dogs of a suicide victim. How does it work out. Read it and see. But read the earlier books first.

[Scott A. Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the least violent Spenser books so far and that’s okay. The client in this one wasn’t very likable at first but turned out to have more than enough reasons to be that way. This one was more Spenser and less of Susan and Hawk. Quirk and Belson were almost non existent. Missing those four kept it from being five stars. That’s how good they have become as characters.

[Del · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spenser is hired to guard the body of Jill Joyce, the hottest TV star around, who has been receiving harassing phone calls and threats. Joyce is an obnoxious drunk, and generally unpleasant to everyone, including Spenser, when she's not trying to seduce him. But is there more to her than there first appears?

I think Parker may have written this one in his sleep. It feels like he's coasting here, and there are very few highlights. We could at least have got a passage where Spenser cooks, for crying out loud. Even Hawk feels bored. It gets an extra star for introducing Victor Del Rio, and his muscle, Chollo, two recurring characters I like very much (not to mention their associate, Bobby Horse). That aside, I won't remember this one fondly. Or at all. NEXT!

[Penny Evenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spenser's never had a client like Jill Joyce, the star of TV's Fifty Minutes. She's beautiful, bitchy, sexy--and someone is stalking her. Spenser can hardly blame the would-be assassin...until he means the true meaning of "stage fright."
Great book - surprise ending (as usual for Robert B. Parker).

[Jackie Knapton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading one of Robert B Parker’s books is never a letdown. I really had no idea who was the bad person in this scenario.

[Sunhawk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parker at his kindest and best.

[Stewart Sternberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't the best Spencer novel, but it's still Spencer. The problem here is that the writing feels like filler. Perhaps Parker sought a new direction ; but he didn't pull it off. While the novel still has all the elements that make the series great, it still struggles and limps along.

[Carolyn (in SC) C234D · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Spenser mystery, #17. Who is threatening TV star Jill Joyce? She’s a lush, a coke addict, and obnoxious, but Spenser will help her because she has no one else.

[PelicanFreak · Rating 5 out of 5]

The one with Jill Joyce …
Opens on a movie set and Spenser’s wit actually gets a laugh from at least one of the crew. We so rarely find people with as good a sense of humor as Spenser in this series.

**First time we see Spenser asked for his first name. Jill asked him for it and he simply tells the reader that he told her and then it shows her disapproving of it and vowing to figure out something else to call him. He suggests Pebbles.**

Set around the holidays and does a good job of conveying a wintery / Christmassy vibe.

This one did manage to be a bit more mysterious than some, due to Spenser’s client being a total flake (it’s hard to tell if she’s just attention-seeking or genuinely in danger).

As usual, Spenser’s compassion shows strongly through his actions.
Overall, a fun read, especially the hateable, yet pathetic and really just broken protagonist.

5 stars.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️


**Recurring characters introduced here:
-Chollo
-Bobby Horse

We also see Samuelson, who we know from Candy Sloan’s book.


Audio:
This narrator … is okay. While he does NOT bother with a Boston accent, there is a vibe to his vintage-y sound and being 5 books in now, I’m getting used to him. :)



First edition cover:





Spenser Reading Order:

1. The Godwulf Manuscript (1973)
2. God Save the Child (1974)
3. Mortal Stakes (1975)
4. Promised Land (1976)
5. The Judas Goat (1978)
6. Looking for Rachel Wallace (1980)
7. Early Autumn (1980)
8. A Savage Place (1981)
9. Ceremony (1982)
10. The Widening Gyre (1983)
11. Valediction (1984)
12. A Catskill Eagle (1985)
13. Taming a Seahorse (1986)
14. Pale Kings and Princes (1987)
15. Crimson Joy (1988)
16. Playmates (1989)
17. Stardust (1990)
18. Pastime (1991)
19. Double Deuce (1991)
20. Paper Doll (1993)
21. Walking Shadow (1994)
22. Thin Air (1995)
23. Chance (1996)
24. Small Vices (1997)
25. Sudden Mischief (1998)
26. Hush Money (1999)
27. Hugger Mugger (2000)
28. Potshot (2001)
29. Widow's Walk (2002)
30. Back Story (2003)
31. Bad Business (2004)
32. Cold Service (2005)
33. School Days (2005)
34. Dream Girl (2006)
35. Now and Then (2007)
36. Rough Weather (2008)
36.5 Chasing the Bear (2009)
37. The Professional (2009)
38. Painted Ladies (2010)
39. Sixkill (2011)
39.5 Silent Night (2013)
Spenser: A Mysterious Profile (2022)

continued in the series by Ace Atkins