What do you think?
Rate this book
Spenser #26
Hush Money
Spenser has his hands full when he takes on two cases at once. In the first, a high-minded university might be hiding a killer within a swamp of political correctness. And in the other, Spenser comes to the aid of a stalking victim, only to find himself the unwilling object of the woman's dangerous affection.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published March 8, 1999
523 people are currently reading
1254 people want to read
About the author
Robert B. Parker
489 books2,296 followersLibrarian 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 290 reviews
March 31, 2020
"Being a professor and working are not the same thing. The academic community is composed largely of nitwits. If I may generalize. People who don't know very much about what matters very much, who view life through literature rather than the other way around." - Robert B. Parker
Q: What does the Orson Welles film, A Touch of Evil, have in common with Robert B. Parker’s novel, Hush Money?
A: Both wallow in the seedy and corrupt side of life so thoroughly that upon finishing either one, you feel like running into the shower and turning on the hot water just to get the grime off.
The above quote — not from this book — reflects how Parker, who had spent time in academia, felt about what he observed and experienced there. This is what Spenser says in Hush Money:
“Whenever I got involved with anything related to a university, I was reminded of how seriously everyone took everything, particularly themselves, and I had to keep a firm grip on my impulse to make fun.” — Spenser
In essence, Hush Money is a scathing indictment of the institutions of supposedly higher learning; its pretension and self-importance; its overwhelming liberalism and left-leaning, and its disdain for anyone who doesn’t fall in line with university thinking; and the utter hypocrisy of many — but not all — with PhDs who have bought into such. Perhaps no statement in the novel sums this up better than the one by a faculty member whom Spenser likes:
“They think it (a Ph.D) empowers their superior insight into government and foreign policy and race relations and such. In addition these people are put into an environment where daily, they judge themselves against a standard set by eighteen-or twenty-year-old kids who know little if anything about the subject matter in which their professors are expert.” — “Exemplar of the species is Lillian Temple. There is no liberal agenda, however goofy, that will not attract her attention. There is no hypocrisy, however bald, that she will not endure if she can convince herself that it is in the service of right thinking.” — Tommy Harmon
Harmon is a faculty member, and one of the scarce decent people of integrity Spenser encounters while investigating whether a black professor named by his father after Jackie Robinson, and who is not the “right” kind of black guy, has been denied tenure unfairly. The man who named him is Bobby Nevins, an important figure in Hawk’s path out of the ghetto, which we at least get a surface peek at in this one. We also get the extraordinary revelation, that one of the male black professors at the university, who has since changed his name, once tried to seduce young Hawk.
Yes, the seediness is high, here, but it hardly ends there. In fact, it’s only just beginning. In addition to being a hard and unpleasant look at academia, this is a hard and unpleasant look at the male gay community, and it begins bothering Spenser. Just how bad it is, is revealed by gay cop, Lee Farrell’s comments to Spenser when it becomes obvious the case is making him quite uncomfortable:
“Lemme tell you what’s bothering you. You’re chasing along after whatever it is that you can’t quite catch, and every gay person you encounter is sleazy, crooked, second rate, and generally unpleasant. And, being a basically decent guy, despite the smart mouth, you fear that maybe you are prejudiced and it’s clouding your judgement. Same thing happens to me with blacks. I spend two months on drug-related homicide and everybody’s black, and everybody’s a vicious sleaze bag, and I begin to wonder, is it me? No. We deal with the worst. You got a case involving murder and blackmail, most of the people you meet are going to be scumbags.”
That almost sums up the book, as this is a walk on the sleazy side, and the ones with the most education, may be the sleaziest. Their hypocrisy is, indeed, as pointed out here, breathtaking. Looking into what seems frivolous at first, as a favor to Hawk, Spenser discovers that a suicide linked to Nevins was probably murder. It was the rumor that Nevins is gay, and having an affair with the student which kept him from attaining tenure. But Nevins is a black who doesn’t fit into an academia profile others would like. Being fairly conservative in his approach to teaching, preferring his English students to learn about dead white guys like Shakespeare, rather than studying Modern Black Anger, has not won him friends and influence. Spenser isn’t even certain Nevins is gay, much less that he was connected to the murdered student. And Nevins isn’t saying. His reason for remaining silent on the issue, which is revealed late in the novel, show him to be more like his father, Bobby Nevins, than either Robinson or Spenser had imagined.
Amir is the professor who had hit on Hawk years ago, and there is a palpable disgust here from Hawk. Spenser can’t even figure out why Hawk dislikes him so much, because he’s just another sleazy, self-important member of academia using the situation and culture for his own aggrandizement. In other words, nothing new under the sun for university life. When the reason for Hawk’s disdain is finally revealed, it is shocking. Though at this point, the series had become more entertainment than substance, it at least gave readers a glimpse into Hawk’s past, and fleshed his character out to some minor degree. Not enough that it would eclipse the Susan and Spenser show, but a little. I’ll get to that portion of the novel in a bit.
First, there is a grad-student paper called OUTrageous, which has been outing gay people on campus and off. But it turns out that someone was involved in blackmail as well. And there is a huge fund the victim had which his mother knew nothing about. It gets sleazier from there. Then Parker suddenly realizes he’s been taking an almost conservative tack, so he throws in a far fringe right leader and some more sleaze and hypocrisy incurs. It’s fair game, of course, as whackadoodle and slimy is everywhere. Yet it feels a bit like an afterthought by Parker. The new plot thread — a loose term when it comes to the middle and later Parkers — seems pulled out of the blue. It feels to this reader more like it is inserted by Parker to reclaim some of his Boston-liberal street-cred, rather than owning this particular story itself, and the dark corners of liberal hypocrisy to which it had taken him. But it could also have been due to Parker’s laziness in plotting, which had taken a back seat to the Susan Silverman show at this point. Maybe it was a little of both.
So that Parker could work his precious — imagine Gollum’s voice — into this one, we get a second case that Spenser works on as a favor to Susan. It seems a good friend of hers is being stalked. KC is artificial in nearly every way except her stunning, Hedy Lamarr-like beauty, and her voracious need for male affection. Naturally, of course, she would be an old pal of Susan’s, and naturally, she’s a head-case. Once she latches onto Spenser, however, it becomes quite obvious their friendship is as shallow as they are. But KC obviously does know Susan very well:
“What’s so great about Susan? Seriously, what’s so special about her? I’ve known her since we were in college. She’s so vain, for God’s sake. — And she’s so pretentious, for God’s sake.” — KC to Spenser
KC goes on to say that Susan is too vain and pretentious to even enjoy lovemaking. KC is a little twisted herself, but the solution to getting her off Spenser and in the direction of therapy is simplistic and gag-worthy. Susan to the rescue! Just have something for your stomach handy because it will churn as your eyes roll. It’s less unpleasant than some later scenes in the main story-line, however. They will definitely make you want to shower quickly. But it’s the sign of a good story if it can make you feel like that.
Parker’s disdain for academia is palpable here, yet each time he shows something ugly, he has to cop out just that tiny bit, marginalize it so that a fraction of its impact is lost. When a writer has something to say, and it’s important, people will not always like you. Here, and in a few other books, Parker would go right to the edge, then pull back toward political correctness, as if he didn’t want people to dislike him. In essence, Hush Money is like that Seinfeld episode which has the catchphrase, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that” but minus the laughter.
Still, Hush Money is a very interesting read, with some good stuff to recommend it. There is a wonderful opening paragraph about the music of baseball which has somehow been lost in modern times. Anyone who loves baseball will enjoy those opening comments. And there is a Brian Donlevy mention for fans of classic film which is a gem:
“I raised both eyebrows. I could raise one eyebrow like Brian Donlevy, but I didn’t very often, because most people didn’t know who Brian Donlevy was, or what I was doing with my face.”
I couldn’t stop laughing for a while after that one, but there aren’t many moments of laughter here. It is, however, pretty good for a Spenser story from this period, and worth reading.
Q: What does the Orson Welles film, A Touch of Evil, have in common with Robert B. Parker’s novel, Hush Money?
A: Both wallow in the seedy and corrupt side of life so thoroughly that upon finishing either one, you feel like running into the shower and turning on the hot water just to get the grime off.
The above quote — not from this book — reflects how Parker, who had spent time in academia, felt about what he observed and experienced there. This is what Spenser says in Hush Money:
“Whenever I got involved with anything related to a university, I was reminded of how seriously everyone took everything, particularly themselves, and I had to keep a firm grip on my impulse to make fun.” — Spenser
In essence, Hush Money is a scathing indictment of the institutions of supposedly higher learning; its pretension and self-importance; its overwhelming liberalism and left-leaning, and its disdain for anyone who doesn’t fall in line with university thinking; and the utter hypocrisy of many — but not all — with PhDs who have bought into such. Perhaps no statement in the novel sums this up better than the one by a faculty member whom Spenser likes:
“They think it (a Ph.D) empowers their superior insight into government and foreign policy and race relations and such. In addition these people are put into an environment where daily, they judge themselves against a standard set by eighteen-or twenty-year-old kids who know little if anything about the subject matter in which their professors are expert.” — “Exemplar of the species is Lillian Temple. There is no liberal agenda, however goofy, that will not attract her attention. There is no hypocrisy, however bald, that she will not endure if she can convince herself that it is in the service of right thinking.” — Tommy Harmon
Harmon is a faculty member, and one of the scarce decent people of integrity Spenser encounters while investigating whether a black professor named by his father after Jackie Robinson, and who is not the “right” kind of black guy, has been denied tenure unfairly. The man who named him is Bobby Nevins, an important figure in Hawk’s path out of the ghetto, which we at least get a surface peek at in this one. We also get the extraordinary revelation, that one of the male black professors at the university, who has since changed his name, once tried to seduce young Hawk.
Yes, the seediness is high, here, but it hardly ends there. In fact, it’s only just beginning. In addition to being a hard and unpleasant look at academia, this is a hard and unpleasant look at the male gay community, and it begins bothering Spenser. Just how bad it is, is revealed by gay cop, Lee Farrell’s comments to Spenser when it becomes obvious the case is making him quite uncomfortable:
“Lemme tell you what’s bothering you. You’re chasing along after whatever it is that you can’t quite catch, and every gay person you encounter is sleazy, crooked, second rate, and generally unpleasant. And, being a basically decent guy, despite the smart mouth, you fear that maybe you are prejudiced and it’s clouding your judgement. Same thing happens to me with blacks. I spend two months on drug-related homicide and everybody’s black, and everybody’s a vicious sleaze bag, and I begin to wonder, is it me? No. We deal with the worst. You got a case involving murder and blackmail, most of the people you meet are going to be scumbags.”
That almost sums up the book, as this is a walk on the sleazy side, and the ones with the most education, may be the sleaziest. Their hypocrisy is, indeed, as pointed out here, breathtaking. Looking into what seems frivolous at first, as a favor to Hawk, Spenser discovers that a suicide linked to Nevins was probably murder. It was the rumor that Nevins is gay, and having an affair with the student which kept him from attaining tenure. But Nevins is a black who doesn’t fit into an academia profile others would like. Being fairly conservative in his approach to teaching, preferring his English students to learn about dead white guys like Shakespeare, rather than studying Modern Black Anger, has not won him friends and influence. Spenser isn’t even certain Nevins is gay, much less that he was connected to the murdered student. And Nevins isn’t saying. His reason for remaining silent on the issue, which is revealed late in the novel, show him to be more like his father, Bobby Nevins, than either Robinson or Spenser had imagined.
Amir is the professor who had hit on Hawk years ago, and there is a palpable disgust here from Hawk. Spenser can’t even figure out why Hawk dislikes him so much, because he’s just another sleazy, self-important member of academia using the situation and culture for his own aggrandizement. In other words, nothing new under the sun for university life. When the reason for Hawk’s disdain is finally revealed, it is shocking. Though at this point, the series had become more entertainment than substance, it at least gave readers a glimpse into Hawk’s past, and fleshed his character out to some minor degree. Not enough that it would eclipse the Susan and Spenser show, but a little. I’ll get to that portion of the novel in a bit.
First, there is a grad-student paper called OUTrageous, which has been outing gay people on campus and off. But it turns out that someone was involved in blackmail as well. And there is a huge fund the victim had which his mother knew nothing about. It gets sleazier from there. Then Parker suddenly realizes he’s been taking an almost conservative tack, so he throws in a far fringe right leader and some more sleaze and hypocrisy incurs. It’s fair game, of course, as whackadoodle and slimy is everywhere. Yet it feels a bit like an afterthought by Parker. The new plot thread — a loose term when it comes to the middle and later Parkers — seems pulled out of the blue. It feels to this reader more like it is inserted by Parker to reclaim some of his Boston-liberal street-cred, rather than owning this particular story itself, and the dark corners of liberal hypocrisy to which it had taken him. But it could also have been due to Parker’s laziness in plotting, which had taken a back seat to the Susan Silverman show at this point. Maybe it was a little of both.
So that Parker could work his precious — imagine Gollum’s voice — into this one, we get a second case that Spenser works on as a favor to Susan. It seems a good friend of hers is being stalked. KC is artificial in nearly every way except her stunning, Hedy Lamarr-like beauty, and her voracious need for male affection. Naturally, of course, she would be an old pal of Susan’s, and naturally, she’s a head-case. Once she latches onto Spenser, however, it becomes quite obvious their friendship is as shallow as they are. But KC obviously does know Susan very well:
“What’s so great about Susan? Seriously, what’s so special about her? I’ve known her since we were in college. She’s so vain, for God’s sake. — And she’s so pretentious, for God’s sake.” — KC to Spenser
KC goes on to say that Susan is too vain and pretentious to even enjoy lovemaking. KC is a little twisted herself, but the solution to getting her off Spenser and in the direction of therapy is simplistic and gag-worthy. Susan to the rescue! Just have something for your stomach handy because it will churn as your eyes roll. It’s less unpleasant than some later scenes in the main story-line, however. They will definitely make you want to shower quickly. But it’s the sign of a good story if it can make you feel like that.
Parker’s disdain for academia is palpable here, yet each time he shows something ugly, he has to cop out just that tiny bit, marginalize it so that a fraction of its impact is lost. When a writer has something to say, and it’s important, people will not always like you. Here, and in a few other books, Parker would go right to the edge, then pull back toward political correctness, as if he didn’t want people to dislike him. In essence, Hush Money is like that Seinfeld episode which has the catchphrase, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that” but minus the laughter.
Still, Hush Money is a very interesting read, with some good stuff to recommend it. There is a wonderful opening paragraph about the music of baseball which has somehow been lost in modern times. Anyone who loves baseball will enjoy those opening comments. And there is a Brian Donlevy mention for fans of classic film which is a gem:
“I raised both eyebrows. I could raise one eyebrow like Brian Donlevy, but I didn’t very often, because most people didn’t know who Brian Donlevy was, or what I was doing with my face.”
I couldn’t stop laughing for a while after that one, but there aren’t many moments of laughter here. It is, however, pretty good for a Spenser story from this period, and worth reading.
October 10, 2018
Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
This didn’t even make it to my “Currently Reading” list. What an idiot! Anyway, Hush Money was a currently reading . . . or rather listening to . . . selection of mine about a month ago. Full disclosure: I had no clue that these books were actually this . . . .
Full disclosure #2 – I also didn’t really watch Spenser: For Hire. It was more like background filler while I played Barbies and waited with bated breath for my types of shows to come on. You know, real classy stuff like Dallas, Dynasty or my favorite: Knots Landing.
If you’re wondering how I came across this series and decided to start at the ripe ol’ number of 26, there’s a simple answer . . . .
You see, Burt Reynolds died and I was about as bummed as I can get about a stranger’s passing so I went to the library and searched his name. There ended up being a waiting list (natch) for But Enough About Me, however a couple of these Spenser stories popped up as options due to Burt being the narrator. And what a narrator he was! A different (and more importantly) believable voice for each character, his easy charm simply oozed through my speakers and was the perfect fit for both Spenser as well as Hawk.
The story itself wasn’t too shabby either. A dual “whodunit” (both of which happen to be of the pro bono variety) featuring a potential sex scandal ending up with the suicide of a young gay man taken on as a favor to Hawk - along with a stalking case brought by Spenser’s long-time girlfriend Susan. I’m pleased to say this has aged quite well, since it is nearly 20 years old. I’m sad to report it could have been written today as far as case #1 is concerned.
In the strangest variety of coinky-dinks I followed a fellow named Ace Atkins because I am smitten with all things David Joy and ol’ David seems to pal around with Ace a tad. Imagine my surprise when I discovered several months later that it is Atkins himself who picked up Robert B. Parker’s fallen pen after he passed and has continued on with this series. Add on to that an apparent revamp of the program via way of Netflix starring Marky Mark (wearing more than underpants and without his Funky Bunch) is in the works. Talk about timing! I highly doubt that I will go back to the beginning of this series, but I will be listening to at least one more as the library has it and once again it is read by Burt.
This didn’t even make it to my “Currently Reading” list. What an idiot! Anyway, Hush Money was a currently reading . . . or rather listening to . . . selection of mine about a month ago. Full disclosure: I had no clue that these books were actually this . . . .
Full disclosure #2 – I also didn’t really watch Spenser: For Hire. It was more like background filler while I played Barbies and waited with bated breath for my types of shows to come on. You know, real classy stuff like Dallas, Dynasty or my favorite: Knots Landing.
If you’re wondering how I came across this series and decided to start at the ripe ol’ number of 26, there’s a simple answer . . . .
You see, Burt Reynolds died and I was about as bummed as I can get about a stranger’s passing so I went to the library and searched his name. There ended up being a waiting list (natch) for But Enough About Me, however a couple of these Spenser stories popped up as options due to Burt being the narrator. And what a narrator he was! A different (and more importantly) believable voice for each character, his easy charm simply oozed through my speakers and was the perfect fit for both Spenser as well as Hawk.
The story itself wasn’t too shabby either. A dual “whodunit” (both of which happen to be of the pro bono variety) featuring a potential sex scandal ending up with the suicide of a young gay man taken on as a favor to Hawk - along with a stalking case brought by Spenser’s long-time girlfriend Susan. I’m pleased to say this has aged quite well, since it is nearly 20 years old. I’m sad to report it could have been written today as far as case #1 is concerned.
In the strangest variety of coinky-dinks I followed a fellow named Ace Atkins because I am smitten with all things David Joy and ol’ David seems to pal around with Ace a tad. Imagine my surprise when I discovered several months later that it is Atkins himself who picked up Robert B. Parker’s fallen pen after he passed and has continued on with this series. Add on to that an apparent revamp of the program via way of Netflix starring Marky Mark (wearing more than underpants and without his Funky Bunch) is in the works. Talk about timing! I highly doubt that I will go back to the beginning of this series, but I will be listening to at least one more as the library has it and once again it is read by Burt.
October 28, 2019
This Spenser adventure has its moments, but I don’t think the novel itself quite succeeds. This is because its principal narrative is too slight for a novel, and Parker cannot find enough complications to enrich it and fashion it into something gripping and memorable.
Black English professor Robinson Nevins seeks Spenser’s help in investigating why he failed to receive tenure. He thinks it has something to with the rumors that he may gay, and the suspicion that he may have contributed to the suicide of a student gay activist who is rumored to have been his lover.
The adventure takes a few interesting turns, first into the practice of “outing,” and later into the world of white racism, but the story of Nevins and his enemies never really comes together. Parker is forced to add another totally unrelated subplot (his subplots are usually at least tangentially related) and a few longer-than-necessary descriptions of random individuals inhabiting the landscape and Spenser preparing food. Even worse, the subplot itself is not interesting, involving a particularly irritating and needy old “friend” of Susan’s named KC Roth. (It’s cool that Susan gets to sock her in the jaw, later in the book, but even that didn’t help like the subplot better.)
Of course, there’s no such thing as a really bad Spenser, but Hush Money is pretty close.
June 26, 2012
Spenser ends up working two cases pro bono after Hawk and Susan both ask him for his help. Since he owes Hawk about a thousand favors as well as probably five figures worth of expenses for ammunition alone, it’s perfectly understandable that he’d work for free on that one, but he should charge Susan double just for being so damn annoying.
Hawk asks Spenser to help a professor that’s the son of an old friend of his. The professor was denied tenure because of a smear campaign that claimed he had a relationship with a male student who killed himself when the prof broke it off. Trying to backtrack the rumor, Spenser runs across some very annoying academic types as well as some blackmailers.
Meanwhile, Susan asks Spenser to help out a friend of hers named KC who is being stalked. KC left her husband for another man, but he refused to follow suit and leave his wife. The ex-husband is a likely suspect, but he seems a lot more stable than the loony KC who gets a severe case of hot pants for Spenser.
No surprise that the case with the professor is the more interesting of the two. We actually find out a bit about Hawk’s past, and what starts out as something very routine turns into a furball for Spenser.
The stalker story with KC could have been decent, but once again it’s an example of a character’s psychological problems being a big part of the story rather than the detective piece. Plus, it means we have to hear a lot from Susan, and that’s never good. Also, Susan has to be like the shittiest therapist ever because if she couldn’t tell that KC was crazy town banana pants, then she’s obviously not a very good student of human nature.
Next up: Spenser tries to keep a horse from getting turned into glue in Hugger Mugger.
Hawk asks Spenser to help a professor that’s the son of an old friend of his. The professor was denied tenure because of a smear campaign that claimed he had a relationship with a male student who killed himself when the prof broke it off. Trying to backtrack the rumor, Spenser runs across some very annoying academic types as well as some blackmailers.
Meanwhile, Susan asks Spenser to help out a friend of hers named KC who is being stalked. KC left her husband for another man, but he refused to follow suit and leave his wife. The ex-husband is a likely suspect, but he seems a lot more stable than the loony KC who gets a severe case of hot pants for Spenser.
No surprise that the case with the professor is the more interesting of the two. We actually find out a bit about Hawk’s past, and what starts out as something very routine turns into a furball for Spenser.
The stalker story with KC could have been decent, but once again it’s an example of a character’s psychological problems being a big part of the story rather than the detective piece. Plus, it means we have to hear a lot from Susan, and that’s never good. Also, Susan has to be like the shittiest therapist ever because if she couldn’t tell that KC was crazy town banana pants, then she’s obviously not a very good student of human nature.
Next up: Spenser tries to keep a horse from getting turned into glue in Hugger Mugger.
February 13, 2022
4.5 Stars for Hush Money: Spencer Series, Book 26 (audiobook) by Robert B. Parker read by Burt Reynolds.
This was such a treat getting to listen to Burt Reynolds read this audiobook. It’s a interesting detective story with great characters. I think I like the series well enough to try a book with a different narrator.
This was such a treat getting to listen to Burt Reynolds read this audiobook. It’s a interesting detective story with great characters. I think I like the series well enough to try a book with a different narrator.
December 30, 2010
100 out of 100 books for 2010. I figgin' did it!
Hush Money, along with Sudden Mischief and Small Vices, form a trilogy of Parker's absolute best novels and the best of the Spenser series. In each of these, a major character--Susan, Spenser, and, in the case of Hush Money, Hawk--reveals something about her or his past, proves vulnerable, and grow in some way. This is also the first, and, I think, the only novel in the series in which Spenser takes a case pro bono as a favor to Hawk. On the surface, it is the tale of Robinson Nevins, an conservatie African American scholar who has been denied tenure unfairly. HOwever, there are two othe plot lines, a stalking case the the apparent suicide of a gay student activist at the university Nevins teaches at.
The two cases, interestingly, do not intersect, but both are solved--one involves the always composed Susan in a fist fight--that she started! And in some ways the novel is prescient in that it involves a supposedly moral right wing activist involved in a hidden homeosexual scandal, a la Mark Foley in Florida. ALso, a very fund send up of academe and academic politics.
All told, a satisfying read. If you read only a few of Parker's novels, read the three I mentioned. If you only read one, read this one.
Hush Money, along with Sudden Mischief and Small Vices, form a trilogy of Parker's absolute best novels and the best of the Spenser series. In each of these, a major character--Susan, Spenser, and, in the case of Hush Money, Hawk--reveals something about her or his past, proves vulnerable, and grow in some way. This is also the first, and, I think, the only novel in the series in which Spenser takes a case pro bono as a favor to Hawk. On the surface, it is the tale of Robinson Nevins, an conservatie African American scholar who has been denied tenure unfairly. HOwever, there are two othe plot lines, a stalking case the the apparent suicide of a gay student activist at the university Nevins teaches at.
The two cases, interestingly, do not intersect, but both are solved--one involves the always composed Susan in a fist fight--that she started! And in some ways the novel is prescient in that it involves a supposedly moral right wing activist involved in a hidden homeosexual scandal, a la Mark Foley in Florida. ALso, a very fund send up of academe and academic politics.
All told, a satisfying read. If you read only a few of Parker's novels, read the three I mentioned. If you only read one, read this one.
December 5, 2016
This is Parker's 26th Spenser novel.
In this one Spenser has two separate cases he is working on for his standard rate of pay-$0. One of the cases is as a favor to Hawk and the other is as a favor to Susan.
The Hawk case revolves around a good friend's son being turned down for tenure at a university as a result of a rumor that the Professor had cut off a homosexual relationship with a student resulting in the student killing himself. We learn more about Hawk's background and his anger at being hit on as a young man by a homosexual professor. I enjoyed this case more than Susan's case.
Susan's case involved a friend of hers who was convinced she was being stalked. Spenser sets out to find out who is the stalker and why she is being stalked. Once this is done Spenser "convinces" the stalker to knock it off. Susan's friend has then become in lust with Spenser and begins to stalk him. Spenser walks the line with KC Roth, and with others in books past, by allowing the ladies to drape themselves on him and often exchanging kisses with them. Spenser doesn't see this as cheating on Susan. Not sure she would see it that way.
It is a two for one with this book which is rare for Spenser.
In this one Spenser has two separate cases he is working on for his standard rate of pay-$0. One of the cases is as a favor to Hawk and the other is as a favor to Susan.
The Hawk case revolves around a good friend's son being turned down for tenure at a university as a result of a rumor that the Professor had cut off a homosexual relationship with a student resulting in the student killing himself. We learn more about Hawk's background and his anger at being hit on as a young man by a homosexual professor. I enjoyed this case more than Susan's case.
Susan's case involved a friend of hers who was convinced she was being stalked. Spenser sets out to find out who is the stalker and why she is being stalked. Once this is done Spenser "convinces" the stalker to knock it off. Susan's friend has then become in lust with Spenser and begins to stalk him. Spenser walks the line with KC Roth, and with others in books past, by allowing the ladies to drape themselves on him and often exchanging kisses with them. Spenser doesn't see this as cheating on Susan. Not sure she would see it that way.
It is a two for one with this book which is rare for Spenser.
July 21, 2018
With Hush Money, Parker adds another classic to the legendary series, with a morally complex tale that pits the burly Boston P.I. and his redoubtable cohort, Hawk, against local intellectual heavyweights.When Robinson Nevins, the son of Hawk's boyhood mentor, is denied tenure at the University, Hawk asks Spenser to investigate. It appears the denial is tied to the suicide of a young gay activist, Prentice Lamont. While intimations of an affair between Lamont and Nevins have long fed the campus rumor mill, no one's willing to talk, and as Spenser digs deeper he is nearly drowned in a multicultural swamp of politics: black, gay, academic, and feminist.
At the same time, Spenser's inamorata, Susan, asks him to come to the aid of an old college friend, K. C. Roth, the victim of a stalker. Spenser solves the problem a bit too effectively, and K.C., unwilling to settle for the normal parameters of the professional/client relationship, becomes smitten with him, going so far as to attempt to lure him from Susan. When Spenser, ever chivalrous, kindly rejects her advances, K.C. turns the tables and begins to stalk him.
At the same time, Spenser's inamorata, Susan, asks him to come to the aid of an old college friend, K. C. Roth, the victim of a stalker. Spenser solves the problem a bit too effectively, and K.C., unwilling to settle for the normal parameters of the professional/client relationship, becomes smitten with him, going so far as to attempt to lure him from Susan. When Spenser, ever chivalrous, kindly rejects her advances, K.C. turns the tables and begins to stalk him.
May 23, 2017
(The word "maroon" appears 4 times in this novel)
3.5 stars
Two stories/cases interleaved reasonably well in this book. Action moderate, some holes left unplugged, pacing adequate. Not the worst Spenser, far from the best.
3.5 stars
Two stories/cases interleaved reasonably well in this book. Action moderate, some holes left unplugged, pacing adequate. Not the worst Spenser, far from the best.
January 1, 2018
Interesting dual story. Spenser is asked by Hawk to look into his friend's tenure situation at a local college and is soon up to his neck in high-intellect conspiracy.
Spenser's paramour, Susan, asks him to get to the bottom of her friend's stalker - an ex-boyfriend or ex-hubby. Alot of work for our hero, with not much of a return except for gratitude.
Spenser's paramour, Susan, asks him to get to the bottom of her friend's stalker - an ex-boyfriend or ex-hubby. Alot of work for our hero, with not much of a return except for gratitude.
December 26, 2025
Another Spencer novel read by Burt Reynolds.
July 26, 2024
Although Robert B. Parker was once a full professor (at Northeastern University), he didn't think highly of the academic world (maybe that should read BECAUSE he was a professor; probably Parker would have written the sentence that way). In Hush Money, university life comes in for some harsh criticism. In this outing, Hawk asks Spenser to investigate the events that led up to the denial of tenure of Robinson Nevins, who is the son of Hawk's mentor. A student committed suicide, and the rumor was circulating that he did so as a result of a love affair with Nevins. Spenser is asked to track down the source of the rumor and determine the circumstances around the student's death.
At the same time, Susan has asked Spenser to help her friend KC who is being stalked. Shortly, after Spenser identifies the stalker, KC begins to stalk Spenser. It's an interesting contrast of romantic complications in the straight and gay world, and the boiled down perspective is that sexual orientation doesn't much matter to the degree of pain that comes with affairs of the heart.
Usually Parker's sense of humor is my main reason for re-reading the Spenser novels, and this one was quite amusing. But I think Parker's take on the trials of romantic love is the main reason to recommend this book. Parker's politics is usually liberal, but not consistently liberal: the perspective changes according to the individuals involved. It's a more difficult way to assess what happens in life, but in the end, Parker is in touch with a fuller sense of what it means to be human.
At the same time, Susan has asked Spenser to help her friend KC who is being stalked. Shortly, after Spenser identifies the stalker, KC begins to stalk Spenser. It's an interesting contrast of romantic complications in the straight and gay world, and the boiled down perspective is that sexual orientation doesn't much matter to the degree of pain that comes with affairs of the heart.
Usually Parker's sense of humor is my main reason for re-reading the Spenser novels, and this one was quite amusing. But I think Parker's take on the trials of romantic love is the main reason to recommend this book. Parker's politics is usually liberal, but not consistently liberal: the perspective changes according to the individuals involved. It's a more difficult way to assess what happens in life, but in the end, Parker is in touch with a fuller sense of what it means to be human.
June 21, 2015
Like all of the Spenser books, this one has a whole lot going on and you can get lost easily among all the different twists and turns. And also like the books in this series, it is quite funny but can drive one crazy at the same time. Mr. Parker had a way with words and balanced it with such great humor it's hard to stay away from his books for too long. I like that we get a little more background on Hawk's character in this book. I think he's my favorite character in this series, though I love Spenser also. The audiobook of this one is read by Burt Reynolds, which startled me as I didn't know he did them. He has a good reading voice and did a good job with the book. However, my ebook copy seems to have a chapter in it that is completely missing from the audiobook itself. Which is interesting since it's supposed to be unabridged. Rather curious, and kind of annoying. Despite this, I enjoyed the book and look forward to more of this series.
COYER: Book with a cover that is at least 51% blue - 1 point
COYER: Book with a cover that is at least 51% blue - 1 point
May 30, 2020
In Hush Money, Parker’s 26th Spenser novel, Spenser agrees to take on two separate cases, the first as a favor to Hawk, and the second as a favor to Susan. The first case starts out as an investigation into the denial of tenure to a university professor, Robinson Nevins, whose father was an important mentor to Hawk. It quickly metastasizes into an investigation of extortion and suspected murder. The second case involves Susan’s friend KC Roth, who believes she is being stalked.
The theme of integrity pervades the book. Robinson Nevins was denied tenure because of rumors that he had driven a gay student to suicide by ending an affair with him. Although Nevins denies having had a relationship with the student, his notion of integrity led him to refuse even to tell the tenure committee whether he was gay or straight. Susan Silverman later comments to Spenser, “‘That’s either great integrity or great foolishness.’” Spenser replies, “‘Integrity is often foolish.’”
Meanwhile, some of the members of the committee that denied tenure to Professor Nevins have abandoned their integrity for hypocrisy. One professor who knew the truth about the professor voted to deny him tenure anyway because she thought he was “out of step with current racial thinking.” She pontificates, “A university faculty is special. It is a place, maybe the only place, where the ideal of a civil society still flourishes.”
At that point in the story, Spenser had not figured out what had really happened. But he knows hypocrisy when he sees it, and he has often seen it in academic circles. “Whenever I got involved in anything related to a university, I was reminded of how seriously everyone took everything, particularly themselves, and I had to keep a firm grip on my impulse to make fun.”
Nevins’s rival in the English Department, who also voted against tenure, is an activist gay Black Studies professor named Amir Abdullah. Hawk had an unpleasant history with him when he was younger, and Spenser soon pegs him as an opportunistic fraud. Not only did he have a relationship with the dead student and keep it quiet, but he now seems to be associating with a white supremacy group that is the antithesis of everything he claims to stand for. In Spenser’s view, Abdullah clearly lacks integrity.
But Spenser worries about his own bias in investigating Abdullah. Is his investigation colored by racism and/or homophobia? In other words, he’s worrying about his own integrity. His friend, gay cop Lee Farrell, diagnoses Spenser’s problem:
“‘Lemme tell you what’s bothering you. You’re chasing along after whatever it is that you can’t quite catch, and every gay person you encounter is sleazy, crooked, second-rate, and generally unpleasant. … And, being a basically decent guy, despite the smart mouth, you fear that maybe you are prejudiced and it’s clouding your judgment.’” Farrell says the same thing sometimes happens to him with blacks: “‘I spend two months on a drug-related homicide and everybody’s black, and everybody’s a vicious sleaze bag, and I begin to wonder, is it me?’” He reminds Spenser that they’re dealing with the worst parts of a culture: “‘You got a case involving murder and blackmail, most of the people you meet are going to be scumbags.’ ‘Regardless of race, creed, or color,’ I said. ‘Or sexual orientation.’”
Spenser also has to wrestle with his own integrity when he meets with Susan’s friend KC Roth, the stalking victim. The very beautiful KC develops an obsessive attachment to Spenser and repeatedly tries to seduce him. As he resists her advances, she tries to break down his resolve with withering criticism of Susan: “‘What’s so great about Susan? … Seriously, what’s so special about her? I mean I’ve known her longer than you have, since we were in college. She’s so vain, for God’s sake. … And she’s so pretentious, for God’s sake.’” Some readers (like me) may be tempted to agree with her, but for Spenser, a betrayal of Susan would severely compromise his integrity. And it’s quite doubtful that this particular form of integrity seems foolish to him.
I liked this Spenser mystery quite a bit, both for the quality of the story (in which Hawk is a prominent player—always a plus) and for Parker’s attempt to deal seriously with issues of discrimination. I would recommend this one quite highly.
The theme of integrity pervades the book. Robinson Nevins was denied tenure because of rumors that he had driven a gay student to suicide by ending an affair with him. Although Nevins denies having had a relationship with the student, his notion of integrity led him to refuse even to tell the tenure committee whether he was gay or straight. Susan Silverman later comments to Spenser, “‘That’s either great integrity or great foolishness.’” Spenser replies, “‘Integrity is often foolish.’”
Meanwhile, some of the members of the committee that denied tenure to Professor Nevins have abandoned their integrity for hypocrisy. One professor who knew the truth about the professor voted to deny him tenure anyway because she thought he was “out of step with current racial thinking.” She pontificates, “A university faculty is special. It is a place, maybe the only place, where the ideal of a civil society still flourishes.”
At that point in the story, Spenser had not figured out what had really happened. But he knows hypocrisy when he sees it, and he has often seen it in academic circles. “Whenever I got involved in anything related to a university, I was reminded of how seriously everyone took everything, particularly themselves, and I had to keep a firm grip on my impulse to make fun.”
Nevins’s rival in the English Department, who also voted against tenure, is an activist gay Black Studies professor named Amir Abdullah. Hawk had an unpleasant history with him when he was younger, and Spenser soon pegs him as an opportunistic fraud. Not only did he have a relationship with the dead student and keep it quiet, but he now seems to be associating with a white supremacy group that is the antithesis of everything he claims to stand for. In Spenser’s view, Abdullah clearly lacks integrity.
But Spenser worries about his own bias in investigating Abdullah. Is his investigation colored by racism and/or homophobia? In other words, he’s worrying about his own integrity. His friend, gay cop Lee Farrell, diagnoses Spenser’s problem:
“‘Lemme tell you what’s bothering you. You’re chasing along after whatever it is that you can’t quite catch, and every gay person you encounter is sleazy, crooked, second-rate, and generally unpleasant. … And, being a basically decent guy, despite the smart mouth, you fear that maybe you are prejudiced and it’s clouding your judgment.’” Farrell says the same thing sometimes happens to him with blacks: “‘I spend two months on a drug-related homicide and everybody’s black, and everybody’s a vicious sleaze bag, and I begin to wonder, is it me?’” He reminds Spenser that they’re dealing with the worst parts of a culture: “‘You got a case involving murder and blackmail, most of the people you meet are going to be scumbags.’ ‘Regardless of race, creed, or color,’ I said. ‘Or sexual orientation.’”
Spenser also has to wrestle with his own integrity when he meets with Susan’s friend KC Roth, the stalking victim. The very beautiful KC develops an obsessive attachment to Spenser and repeatedly tries to seduce him. As he resists her advances, she tries to break down his resolve with withering criticism of Susan: “‘What’s so great about Susan? … Seriously, what’s so special about her? I mean I’ve known her longer than you have, since we were in college. She’s so vain, for God’s sake. … And she’s so pretentious, for God’s sake.’” Some readers (like me) may be tempted to agree with her, but for Spenser, a betrayal of Susan would severely compromise his integrity. And it’s quite doubtful that this particular form of integrity seems foolish to him.
I liked this Spenser mystery quite a bit, both for the quality of the story (in which Hawk is a prominent player—always a plus) and for Parker’s attempt to deal seriously with issues of discrimination. I would recommend this one quite highly.
April 24, 2018
I'd like to thank GR friend Gary for bringing this book to my attention. After two weeks of poor quality 17th century comedies, this was just what the doctor ordered. I enjoyed the banter and it contained a great deal less unnecessary description of places and buildings than the first two Spensers I read. I'm not used to chuckling through the old noir fiction, but I did this time, and boy was I glad. And not because it was cheesy noir, which it isn't.
It just now clicked that Spenser is the original of TV's "Spenser for Hire" and Hawk is the original of the short-lived series of that name, but you get me out of the nineteenth century and I'm slow like that. I devoured it in the lulls of a very busy week; I am now about to toddle off and see if there is any more, especially with Hawk in it.
It just now clicked that Spenser is the original of TV's "Spenser for Hire" and Hawk is the original of the short-lived series of that name, but you get me out of the nineteenth century and I'm slow like that. I devoured it in the lulls of a very busy week; I am now about to toddle off and see if there is any more, especially with Hawk in it.
September 8, 2024
This was a surprisingly current book.
Written in 1999 but could have been written today.
We learn more about Hawk than I ever thought we would learn.
Susan HAS TO STOP 🛑 giving Spenser cases. Her psychotic friend KC was too much! It never goes well for Spenser at least she got popped in the mouth at least once.
This book meandered a bit and almost every one got what they deserved. Lillian was the worst and Spenser should have spilled the beans on her nonsense. The person that thinks they are virtuous but are anything but. She was an insidious villain. Ugh. And Amir needed to be the one thrown out the window! Academics truly do not live in the real world and really should not mingle with normal society folk.
Spenser and Hawk’s friendship really shine in this one. I’m grateful they have each other.
On to the next…
Written in 1999 but could have been written today.
We learn more about Hawk than I ever thought we would learn.
Susan HAS TO STOP 🛑 giving Spenser cases. Her psychotic friend KC was too much! It never goes well for Spenser at least she got popped in the mouth at least once.
This book meandered a bit and almost every one got what they deserved. Lillian was the worst and Spenser should have spilled the beans on her nonsense. The person that thinks they are virtuous but are anything but. She was an insidious villain. Ugh. And Amir needed to be the one thrown out the window! Academics truly do not live in the real world and really should not mingle with normal society folk.
Spenser and Hawk’s friendship really shine in this one. I’m grateful they have each other.
On to the next…
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 30, 2016
A book for Spenser fans. Spenser investigates two separate cases pro bono for Hawk and Susan. One is tracking down and stopping a stalker; the other is investigating a negative tenure decision. Being married to tenured faculty and having worked in higher education with faculty for over a decade, the latter was both interesting and amusing in its perspective on academia and faculty. And then there is Spenser's new office couch - a gift from long-time love Susan.... Not sure I'll be sitting on anyone's office couch in the future after reading this book :>)
September 11, 2020
Both Susan and Hawk ask Spenser to help them in 2 separate cases.
Hawk wants Spenser to help him figure out why this man Robinson Nevins wasn’t granted tenure. A young student committed suicide and it was alleged that the boy was distraught over a homosexual relationship with Robinson. Which, according to Nevins, wasn’t true.
The other case was a friend of Susans. She was being stalked and Susan wanted Spenser to find out who the stalker was.
Again, this book reminds me of what is happening today...I found this quote from the book EXTREMELY interesting. “ A university faculty is not simply about teaching, it is about creating and passing on culture. The university is a place where the best minds must be allowed freedom to contemplate the most basic human issues. A university faculty is the progenitor and propagation of culture.” No No No No. I totally disagree with this comment but I do believe most elite professors really believe this. And that has caused a HUGE problem of today. Total brainwashing which has changed the dynamic of how our country is viewed today.
Another interesting point was the introduction of the radical leader of the CEO of Land Stand Systems. The dean made it clear she didn’t agree with anything the CEO stood for, but she made it a point to say our freedom of speech allowed us to have the opportunity to hear different points of view regardless of our opinions. This is something I think has changed today. More and more colleges are becoming intolerant to hearing opposing views. And that is troublesome.
I love the Spenser series but I really didn’t care much for this book. It was OK but not one of my favorites. Susan is till annoying and the ending of this book seemed to drag out longer than it should have.
Hawk wants Spenser to help him figure out why this man Robinson Nevins wasn’t granted tenure. A young student committed suicide and it was alleged that the boy was distraught over a homosexual relationship with Robinson. Which, according to Nevins, wasn’t true.
The other case was a friend of Susans. She was being stalked and Susan wanted Spenser to find out who the stalker was.
Again, this book reminds me of what is happening today...I found this quote from the book EXTREMELY interesting. “ A university faculty is not simply about teaching, it is about creating and passing on culture. The university is a place where the best minds must be allowed freedom to contemplate the most basic human issues. A university faculty is the progenitor and propagation of culture.” No No No No. I totally disagree with this comment but I do believe most elite professors really believe this. And that has caused a HUGE problem of today. Total brainwashing which has changed the dynamic of how our country is viewed today.
Another interesting point was the introduction of the radical leader of the CEO of Land Stand Systems. The dean made it clear she didn’t agree with anything the CEO stood for, but she made it a point to say our freedom of speech allowed us to have the opportunity to hear different points of view regardless of our opinions. This is something I think has changed today. More and more colleges are becoming intolerant to hearing opposing views. And that is troublesome.
I love the Spenser series but I really didn’t care much for this book. It was OK but not one of my favorites. Susan is till annoying and the ending of this book seemed to drag out longer than it should have.
April 18, 2018
The environment within which Spenser is operating in this case has two components. The first is the denial of the academic tenure of a black man with a history with Hawk. The man’s father was a boxing trainer and a mentor to Hawk in his younger years, so we learn some background material on the enigmatic partner of Spenser. Hawk asks Spenser to investigate the matter and things get seedy very fast. For reasons that are explained, the normally unflappable Hawk goes somewhat berserk in beating up an academic.
What seemingly is an instance of puzzling academic politics turns into a dangerous situation involving an extremely militant black man and a white supremacist organization. They are connected in a very intimate and physical way.
The second component develops as a consequence of a request from Susan. Her old friend K. C. Roth is being stalked and there are two logical suspects but no evidence. Roth is a walking example of the emotionally needy, so she decides that her problems will be solved by having a sexual romp with Spenser. When he rejects her, Roth begins stalking him until Susan rather emphatically intervenes.
This is another excellent story involving the wise-cracking yet extremely efficient detective. Like the other stories, the dialog between Spenser and Hawk is crisp, effective and amusing.
What seemingly is an instance of puzzling academic politics turns into a dangerous situation involving an extremely militant black man and a white supremacist organization. They are connected in a very intimate and physical way.
The second component develops as a consequence of a request from Susan. Her old friend K. C. Roth is being stalked and there are two logical suspects but no evidence. Roth is a walking example of the emotionally needy, so she decides that her problems will be solved by having a sexual romp with Spenser. When he rejects her, Roth begins stalking him until Susan rather emphatically intervenes.
This is another excellent story involving the wise-cracking yet extremely efficient detective. Like the other stories, the dialog between Spenser and Hawk is crisp, effective and amusing.
February 27, 2023
Twenty-six down, and twenty-three to go!
January 23, 2020
Two cases at once? No problem. Another strong story from Parker, Spenser and the crew. Not much Belson or Quirk. Interestingly, I don’t often give the books full marks unless they are all significantly involved. I think this one is from 1997. The subject matter could have been today...
January 31, 2018
A great author like Parker can tease interest in the first couple of pages and that’s what happened to me here. Spenser is working on two pro-bono cases and they weave in and out of each other in a style that keeps the novel moving at a thoroughly enjoyable pace. One of the cases involves an academic mystery that quickly gets seedy and violent. The other involves a stalker that has an eerie twist that really ups the tension. Spenser handles everything with his normal wit and nearly superhuman calm and we get great insight into Hawk as well. If you like Spenser novels this one is well worth your time.
March 4, 2018
Excellent
Another great read. The books from the Robert b Parker stable are consistently unputdownable. I always read them in two or three sittings. Never boring and always amusing.this was no exception.spot on
Another great read. The books from the Robert b Parker stable are consistently unputdownable. I always read them in two or three sittings. Never boring and always amusing.this was no exception.spot on
August 9, 2017
Loved it
This book is Robert B Parker at his best, fast moving, gritty, complex, funny and profound. I recommend this book.
This book is Robert B Parker at his best, fast moving, gritty, complex, funny and profound. I recommend this book.
June 1, 2021
"Whenever I got involved in anything related to a university, I was reminded of how seriously everyone took everything, particularly themselves, and I had to keep a firm grip on my impulse to make fun."
This funny and insightful observation comes from an unlikely source: Robert B. Parker's Hush Money (1999). I had read quite a few Spenser novels before I began reviewing books on Goodreads and generally liked them: they provided uncomplicated, leisurely reads, great for before-bed time, when the mind needs rest from work issues. Well, the characterization is no longer precise, as this installment of Spenser's adventures is about university faculty, and I happen to have been such a specimen for quite some time. Yes, indeed, we do tend to treat ourselves way too seriously!
Hawk (a recurring character in the series) brings Spenser a new client, Mr. Nevins, "a professor at the university, author of at least dozen books [...], and a nationally known figure in what the press calls The Black Community." A graduate student committed suicide, alleged to be the result of a sexual relationship with Mr. Nevins. As a consequence of these allegations, Mr. Nevins has been denied tenure. He suspects the real reason for the denial is that his viewpoints are "relatively conservative," not fitting the progressive bent of many faculty in his department. As the case grows more complicated and additional motivations of some of the personae are discovered, Susan (also a recurring character in the series) brings Spencer another client. Enough of the setup - the story is indeed very interesting and highly recommended for those of us who read crime novels for their plot.
I am impressed by the author's astute observations of university faculty politics, particularly the deliberations of a tenure committee and dynamics of the entire tenure process. The realism of the presentation of the university environment has increased my confidence in Mr. Parker's depiction of other social settings. On the negative side, I am really tired with all the cliché banter between Spenser and Hawk as well as between Spenser and Susan. What was funny for the first three or four times becomes hard to stomach for the twentieth time.
On the other hand, the following quote is very funny:
To sum up, this is one of the best Spenser novels that I have read.
Three-and-a-half stars.
This funny and insightful observation comes from an unlikely source: Robert B. Parker's Hush Money (1999). I had read quite a few Spenser novels before I began reviewing books on Goodreads and generally liked them: they provided uncomplicated, leisurely reads, great for before-bed time, when the mind needs rest from work issues. Well, the characterization is no longer precise, as this installment of Spenser's adventures is about university faculty, and I happen to have been such a specimen for quite some time. Yes, indeed, we do tend to treat ourselves way too seriously!
Hawk (a recurring character in the series) brings Spenser a new client, Mr. Nevins, "a professor at the university, author of at least dozen books [...], and a nationally known figure in what the press calls The Black Community." A graduate student committed suicide, alleged to be the result of a sexual relationship with Mr. Nevins. As a consequence of these allegations, Mr. Nevins has been denied tenure. He suspects the real reason for the denial is that his viewpoints are "relatively conservative," not fitting the progressive bent of many faculty in his department. As the case grows more complicated and additional motivations of some of the personae are discovered, Susan (also a recurring character in the series) brings Spencer another client. Enough of the setup - the story is indeed very interesting and highly recommended for those of us who read crime novels for their plot.
I am impressed by the author's astute observations of university faculty politics, particularly the deliberations of a tenure committee and dynamics of the entire tenure process. The realism of the presentation of the university environment has increased my confidence in Mr. Parker's depiction of other social settings. On the negative side, I am really tired with all the cliché banter between Spenser and Hawk as well as between Spenser and Susan. What was funny for the first three or four times becomes hard to stomach for the twentieth time.
On the other hand, the following quote is very funny:
"'Someone once remarked [...] that the reason academic conflicts are so vicious is that the stakes are so small.'"I could also quote a viciously funny critique of university faculty that can be found on page 141 (hardcover edition), but considering the remote possibility that some of my university colleagues read this, I will not yield to the temptation.
To sum up, this is one of the best Spenser novels that I have read.
Three-and-a-half stars.
March 22, 2023
Robert Parker could do virtually no harm in my book,* and that’s why I turned to him as an antidote for the aftereffects of a couple afternoons with a less-skilled writer. Hush Money is a good example of why I trust Parker to write the right way. The dialogue is as good as always, especially delightful when aimed at Boston’s self-important Education Machine. Less plausible is Spenser’s interaction with his inamorata’s friend(?). If he really did dislike her non-stop attempted rapes one would expect that after three or four of them he’d quit responding to her frequent summonses. Or at least take along a chaperone. A more serious failing - my reason for 4⭐️s instead of 5 - is the diabolus ex machina ending, which not only doesn’t flow naturally from the preceding material but is totally unconnected with it, not to mention being totally unbelievable. My reason for 4⭐️s instead of 3 is more personal: for once Parker avoids telling the reader that the love between two individuals is palpable. Instead he shows us that kind of love in every interaction between Spenser and Pearl. That’s what I call believable.
I suspect that Parker didn’t have adequate time to produce a finished product in Hush Money. Note that in chapter 8 Amir Abdullah is “very light skinned;” by chapter 54 “his chest is black and bony.” In a typical Spenser book this would be an important clue.
* #643. You’re welcome.
I suspect that Parker didn’t have adequate time to produce a finished product in Hush Money. Note that in chapter 8 Amir Abdullah is “very light skinned;” by chapter 54 “his chest is black and bony.” In a typical Spenser book this would be an important clue.
* #643. You’re welcome.
April 27, 2018
Tenure, I am not sure I agree with getting tenure, especially after the woman in Fresno disparaged Barbara Bush SO badly! But then Spenser wants justice to the end result. And then KC, OMG, what a great "friend" to Susan. I am so glad Susan punched her but next time Susan will do it the correct way.
Page 23 . . . "Any thought that maybe he got Brodied?"
"Sure," Belson said. "you know you always think about that, but there's nothing to suggest it. And when there isn't, we like to close the case."
Page 49. . . I took in a deep breath nd let it out, and hit one of them on the back of his neck behind his right ear, and the fight was on. . . .
Page 166 . . . "University politics is very odd. You get a lot of people gathered together who, if they couldn't do this, really couldn't do anything. They are given to think that they are both intelligent and important because they have Ph.D.s and most people don't. Often, though not always, the Ph.D. does indicate mastery over a subject. But that's all it indicates, and, unfortunately, many people with Ph.D.s think it covers a wider area than it does. They think it empowers their superior insight into government and foreign policy and race relations and such. In addition these people are put into an environment where daily, they judge themselves against a standard set by eighteen-
Page 167 or twenty-year-old kids who know little if anything about the subject matter in which their professors are expert." . . .
Page 23 . . . "Any thought that maybe he got Brodied?"
"Sure," Belson said. "you know you always think about that, but there's nothing to suggest it. And when there isn't, we like to close the case."
Page 49. . . I took in a deep breath nd let it out, and hit one of them on the back of his neck behind his right ear, and the fight was on. . . .
Page 166 . . . "University politics is very odd. You get a lot of people gathered together who, if they couldn't do this, really couldn't do anything. They are given to think that they are both intelligent and important because they have Ph.D.s and most people don't. Often, though not always, the Ph.D. does indicate mastery over a subject. But that's all it indicates, and, unfortunately, many people with Ph.D.s think it covers a wider area than it does. They think it empowers their superior insight into government and foreign policy and race relations and such. In addition these people are put into an environment where daily, they judge themselves against a standard set by eighteen-
Page 167 or twenty-year-old kids who know little if anything about the subject matter in which their professors are expert." . . .
October 23, 2019
Maybe 3.5 stars?
Another solid entry into the Spenser series of books. I realize Parker is trying to be progressive in his writings and show that he is super smart. But this "even the gays can be bad" take does not age well into the current social understanding of gender roles and all that. Could also have done with less of the American NAZI leader not being the bad guy. Not even going into the whole stalker thing.
Besides these issues I have with the story it was otherwise a sold detective story. Spenser actually went looking for and finding clues with almost no punching to obtain information. That was a great part of the story.
Another solid entry into the Spenser series of books. I realize Parker is trying to be progressive in his writings and show that he is super smart. But this "even the gays can be bad" take does not age well into the current social understanding of gender roles and all that. Could also have done with less of the American NAZI leader not being the bad guy. Not even going into the whole stalker thing.
Besides these issues I have with the story it was otherwise a sold detective story. Spenser actually went looking for and finding clues with almost no punching to obtain information. That was a great part of the story.
July 19, 2017
Unlike the last Spenser novel I read, this one had a lot more pith, and rather fewer shoot-em-ups. And it was more entertaining, probably as a result. Plus the dialog between the characters, especially between Spenser and Hawk, was better -- producing at least one or two audible chuckles from me.
June 24, 2018
Good spenser romp
I like Spencer books and this is a good one. Two treads with a few twists excellent story. Try early books first.
I like Spencer books and this is a good one. Two treads with a few twists excellent story. Try early books first.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 290 reviews