Hugger Mugger: Summary and book reviews of Hugger Mugger by Robert Parker, plus links to an excerpt from Hugger Mugger and a biography of Robert Parker.
Hugger Mugger
by Robert B. Parker
Hardcover: Apr 2000,
320 pages.
Paperback: Jun 2001,
336 pages.
"It's easy to see why Parker's snappy banter and cynical eye have kept fans turning pages for 25 years . . . his wisecracks, combined with Parker's shorthand flair for scathing characterization, make for a satisfying read," said Entertainment Weekly of last year's Hush Money. Now Parker presents Spenser with a deceptively dangerous and multi-layered case: Someone has been killing racehorses at stables across the south, and the Boston P.I. travels to Georgia to protect the two-year-old destined to become the next Secretariat.
When Spenser is approached by Walter Clive, president of Three Fillies Stables, to find out who is threatening his horse Hugger Mugger, he can hardly say no: He's been doing pro bono work for so long his cupboards are just about bare. Disregarding the resentment of the local Georgia law enforcement, Spenser takes the case. Though Clive has hired a separate security firm, he wants someone with Spenser's experience to supervise the operation.
Despite a veneer of civility, Spenser encounters tensions beneath the surface southern gentility. The case takes an even more deadly turn when the attacker claims a human victim, and Spenser must revise his impressions of the whole Three Fillies organization--and watch his own back as well.
With razor-sharp dialogue, eloquently spare prose, and some of the best supporting characters to grace the printed page, Hugger Mugger is grand entertainment.
Entertainment Weekly
Brisk...crackling...Hugger Mugger finishes strong, just like a thoroughbred should.
Booklist - Bill Ott
Late-night phone calls home to Boston give Susan Silverman, Spenser's lady love, a chance to swap one-liners with her fella, and the Hawk role is admirably played by a gay ex-cop who helps round up the bad guys. Don't expect this one to rank in your top 10 Spenser novels, but it's worth a couple hours of light entertainment. Still, it's time for Hawk to hurry home.
Publishers Weekly
The pacing is strong, the characters are fresh as dew and the prose is Parker-perfect. The Spenser-specific personal drama that drives the best of the tales is lacking, but overall, the story will fit Parker fans like an old shoe.
A small-town cop must get to the bottom of one of the greatest conspiracies of our time. As he attempts to unravel the puzzle, he finds that everyone seems to be one step ahead of him, disposing of witnesses and setting him up for the fall.
The tenth Easy Rawlins thriller puts him on the streets of LA to solve a case that threatens the lives of his closest friends.
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Booklist - Bill Ott
