A short look at Robert B. Parker and Painted Ladies

The reason this is going to be short is because I have to head to work in a little bit. It's no reflection of the great Robert B. Parker. I'm presently over a hundred pages into Painted Ladies, and I'm loving the storyline and spending time with Spenser, who seems like an old friend, just like Lansdale's fictional characters, Hap & Leonard, or Elvis Cole and Joe Pike by Robert Crais.

I first became acquainted with Spenser when Robert Urich played him in the television series (Spenser: For Hire) back during the mid-eighties. A friend told me that the series was based on the novels written by Parker. Naturally, I immediately bought a couple of them, and then became hooked and had to go back and start from the beginning. It's now been twenty-five years and I'm still hooked on Spenser. Though the late actor, Robert Urich, wasn't as big in size as the character in the novels, I still see his face and hear his voice whenever I read a "Spenser" novel. It's the same way with Avery Brooks as Hawk and Barbara Stockman as Susan Sullivan.

Robert Parker went on to write the "Jesse Stone" series, which has been done for television with Tom Selleck playing Jesse. There's still one more TV movie in the "Jesse Stone" series that CBS is waiting to broadcast sometime this year. Also, Mr. Parker wrote the "Virgil Cole/Everett Hitch" western series that Ed Harris turned into a movie with the first novel, Appaloosa, and had perfect casting in it.

The one thing that Robert B. Parker always did with his writing was make it look simple, but it isn't. Trust me on this. He was a pure craftsman who knew his art. He always advocated using "he said" or "she said" when doing dialogue. The books have been nothing but a pleasure to read, and it's difficult knowing there's only one more "Spenser" novel due out in May before everything finally comes to an end. Mr. Parker was in his seventies when he died in January of 2010 while sitting at his computer, working on a new novel. He is deeply missed by his fans as will his fictional characters be in a few more months.

Painted Ladies has Spenser getting involved in an art ransom with the art professor being blown up during his watch. Spenser doesn't like that and stays with the case even though the professor is now dead. Spenser does what he does best in shaking the trees to see if anything drops out. He also takes on two assassins who are sent to kill him, plus Pearl the wonder dog finds a friend in another dog she encounters in the park. Man, I'm going to miss this series!

I suppose if you live long enough, you'll see many of your favorite authors die like I have. I've seen John D. MacDonald, Ross Thomas, Adam Hall, Robert Ludlum, Alistair MacLean, and several others pass away over the years. As an avid reader, I miss these writers and feel a deep emptiness inside of me. Other readers will know exactly what I mean by this. Anyway, it's almost time to ride the bus to work. That's when I do most of my reading. I'm going to spend the morning trip with Spenser again, knowing it won't be long before he's gone, too.