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On a gray May afternoon, Boston based Private Investigator Spenser receives a visit from the closest thing he has to a son, Paul Giacomin. Paul shows up with a box of a half dozen Krispy Kreme Donuts and a friend, Daryl Gordon. Daryl has a problem and who better to bring it to than Spenser, Private Investigator extraordinaire? In 1974 Daryl's mother, Emily Gordon, had been visiting Boston when the bank she entered was robbed. Of all the people there, Emily Gordon had been the only one shot and killed. Although a revolutionary group calling itself The Dred Scott Brigade had taken credit for the hold-up and shooting, no individual had ever been arrested for her death, and now 28 years later Daryl, her daughter, wants justice. Accepting the princely sum of the six Krispy Kremes as his fee, Spencer takes on the task. Just scratching the surface of the case brings out the Feds and members of organized crime, all intent on keeping the 28-year-old mystery unsolved. As Spencer wades though mountains of clues, dealing with old, still high hippies, one-time radical revolutionaries, and ex-flower children now gone mainstream, Spencer calls upon his cadre of friends for help. To watch his back and provide responses to his rapid fire, wise guy repartee, Spenser calls on the enigmatic Hawk, his wise, yet truly frightening best friend. Spenser makes his 30th appearance in BACK STORY, in Robert B. Parker's successful and popular series. Like the other books in the series, Parker creates his Spenser character as a man with an abundance of rugged, virile, erudite, sensitive, yet modest, charm. Spenser and Hawk are as completely fearless and wily as ever. Many of the characters Spenser fans have come to know and love, including Lt. Quirk and Belson, make a showing in this book, along with a guest appearance by the star of Robert B. Parkeršs new series, Jesse Stone. Spenser's intelligent, long time psychologist girlfriend, Susan Silverman, is also drawn into this case as her life is pointedly put on the line by a mob hired killer when Spenser refuses to drop the investigation. In this Random House Audio Unabridged version of BACK STORY, Joe Mantegna performs the story for us. Having starred in the latest threeA&E television movies made from the Spenser novels, Mr. Mantegna is fast becoming the man we think of when we visualize Spencer. He does a grand job, bringing all the characters alive with solid believability. Robert B. Parker agrees that Mr. Mantegna is perfect as Spenser, so who am I to quibble, but I still would have liked a bit more of a Boston sound to his voice. But even with that small gripe, Joe Mantegna gives a flawless reading of this book. For people who already love the Spenser series, this audio book will be a welcomed addition to their Spenser library. And for people being introduced to this magnetic, witty, fast paced, no holes barred series, this book will be a splendid introduction. I thoroughly enjoyed this audio book of BACK STORY and I recommend it to everyone.
Reviewed by Sharon Katz, April 2003
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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