I have read many books on my Kindle and have been pleased with the rendering of all of them, except for this one. I'm not sure how this book was transcribed to the Kindle, but the transcription is awful. Page after page of spelling errors, well, the words are real, but not the correct word. It passed the spell-check, but the sentence is nonsense. From the context you can generally figure out what word was intended, but it happens so often that it really detracts from the book. Read the book? Absolutely - it's a four star book, but get it in paperback.

I wasn't crazy about this book for two reasons. While I'm a big Robert B. Parker fan, I've been late to the party and I've found his newer material to focus on plot first and insight second. Clearly his earlier work, or at least "Promised Land" blurs this distinction. Long passages on issues that are now somewhat dated sidetrack the predictable story line. This is interesting from a historical perspective but is not a real page turner like so many other Spoenser novels.

My other reason for the low rating is the pletora of typos in the Kindle edition. As "the leading publisher dedicated exclusively to electronic editions..." I was surprised at how poor the Rosetta Books quality was. I am not speaking to the quality of the content, but rather their half-hearted effort at putting it together.

As an avid reader (and professional writer for technical publications), I rarely notice any typos in printed material, particularly books. While you do see an occasional mistake, they are few and far between and my impression is that the quality is pretty high. Truth be told, there are likely more typos than are noticed by a casual reader, but the story you are reading may distract you enough to miss them as it commands your attention.

Not so with "Promised Land". This edition was so full of errors that it was a major barrier to enjoying the book. Clearly the firm employs OCR to convert books; equally clearly a human being never reads the book to proof it. While I'm not setting out to document the errors - "you re" instead of "you're", "not" instead of "that" - a quick read with a notepad would have uncovered them all. This may have taken a little extra time, but your electronic edition is the only one I have seen with more than one or two errors - and my guess is that there are at least thirty.

I will likely steer clear of Rosetta Books in the future. It's not that I don't appreciate the added information they provide - it's just that I buy a book to enjoy the story, not the trivia. As for Robert B. Parker, I'll definately get everything he writes today but may hold off on pursuing his back catalog.

Robert B. Parker has written a series of detective novels featuring "Spenser". Parker finished Raymond Chandler's "Poodle Springs" and wrote a novel that continued Chandler's "The Big Sleep". In Chapter 1 Spenser is working on his new office when Harvey Shepard hires him to find his run-away wife. Spenser explains the philosophy of wives who run away (Chapter 2). The details describe the Boston locale. Chapter 3 describes the drive to Hyannis and this city. Spenser meets Hawk at Shepard's house; are there complications? Spenser meets Millie the daughter. The Chief of Police gives Spenser a lead to the Silver Seas Motel where he learns something (Chapter 5).

Does Chapter 6 remind you of Chandler? Telephone bills and credit card receipts tell of a person's habits. One address is watched, and Pam Shepard is seen. [Too easy?] Spenser learns about Pam's friends in New Bedford (Chapter 8). [Parker could use language that Chandler could not forty years earlier (Chapter 9)] When Spenser returns to Harvey he learns more about his problems. [Would Marlowe refuse to report to a client?] Chapter 12 has a new complication for Spenser. There is shocking news in Chapter 14, and just the right amount of satire. The conversations and details date this book (Chapter 15). Harvey Shepard explains his problems (Chapter 17). Spenser comes up with a scheme to save the Shepard's from their foolishness (Chapter 20).

There is subtle satire in the meetings (Chapter 21). Spenser psychoanalyzes his clients (Chapter 22). The deal is arranged (Chapter 23). Spenser meets with the police (Chapter 24). Spenser discusses things with Susan in a restaurant! [Who could be listening?] Everything goes according to the plan (Chapter 26). There is a happy ending to this story in Chapter 29. This story has a good plot but seems incredible in parts. Some of the characters seem like cartoon characters. Raymond Chandler's Marlowe was a trouble-shooter for the very wealthy. Spenser is a down-market version but perhaps more interesting for that.

PROMISED LAND is the fourth Spenser novel, and definitely one of the better ones. The plotline deals with Spenser trying to find a runaway wife, only to discover that the husband who hired him has some very serious problems of his own.

This novel is important for two reasons. First, it introduces the character of Hawk, who would later become a key figure in the series. Second, this is the first novel to fully define the parameters of Spenser's relationship with his girlfriend, Susan Silverman. This book is therefore a must read for fans of the Spenser series.

PROMISED LAND has a relatively strong plot with an exciting conclusion. But this is also the first Spenser novel with a big philosophical component. Many of the characters have long, thoughtful dialogues about the nature of love, commitment and marriage. While many of these exchanges are interesting, most of them are overlong and struck me as stilted and unrealistic. I knock off a star for this reason.

You can read the Spenser novels in any order, but I personally believe the earlier ones should be read first. So my advice is to read this novel, along with GOD SAVE THE CHILD as your first Spenser books.

Highly recommended.

The prose is well-written, the characterizations are vivid and the whole story fits together like a hand in a glove. That said, much of the book is filled with rhetorical politicalization - which, admittedly, was much the topic of the day - that became a bit thick at times. I don't know many people who actually hold conversations like those held in the book. Again, although I lived through those times, I was very young - so maybe people DID talk like that back then. Anyway, the constant rhetoric rubbed me the wrong way after awhile, reducing my enjoyment of the story after awhile.

However, I love the way Robert Parker describes characters and actions, and I love Spenser's internal dialog. Hawk was an awesome new character and I hope we run into him again. Despite its faults, this was a book that I enjoyed reading overall, and recommend to anyone who enjoys PI novels with a bit of intelligence behind them.

*disclaimer* written in the middle of the night under the influence of medications that make me stupid dumb*