My first intro to the Spencer character in this book came via the television series, Spencer for Hire. What fun it was to get a more in depth picture of Spencer. In the book he is both more complex and more sexual than portrayed on tv. Plus, his sense of humor comes across better and the quips between he and Susan are great.

This story of Spencer's investigation of horse shootings was formulaic in the sense that there were no extraordinary feats of daring, no complicated codes to decipher or international trails to follow. Just a straight-forward, whodunit, with a little humanitarian subplot. It was perfectly entertaining and lasted as long as a made for tv movie...but with no commercial interruption.

I will definitely read more of Parker's books.

A perfect read for any Robert Parker fans out there, Hugger Mugger features Spencer down south, meeting some very interesting characters both enemy and friend. Parker's ability to spin a tale is always impressive and this book is no exception!

Spenser is asked to travel down South to help find out why the horses in the Three Fillies stables are being shot, seemingly at random. Not too long after his arrival, the owner of the stable is himself shot and Spenser is asked to leave. A couple months go by and the lover of the stable owner re-hires him, saying that something strange is going on and she wants him to figure out who killed Walter Clive, because the police department is being stonewalled and no one is being allowed onto the property, herself included.

A small sub-plot involving a nanny is somewhat spuriously added in for no apparent reason, but I guess it gives Spenser something to do in the interim.

Overall, obviously, I really enjoyed this book - gave it 5 stars and all. However, I live in Georgia and there is one thing I noted right away. When Spenser first arrives at the Clive mansion, he is offered "iced tea" and the sugar is offered separately. Again, later in the book, characters are referred to as drinking "iced tea." I have to forgive Robert Parker, he is obviously a Yankee and doesn't know much about Southern culture; but no self-respecting Southerner would offer anyone "iced tea," nor drink such a thing. Down here we drink "sweet tea" with the sugar already added. If'n y'all want "iced tea," you are on your own. If someone wants tea without sugar, they have to ask for "un-sweet tea." It's a Southern thing and something to keep in mind if you write a book based in the South. :-) My nit-pick for the week. You're welcome.

Spenser is just too much fun to share a mystery with! He almost always has me chuckling aloud when he succinctly puts others in their place, particularly when they are too consumed with their own importance. I agree with others that I missed Hawk in this book but I felt that I gained a more in depth understanding of Spenser's relationship with Susan, which made up the difference. Spenser showed some tenderness underneath that tough exterior and that is always one of his more endearing qualities. The mystery goes along and gets solved but it's the people development that I enjoy and this book does it well. One grows to care about them, even one of the murderers. Well worth reading. I listened to the audio casette version and it was poorly recorded which detracted a bit from the enjoyment.

This # 27 in the Spenser series gave another easy in, opening with the journalistic, capital-letter "I" luxuriating in the prime narrative style for the private eye genre. In this First Person pose of panache, Spenser was lounging in his office chair, feet propped on the window sill, contemplating baseball. A potential client and his daughter interrupted the reverie by entering Spenser's domain, oozing varieties of slow southern charm. The father was one of Parker's perfect portrayals of the putrid-personal-quality of unfounded uppity (charm tarnished there). The daughter appeared to have the warmth of "Y'all come down he'ah" so well heeled, Spenser began believing it was the genuine asset.

Or, could a gorgeous young southern lady fool Spenser's radar-for-phoney, in a plot in which someone might have an opportunity to act in Clark Gable's role, concluding HUGGER MUGGER with the well used line from GONE WITH THE WIND, "Frankly, my lady, I don't give a ..."

I was surprised to discover from the opening scene that Hugger Mugger was the name of a highly prized race horse, but not surprised to discover that Spenser would be heading south to dig into down-home hospitality simultaneous to digging into dirty laundry and dark racing schemes. As usual, Parker perfected another geographic, sub-cultural ambiance, and had Spenser working up a sweat, worming his private-eye Boston-ways into a heatedly brewing situation.

I noticed Hawk's absence in this plot, but not until what was there had solidified my willing residence. I can see that what Parker was developing in Spenser and the series at the "Time of Hugger" wouldn't have been possible with Hawk's ebony perk included.

The ending in this one gave a couple delightfully subtle twists to revered old movies and recurring literary themes, in which one of the culprit's karma was paid with a panache of eyes, teeth, and irony... and another culprit got away with something in an unanticipated out-the-door scene.

Having reviewed all except the last few books in the Spenser series, I'm beginning to wonder if HUGGER MUGGER may have been the last of the breed of leisurely walks through other city ambiance complete with regular, detailed, and yummy weather reports? If so, it's going on my "relish the setting detail" list. POTSHOT (which was the first book in this series I read) had action and took place in Arizona, but the plot walk was not leisurely. (See my Listmania for Spenser entries in order, with blurbs.)

I've not read The Robert B. Parker Companion, but possibly it gives more detailed insight to some of the questions I and others have raised in reviews of this series.

Continuing to me to be the most awesome fact to me in on qualities and evolution of this series is that it can be read for pure entertainment, or with focused observation and appreciation of its layers of depth, in theme dramatized, and literary style applied. Of course, when a reader is seeking unadulterated entertainment he may be slightly disappointed at times when a book in the series slips off what might have been anticipated as a relished rut or beaten path, though most readers, myself included, seem to enjoy Parker's style sequencing and evolution in this series as absolutely accurate. On the other hand, if a reader becomes involved in the series as a fascinating study, most content and style shifts will be felt as refreshment and intrigue, cherished collections of red flags to observe gleefully through a magnifying glass.

Spenser's charm remains and regenerates,
Linda Shelnutt

Parker's career has gone from excellent to mediocre and back to strong. This, while far from his best, is very good.

Robert B. Parker's most recent SPENSER novel. Not his best, but still good. I hope more of his SPENSER novels make it up on this list.