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Widow’s Walk by Robert B. Parker Recommendation: •••
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Bank on It Mystery fans will be pleased that Boston’s best private eye has returned to narrate Robert B. Parker’s latest novel, Widow’s Walk. Nathan Smith has been murdered, and his widow is the prime suspect. Parker masters dialogue, and the momentum of the plot builds on every page of this book. Here’s an excerpt of dialogue between Spenser and lawyer Rita Fiore at the beginning of the book: “ ‘She hear the shot?’ ‘No. Says the TV was on loud and her door was closed so as not to wake him up.’ ‘So she found him that way when she went up to bed.’ ‘Yes. They didn’t share a bedroom, but she usually stopped in to say good night.’ ‘Did he normally sleep naked?’ I said. ‘I don’t know.’ ‘Okay,’ I said. ‘She’s a good candidate. But they got to have more than that to prosecute.’ ‘They had a huge fight earlier in the evening. He actually slapped her.’ ‘Witnesses?’ ‘Two dozen. It was a big cocktail party in Brookline.’ ‘And I assume she’s his heir,’ I said. ‘Yes.’ ‘And there’s more,’ I said. ‘Unfortunately, yes. Prosecution has a witness who says she tried to hire him to kill her husband.’ ‘And he declined?’ ‘He says he did.’ ‘He made a deal for his testimony?’ ‘Yes. They picked him up for something unrelated. He said if they could work something out, he could help them with this case.’ ‘Which is a high profiler,’ I said. ‘The Smiths first came to Boston on the Mayflower,’ Rita said. ‘The Mayflower didn’t come to Boston,’ I said. ‘Well, they’ve been here a long time,’ Rita said.” Spenser fans will enjoy his smartass comments throughout the book, and will enjoy following him step by step in solving the mystery. Widow’s Walk may not be among Parker’s fie best novels, but it’s pleasant entertainment. If you’ve never read his books before, you may as well start here and now. Steve Hopkins, April 10, 2002
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