Painted Ladies
A Spenser Novel

A better-than-average later Spenser featuring--for a change!--an interesting plot, involving art theft, Auschwitz, a secret, sinister "foundation," and just enough (as opposed to the usual too much) of lady-love Susan and child-surrogate doggie Pearl. This posthumously published novel makes an honor......more

In this 38th book in the series, Spenser investigates the murder of an art expert. The mystery can be read as a standalone. ***** When a painting called 'Lady With a Finch' by 17th century Dutch artist Franz Hermenszoon is stolen from Boston's Hammond Museum, the thieves offer to return it for a ranso......more

[Read Nov 2018; Reviewed Sept 2023] Robert B Parker had no use for critics. Near the end of his life, though, I wonder if maybe he started paying attention to at least some of them. Sales were down. To be fair, sales were down for everybody. The world was continuing to change and people who read for......more

For many years, I've been a fan of Robert B. Parker's Spenser series, and even though many of the later books in the series do not measure up to the standards that Parker set earlier, I've still enjoyed most of them. Parker died a couple of years ago, and I've been reluctant to read Painted Ladies a......more

Robert B. Parker died almost a year ago, but from what I’ve read Painted Ladies is the first of two unpublished Spenser novels that he had completed. Plus, considering Parker’s output, who knows how many books from his other three series may come out? It seems like Parker’s literary ghost will be wi......more