Authors - The Irresponsible Reader

DETAILS:
Series: InCryptid, #14
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: March 11, 2025
Format: eARC
Length: 432 pg.
Read Date: February 12-17, 2025

Obviously, there are some spoilers about the previous novel in the series, Aftermarket Afterlife to follow. And, you could probably say the same for the series as a whole. Take that into consideration if you read beyond the period at the end of this sentence.

What’s Installment Immortality About?

In the months that it took Mary to put herself back together after the attack on their training headquarters, the Covenant hasn’t been quiet. In fact, as they knew a ghost was involved in the attack, some of them have been targeting ghosts up and down the East Coast.

The anima mundi, still rebuilding its control, recruits (to put it nicely) Mary to stop them and rescue what ghosts she can. Mary gets permission to bring along some help from her family (the kind of help that can’t, say, get stuck in a ghost jar)—she doesn’t intend to, but she ends up bringing along Elsie and Arthur who have a need to do something, anything, to help them move on from their mother’s death.

So begins a cross-country trip filled with more danger than they expect (and they expect a lot).

More Mary

This book, like its predecessor, has done a fantastic job of showing the place of Mary in this family. She’s far more than just a quick message-delivery-system, or a genie that can show up at just the right time (she never really came across that way, but it’d be easy to see her filling those roles). It’s both heart-warming and heart-tugging.

She’s also changed a lot—thanks to Annie’s intervention at the Crossroads, and because of her new/growing relationship to the anima mundi. And there are more changes on the horizon—which will be fun to watch as people like me have become more invested in her after the last book.

I thought I had several things to say about Mary here, but just about all of them would need to be redacted. I really enjoyed our time with her, and while I expect that we’re going to be spending a few books focused on other characters after this one (Verity or Elsie are my guesses, which means it’ll probably be Alex), I’m looking forward to seeing what this new part of her life—ahem, afterlife—brings us.

Elsie and Arthur

Poor Arthur—I thought I had a pretty good handle on what was going on with him after the last book, but of course, there’s a lot more afoot than we could’ve known. With plenty of time with him—to see him interact with Mary and his sister, we get to hear a lot more from him and understand things from his perspective.

Then we learn even more from some outsiders. We’re going to have to spend some more time with Arthur soon, because leaving him where McGuire did is not comfortable.

Elsie, on the other hand, surprised me. I figured that like with Alex and Annie—and even the babysitter—when she got a chance to shine, she’d step up and show herself to be exactly the kind of kick-ass heroine that the Prices and Healys seem to specialize in. I won’t get into details, but she’s not cut from the same cloth as her cousins—but that doesn’t mean she should be taken lightly. It’s just that there’s an element of diversity even here that I wasn’t expecting, and I’m glad to see. I think it would’ve been boring to see her transform into a variation of Verity or Alice.

More interestingly than that for her was seeing her relationship with Arthur and how she’s reacting toward the Aeslin mice in their home.

So, what did I think about Installment Immortality?

This was a little bit of a let-down after the Aftermarket Afterlife. It was primarily a follow-up to it, tying up loose ends and getting us all ready for whatever is next. As such, it’s not going to be as good, it can’t be as powerful, and it should help the reader catch our breath. Also, saying it’s not quite as good as one of the best books in this series is not much of an insult.

But, oh man…there were so many things that are great about this book. For one example, there’s a conversation between Mary and one of the Aeslin Mice that is incredibly strange. And if you remember that we’re talking about a conversation between a ghost and a sentient, talking mouse with a perfect memory…strange should be expected. Not this level of it.

Of course, we get to meet new Cryptids, and more than a few ghosts. Their perspectives on the Prices, on the war with the Covenant, on Mary and the Crossroads (many don’t believe the Crossroads are gone, for example), and so on, are fascinating. It’s a good reminder—that we occasionally get, but not as strongly as we do here—how much people don’t instinctively trust this family. But we also get a variety of reactions to them along those lines.

This was very satisfying in terms of long-term character arcs, the war arc, and so on. Installment Immortality was also satisfying on its own terms. There’s some good supernatural, ghosty action. Some good reminders that the dead should not be messed with. Strong character development—no one leaves this book the way they came in. And some sweet moments that remind you that everyone can use a dog in their life.

This is not a book to jump into the series with, unless you want to spend a lot of time confused—Aftermarket Afterlife would function far better for that (as would starting at the beginning). But for long-term fans, this is exactly what they were looking for.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Tor Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for this post which contains my honest opinion—thanks to both for this.

4 Stars
This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis: What Can Happen When a Bad Review Copy Falls Into the Right Hands

By HCNewton

On February 23, 2025

In C.S. Lewis, Further Up and Further In, Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

Further Up and Further In A Year with C.S.Lewis

The Abolition of Man: Reflections on Education with Special Reference to the Teaching of English in the Upper Forms of Schools

by C. S. Lewis

DETAILS: 
Publisher: Macmillan Publishing Company
Publication Date: September 1, 1978 
Format: Paperback
Length: 91 pg.
Read Date: February 2, 2025

This thing which I have called for convenience the Tao, and which others may call Natural Law or Traditional Morality or the First Principles of Practical Reason or the First Platitudes, is not one among a series of possible systems of value. It is the sole source of all value judgements. If it is rejected, all value is rejected. If any value ts retained, it is retained. The effort to refute and raise a new system of value in its place is self-contradictory. There never has been, and never will be, a radically new judgement of value in the history of the world.

What’s The Abolition of Man About?

This starts off with starts off as a review of a textbook or two, “Teaching of English in the Upper Forms of Schools” (to quote the subtitle). He has strong objections to the direction (and the foundation) these books are taking. From there he shifts into English schooling/thinking in general, and the deficiencies he sees in it and what he fears it means for the nation as a whole.

This centers on the idea that English teachers and schools are abandoning objective truth, which he mounts a defense of while writing about what he thinks will happen to a society that abandons it.

English Education

This begins, as I said (as does the subtitle) by reviewing a couple of textbooks used in English classes in the upper grades. Lewis had been sent review copies of them and took issue with a lot of what he said.

Lewis (in a move I could never duplicate) doesn’t want to seem ungrateful for these copies, so disguises the authors and titles before he starts explaining the problems. I don’t know if his original audience could see through his thin disguises—or if that just became clearer later. I suspect the former.

From what he tells us about these books, I think he was being too generous in his appraisal. This was some lousy curriculum.

I’d have appreciated more along these lines—but I get why Lewis moved on to other things.

The Tao

As Lewis begins to leave the realm of English education toward looking at education—and thinking—as a whole, he begins to utilize and develop his concept of a Tao:

It is the doctrine of objective value, the belief that certain attitudes are really true, and others really false, to the kind of thing the universe is and the kind of things we are.

As the quotation that opened this post indicates, this comes in many names—Natural Law, Natural Revelation, “Traditional Morality,” and so on.

With the Tao, as assumed and/or believed throughout the world for most of human history, we get absolutes. We get objective values, objective truth. As we begin to neglect or throw off the concept of objective truth for subjectivity—or, worse yet, “pure” Reason on its own. We lose the basis of all civilization, the basis of the value of life and individual rights, and so much more.

While I think he could’ve been more thorough in his explanation of the Tao and in explaining his arguments—t’s hard not to look at the world around us today, as it’s developed (devolved?) since the early days of WWII when these lectures were delivered, and not think that Lewis was on to something.

One Issue that Troubles Me

In order to avoid misunderstanding, I may add that though I myself am a Theist, and indeed a Christian, I am not here attempting any indirect argument for Theism. I am simply arguing that if we are to have Values at all we must accept the ultimate platitudes of Practical Reason as having absolute validity: that any attempt, having become skeptical about these, to reintroduce value lower down on some supposedly more ‘realistic’ basis, is doomed. Whether this position implies a supernatural origin for the Tao is a question I am not here concerned with.

As good as this sounds—as reasonable, as open-minded, as whatever you might want to call it—I’m unconvinced that this is a position that a Christian can self-consciously hold (without trying to call into doubt Lewis’ faith, I just think he’s inconsistent on this point).

I have trouble holding that a consistent position regarding Practical Reason—or anything else, whatever “Values” you might choose—having absolute validity separate from the inspired Christian Scriptures is possible. I realize those of us who hold that kind of thinking are a minority in the history of the Church, but I can’t argue myself out of it. Lewis’ attempt to build his argument—his Tao—in this way is the part of this book that keeps me from getting super-excited about it.

The Appendix

The appendix features quotations from a variety of ancient (and less ancient) texts from around the globe illustrating that several civilizations held to certain positions on a variety of issues. This isn’t to prove the existence of his Tao (or whatever you want to call it); it’s to demonstrate that it exists in the way that “everyone” holds to something very much like each other in certain aspects.

I don’t know if I can take it as confidently as Lewis did—but I get what he’s trying to show, and can appreciate it

So, what did I think about The Abolition of Man?

I remember the first time I read this—in 1992 or 1993—and a few times since that this argument, this look toward the objective and the importance of it, while not absolutizing Science or much of anything else, hit me hard, impressed me, and really formed a lot of my thinking.

I wasn’t as impressed this time (at least a decade since my last reading)—don’t get me wrong, it’s good, and I share a lot of the concerns and convictions with Lewis. But I wonder if he goes as deeply as we need today. It’s not enough to argue for a vague absolute—we need to understand the absolute, and where it comes from. There’s also the question of what do we do when we cannot agree on absolutes in a civic society, how do we approach this with wisdom and grace. I believe Lewis would have a lot to teach us—even if I objected to some of it. I understand that given the nature of this book (written version of lectures), his cultural context, and the enemies (literal and figurative) he had in mind, why we don’t get that book here.

Also, even the English curriculum he critiqued is better than a lot of what is given today (by all sorts of stripes of schools).

That said—this is a superior work to The Problem of Pain that takes advantage of Lewis’ strengths in a way the other couldn’t while not exposing many of his weaknesses as the previous book did. He’s got better works waiting for me, and I’m eager to get to them.

3.5 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire: Things Get Serious

By HCNewton

On February 10, 2025

In Fiction, InCryptid, Seanan McGuire, Urban Fantasy

This is long-overdue. But half of what I do in these posts is figure out what I think of a book—and since about 30 minutes after finishing this book, I’ve known what I had to say (although I’m pretty sure I had the title in mind since I was about 1/3 of the way in, which is a shame, because “Adventures in Babysitting” is right there). Knowing exactly what I want to say makes writing a post hard, there’s no discovery for me. But, I’ve got an ARC for the next book waiting for me, so I had to get serious about things and get this out of my head so I can dive into it.

Aftermarket Afterlife

by Seanan McGuire

DETAILS:
Series: InCryptid, #13
Publisher: Daw Books
Publication Date: March 5, 2024
Format: Trade Paperback
Length: 299 pg.
Read Date: March 21-27, 2024

What’s Aftermarket Afterlife About?

Just before I started writing this (or started again…this is something like the 15th attempt since March of last year), I took a glance at what I wrote about Backpacking Through Bedlam. This was either a mistake because I said everything there that I was about to say to start this post and now I have to come up with something new. Or it was smart because now I can cut out a lot of things and point you to that instead.

I’m lazy enough to lean toward “mistake.” But let’s see what I can do instead.

Lest we think that the Covenant of St. George in general and Leonard Cunningham in particular have just been twiddling their thumbs while we’ve been focused on Annie’s adventures (although we see some of Leonard there) or the end of Alice’s quest, we learn very quickly that they’ve been active. They’ve been gathering intelligence and plotting. The result is a shock-and-awe campaign that takes the family and their cryptid (and human) friends and allies unaware—and results in several injuries, deaths, and loss of property. Probably more damage, too.

But before we can get to that, Thomas and Alice (and Sally) arrive at the Portland-area compound for a reunion/(re)introduction. This goes so incredibly poorly that the reader will initially be relieved by the attacks because you foolishly think that means things are going to get more entertaining.

All this results in Mary, of all people, coming up with a plan to take the action to the front door of the Covenant.

Luck Runs Out

I’m not sure that I noticed it during my initial reads of the series—but in the last couple of books, as I listen to them on audio, I keep hearing about the strange luck the family has. And honestly, even if I hadn’t used the word luck—it’s hard not to think that. Verity and her friends/family/loved ones (same for her brother and sister and their friends/loved ones) largely escape the novels unscathed.

The thing about luck is…it runs out. This can be seen in the way that Sarah’s rescue of Artie at the end of Calculated Risks isn’t as successful as we might have thought at the time. And for another telling piece of evidence is pretty much this entire novel.

Choice of Mary

I was initially surprised to see Mary the family’s babysitting ghost as our POV character for this one. I expected another of the Price kids to get the slot (it’s been too long since we spent real time with Alex, for example). But I wasn’t going to complain—if only because it was nice to see her backstory.

In retrospect, there was no other choice. The reader (and McGuire) needed someone who could rapidly move between the various parts of the country to see everything going on and to take part in the action in some (not all) of the places the Covenant was acting. Thanks to her being the major actor, we get a little more insight into what happened to the animus mundi following Annie’s defeat of the Crossroads.

There are a couple of other things that only Mary could contribute to this story, but I can’t talk about those. So, as I expected but didn’t see going in, McGuire didn’t have a choice in POV character. It just had to be her.

Hail The Aeslin Mice

It’s really hard not to feel bad for these guys (when they’re not making you smile) throughout the series. This is probably the hardest novel to get through because of what happens to them. Their losses—different from the losses the family takes, and almost worse—are so hard to watch. Ditto for the family talking about them.

What’s even worse is the note that the race as a whole likely doesn’t have many more generations left. I’m sorry…I’m just not okay with that. I hope/trust that we’re going to find out how wrong those predictions are.

So, what did I think about Aftermarket Afterlife?

When I put this down I said something—I don’t remember what—but my daughter seemed shocked at my reaction. I was stunned, I didn’t expect most of what I spent the last hour or so reading (or the hours previous to it) and I guess that came out forcefully. And I’m still in that frame of mind almost 11 months later. I’m stunned by what McGuire did here.

The InCryptid books have always been (in my mind) the lighter of McGuire’s series—Toby’s for drama and excitement, the Wayward Children are to fill you with whimsy and heartbreak, and Verity/Alex/Annie et al are for some goofy action and strange critters.

I should know McGuire better than that. She’s never going to just let something be light entertainment. Still, I wasn’t prepared for this escalation. I should’ve been. The signs have been there since the end of Chaos Choreography. I’m not going to get into all the ways she gut-punches the readers here. But there are several. Some small, some huge, some of indeterminate size as of this time.

Still, McGuire deals with the various personalities, histories, abilities, interests, and everything else like a master. The writing is quirky as it needs to be without taking away from the drama or heartbreak. Mary is a great character and it’s good to see her come into her own, and we see a lot from other family members that we haven’t spent enough time with, too—ll while catching up with old friends. This is McGuire at peak performance.

Installment Immortality is due soon, and I have no idea what to expect from it—nor from the series going forward. But it’s going to be a very different kind of entity than we’ve seen before. I can’t wait for it.

4 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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The Pilgrim’s Regress by C.S. Lewis: Everyone Has to Start Somewhere

By HCNewton

On February 6, 2025

In Book Blogger Hop, C.S. Lewis, Fantasy, Fiction, Further Up and Further In, General Fiction/Literature

Further Up and Further In A Year with C.S.Lewis

The Pilgrim’s Regress

by C. S. Lewis

DETAILS:
Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Publication Date: October 22, 2014
Format: Paperback
Length: 230 pg.
Read Date: January 1-3, 2025

A Bit of Personal History (feel free to skip)

Back in ’91 or ’92, I saw a copy of The Pilgrim’s Regress on a bookstore shelf. I was in a “read everything by Lewis you can get your hands on phase,” so I instantly picked it up. But the back of the book talked about it as the modern equivalent of Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress in a way that I figured I should read Bunyan before it.

It took me a little while to track down the Bunyan (the toilsome times before online bookshops), and by the time I worked my way through it, the bookstore didn’t have that copy any more and I was distracted by other things.

I’ve often thought about trying this book since then—but it wasn’t until I started thinking about this project that I finally combined ambition with general curiosity.

What’s The Pilgrim’s Regress About?

This modern-retelling of The Pilgrim’s Progressis an allegory about a man named John on his journey from childhood exposure to religion in Puritania to an Island of pleasure. Along the way, he has to deal with several physical, spiritiual and itellectual challenges to take him away from his journey (pretty much like Bunyan’s Christian).

This was the first thing that Lewis wrote after his conversion, and it’s considered to be an intellectual biography of that journey.

Basically, think Bunyan for the early 20th Century and you’ve got it.

A Couple of Things That Helped Me

Early on, John encounters a “brown girl” who distracts him from his interest in—or at least pursuing that interest. They begin a sexual relationship, which goes awry and causes some serious problems for John (actually, that entire relationship from her introduction on is a serious problem.) I was pretty sure that Lewis wasn’t making any kind of ethnic characterization or anything, but it’s hard to shake the feeling. Thankfully, reading this blog post by a Lewis expert made me feel so much better (and shows I was on the right path in general with it). I’d explain it, but Dr. Hurd does it better.

The other thing that helped was the afterword that Lewis wrote for the Third Edition, ten years after the original publication. He points to some flaws, or at least things he could’ve done better. I agreed with most of his self-diagnosis, and at least one point, his explanation made me understand an aspect of the book (and, yes, he was right to critique himself).

So, while I’m glad for the additional things that helped me appreciate the book, I trust that with very little effort, I could find more. I shouldn’t have to look to these kinds of things to appreciate a book. To gain a better understanding, sure. But to move me from “meh” to “okay, that wasn’t that bad/objectional” should come from the text itself—not from others.

So, what did I think about The Pilgrim’s Regress?

It’s been almost a century since this was first published, and I cannot decide if it’s a good thing or not that so many of the characters and ideas John encounters are still relevant and identifiable (although some details may have altered a bit). The reader can see that these intellectual movements are nothing new—sadly, many of them haven’t been forgotten. One of the best things about reading theological works written generations before me is wondering exactly what the author is targeting (or why they’re bothering)—but the ideas that Lewis wants to confront are still in his readers’ lives. Probably even more than they were for him.

The beginning of the book seemed promising with an uncaring and cold clergy, parents who were off the mark, and so on—I thought John’s journey would lead us to a correction of or confrontation with these things. But no, we get the brown girl and then things go far from where I thought we were going. Naturally, I don’t mind that—but I would’ve appreciated something more definitive. That’s personal taste, though.

Like many allegories, particularly Bunyan’s, there is nothing subtle about The Pilgrim’s Regress. That doesn’t mean it’s not good, or that it’s so clear always that there’s no thinking involved, but, wow—it does tend to feel like it’s hitting you with a brick when John encounters a new person/idea.

Am I glad that I read this? Yes. So I can see Lewis’ development as a writer, to satisfy a certain curiosity in general, and to cross off a decades-old item from my “To Read List.” For people who don’t have at least two of those motivations to pick this up, I can’t really recommend it. I’m not sure I really can for those who do have those motivations—but it satisfies those particular itches.

Is this bad? By no means. It’s not good either. I did particularly enjoy certain lines, scenes, or encounters. I thought some of the ways that Lewis framed the better alternatives to be refreshing and helpful. But overall this really did nothing for me.

3 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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PUB DAY REPOST: I Have Too Many Things to Say About Robert B. Parker’s Buried Secrets by Christopher Farnsworth

By HCNewton

On February 4, 2025

In Fiction, Jesse Stone, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Robert B. Parker

Robert B. Parker’s Buried Secrets

by Christopher Farnsworth

DETAILS:
Series: Series: Jesse Stone, #22
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
Format: eARC
Length: 352 pg.
Read Date: January 4-6, 2025

What’s Buried Secrets About?

Jesse is called to make a welfare check on an elderly Paradise resident (no one he knows) and finds the worst outcome—they are weeks too late for this check. Also, the man was a hoarder, and it’s near impossible to navigate through his home to his body without disturbing some of his stacks of…whatever it was that he’d accumulated.

When one box of photos is dislodged, Jesse finds several photos of murder victims. Crime Scene techs soon find $2 million in cash stashed in the house. Either one of these finds would send Jesse’s “coply intuition” to sound alarm bills—the two together? He knows that they stumbled onto something bad—and worse is on the way to Paradise if they can’t wrap up this case soon.

The A Story and Jesse

(not that most of the cast of characters aren’t involved in this storyline)
Something about this case sets Jesse off. Something is eating him in ways that he’s unprepared for, and he gets a little on edge and grumpy (at least to those on the outside). The bottle is calling to him in a way it hasn’t for a while. The voice is loud and tempting. There’s at least once that he goes looking for a bottle that thankfully isn’t there anymore.

The way this—and the related issues it brings up—work themselves out through this novel shows just how far Jesse has come since he first came to Paradise—or even since he stopped drinking in earnest. But that battle isn’t over.

The rest of the PPD is involved in this storyline, but this is Jesse’s focus throughout the novel—it’s also where everything that Jesse goes through emotionally/psychologically is rooted. As such, I’ve found that I can’t keep talking about this without telling you too much. So let’s move on to:

The B Story and Everyone Else

The day that this body is found is also the first day for a new officer for the PPD. He’d spent some time on patrol in a major city, and then a smaller city before this relocating. He tells Jesse that he wanted to be in a town like Paradise, where he could do some good.

There’s an incident or two—you could see them as first-day on-the-job eagerness, a training issue, or something worse. Before you know it, people in Paradise (and in the PPD) are divided over this one officer. Jesse is too caught up in this case, the city politics, and other things to really dig into things. Some others in the department aren’t so sure about him. Others are willing to give him a chance or three. Essentially, Jesse is willing to let things shake out on their own—at least until he’s able to close the murder.

He might not get that chance. Making this call is arguably Jesse’s biggest mistake in the novel.

In addition to the story of this officer, Farnsworth is able to bring in some discussion of what it means to be a police officer in the 21st Century USA. What does it look like, what kind of people should wear the badge? What kind of equipment should police departments have? How can people who have a problem with the police in their area safely do? There’s a related scene that touches on public protest and social media/legacy media fanning the flames.

In many—most—ways, this story is not the main focus of the book—but it’s so close that it might as well be. And as much as I enjoyed The A Story, this is the one that hooked me the deepest. Farnsworth did the franchise proud with it, too.

Farnsworth at the Helm

Poor Jesse Stone, this is his fourth author since Parker’s death. Just for that reason alone, I hope Farnsworth sticks around for a while. He and his readers need some continuity. Once you figure in what a bang-up job that Farnsworth did, I can underscore that hope a couple of times.

Unlike just about every other (I think every other, but let’s throw some wiggle room into this), Farnsworth didn’t give us a lot of trivia from Parker’s books to establish his bona fides. There were some references, but they were the same kind that Parker himself made. Farnsworth showed us his credentials in the way he wrote these characters, this community, and the story.

I was a little apprehensive about him—I read at least the first two of his Nathaniel Cade books—maybe all three, but nothing since. There was something about whichever Cade book was my last that didn’t leave me eager to try him again. Don’t ask me what it was—it’s been over a decade. I’m glad my loyalty to the series won out over my vague sense of apprehension (it wasn’t a close competition). He nailed it.

The one item that I’m most happy about is that with one line of dialogue, Farnsworth expanded on—added depth to—Dix. Did we need this for Dix? But I love that we got it. Also…it was a great way to give that gift to us.

BTS Question

I know there have been conversations between some of the Parker-verse authors about moves they were going to make with certain characters and whatnot—I can’t remember the details, but I heard in one or two interviews that Atkins or Coleman had to make an adjustment to one book because of something the other did (I’m being very vague because I don’t remember too much and I’m too lazy to do the homework). So I’m sure that Farnsworth and Lupica had a conversation about this book and the events of Hot Property.

What I want to know is how did Hot Property impact this novel? Did Farnsworth have Rita’s scenes in this book completed and added a couple of lines to reflect it? Did he have something else in mind for those scenes and revised them to take advantage of Lupica’s latest? Just what kind of collaboration happened?

Does this impact my appreciation for either book? Nah. But I’m certainly curious.

So, what did I think about Buried Secrets?

At each step along the way, I kept thinking of other things I wanted to say about this one—and at book 22 of a series (no matter how many authors have contributed), that’s saying something. I’ve done my best to limit myself to the bigger matters, but I think I could add at least another 5 paragraphs without breaking a sweat (and they’d likely lead to others).

When Coleman got Jesse into AA, I saw one fan complain about him turning Jesse into “another whining Twelve Step wuss” (that’s very close to it). This seemed like an odd take, as most of Parker’s work (since 1974’s God Save the Child) has celebrated people getting help via therapy or some other means to improve—even save—their lives. I’m afraid that some of what this book does is going to elicit similar reactions from that fan and many others. I hope that the publisher, the Parker Estate, and Farnsworth ignore all that. I don’t see anything here that doesn’t fit in Parker’s worldview (or at least the worldview of all of his fiction).

The Paradise Police Department—particularly the officers we’ve spent time with since Night Passage—got to shine as they ought to. Sure, it’s Jesse’s series, but Molly, Suit, Peter, Gabe, and the others are more than just cardboard cutouts in the background (obviously we don’t know as much about Peter and Gabe as we do some others). The more the various personnel get to contribute, the more the books feel like it’s about a Police Chief—not some rogue lawman. I’m glad Farnsworth did that.

Buried Secrets was satisfying on every level that I can think of. It’s the best Jesse Stone novel in years (with all due respect to Mr. Lupica), specifically since The Hangman’s Sonnet or Colorblind (now that I’ve mentioned those two books in particular, I could probably have written a post just about the ways that Buried Secrets parallels major elements of those, something I hadn’t thought of until now). It contains a good mystery, some strong social commentary, some great character moments, a bunch of characters on the other side of the law that you just have to meet, some solid action, and most of all, time with characters that fans have been spending time with for decades.

I strongly recommend this.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from PENGUIN GROUP Putnam via NetGalley in exchange for this post which contains my honest opinion—thanks to both for this.

4 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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I Have Too Many Things to Say About Robert B. Parker’s Buried Secrets by Christopher Farnsworth

By HCNewton

On February 3, 2025

In Fiction, Jesse Stone, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Robert B. Parker

Robert B. Parker’s Buried Secrets

by Christopher Farnsworth

DETAILS:
Series: Series: Jesse Stone, #22
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
Format: eARC
Length: 352 pg.
Read Date: January 4-6, 2025

What’s Buried Secrets About?

Jesse is called to make a welfare check on an elderly Paradise resident (no one he knows) and finds the worst outcome—they are weeks too late for this check. Also, the man was a hoarder, and it’s near impossible to navigate through his home to his body without disturbing some of his stacks of…whatever it was that he’d accumulated.

When one box of photos is dislodged, Jesse finds several photos of murder victims. Crime Scene techs soon find $2 million in cash stashed in the house. Either one of these finds would send Jesse’s “coply intuition” to sound alarm bills—the two together? He knows that they stumbled onto something bad—and worse is on the way to Paradise if they can’t wrap up this case soon.

The A Story and Jesse

(not that most of the cast of characters aren’t involved in this storyline)
Something about this case sets Jesse off. Something is eating him in ways that he’s unprepared for, and he gets a little on edge and grumpy (at least to those on the outside). The bottle is calling to him in a way it hasn’t for a while. The voice is loud and tempting. There’s at least once that he goes looking for a bottle that thankfully isn’t there anymore.

The way this—and the related issues it brings up—work themselves out through this novel shows just how far Jesse has come since he first came to Paradise—or even since he stopped drinking in earnest. But that battle isn’t over.

The rest of the PPD is involved in this storyline, but this is Jesse’s focus throughout the novel—it’s also where everything that Jesse goes through emotionally/psychologically is rooted. As such, I’ve found that I can’t keep talking about this without telling you too much. So let’s move on to:

The B Story and Everyone Else

The day that this body is found is also the first day for a new officer for the PPD. He’d spent some time on patrol in a major city, and then a smaller city before this relocating. He tells Jesse that he wanted to be in a town like Paradise, where he could do some good.

There’s an incident or two—you could see them as first-day on-the-job eagerness, a training issue, or something worse. Before you know it, people in Paradise (and in the PPD) are divided over this one officer. Jesse is too caught up in this case, the city politics, and other things to really dig into things. Some others in the department aren’t so sure about him. Others are willing to give him a chance or three. Essentially, Jesse is willing to let things shake out on their own—at least until he’s able to close the murder.

He might not get that chance. Making this call is arguably Jesse’s biggest mistake in the novel.

In addition to the story of this officer, Farnsworth is able to bring in some discussion of what it means to be a police officer in the 21st Century USA. What does it look like, what kind of people should wear the badge? What kind of equipment should police departments have? How can people who have a problem with the police in their area safely do? There’s a related scene that touches on public protest and social media/legacy media fanning the flames.

In many—most—ways, this story is not the main focus of the book—but it’s so close that it might as well be. And as much as I enjoyed The A Story, this is the one that hooked me the deepest. Farnsworth did the franchise proud with it, too.

Farnsworth at the Helm

Poor Jesse Stone, this is his fourth author since Parker’s death. Just for that reason alone, I hope Farnsworth sticks around for a while. He and his readers need some continuity. Once you figure in what a bang-up job that Farnsworth did, I can underscore that hope a couple of times.

Unlike just about every other (I think every other, but let’s throw some wiggle room into this), Farnsworth didn’t give us a lot of trivia from Parker’s books to establish his bona fides. There were some references, but they were the same kind that Parker himself made. Farnsworth showed us his credentials in the way he wrote these characters, this community, and the story.

I was a little apprehensive about him—I read at least the first two of his Nathaniel Cade books—maybe all three, but nothing since. There was something about whichever Cade book was my last that didn’t leave me eager to try him again. Don’t ask me what it was—it’s been over a decade. I’m glad my loyalty to the series won out over my vague sense of apprehension (it wasn’t a close competition). He nailed it.

The one item that I’m most happy about is that with one line of dialogue, Farnsworth expanded on—added depth to—Dix. Did we need this for Dix? But I love that we got it. Also…it was a great way to give that gift to us.

BTS Question

I know there have been conversations between some of the Parker-verse authors about moves they were going to make with certain characters and whatnot—I can’t remember the details, but I heard in one or two interviews that Atkins or Coleman had to make an adjustment to one book because of something the other did (I’m being very vague because I don’t remember too much and I’m too lazy to do the homework). So I’m sure that Farnsworth and Lupica had a conversation about this book and the events of Hot Property.

What I want to know is how did Hot Property impact this novel? Did Farnsworth have Rita’s scenes in this book completed and added a couple of lines to reflect it? Did he have something else in mind for those scenes and revised them to take advantage of Lupica’s latest? Just what kind of collaboration happened?

Does this impact my appreciation for either book? Nah. But I’m certainly curious.

So, what did I think about Buried Secrets?

At each step along the way, I kept thinking of other things I wanted to say about this one—and at book 22 of a series (no matter how many authors have contributed), that’s saying something. I’ve done my best to limit myself to the bigger matters, but I think I could add at least another 5 paragraphs without breaking a sweat (and they’d likely lead to others).

When Coleman got Jesse into AA, I saw one fan complain about him turning Jesse into “another whining Twelve Step wuss” (that’s very close to it). This seemed like an odd take, as most of Parker’s work (since 1974’s God Save the Child) has celebrated people getting help via therapy or some other means to improve—even save—their lives. I’m afraid that some of what this book does is going to elicit similar reactions from that fan and many others. I hope that the publisher, the Parker Estate, and Farnsworth ignore all that. I don’t see anything here that doesn’t fit in Parker’s worldview (or at least the worldview of all of his fiction).

The Paradise Police Department—particularly the officers we’ve spent time with since Night Passage—got to shine as they ought to. Sure, it’s Jesse’s series, but Molly, Suit, Peter, Gabe, and the others are more than just cardboard cutouts in the background (obviously we don’t know as much about Peter and Gabe as we do some others). The more the various personnel get to contribute, the more the books feel like it’s about a Police Chief—not some rogue lawman. I’m glad Farnsworth did that.

Buried Secrets was satisfying on every level that I can think of. It’s the best Jesse Stone novel in years (with all due respect to Mr. Lupica), specifically since The Hangman’s Sonnet or Colorblind (now that I’ve mentioned those two books in particular, I could probably have written a post just about the ways that Buried Secrets parallels major elements of those, something I hadn’t thought of until now). It contains a good mystery, some strong social commentary, some great character moments, a bunch of characters on the other side of the law that you just have to meet, some solid action, and most of all, time with characters that fans have been spending time with for decades.

I strongly recommend this.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from PENGUIN GROUP Putnam via NetGalley in exchange for this post which contains my honest opinion—thanks to both for this.

4 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis: His First Apologetic Work is a Mixed Bag

By HCNewton

On February 2, 2025

In C.S. Lewis, Further Up and Further In, Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

Further Up and Further In A Year with C.S.Lewis

The Problem of Pain

by C. S. Lewis

DETAILS:
Publisher: HarperOne
Publication Date: April 28, 2015
Format: Paperback
Length: 159 pg.
Read Date: January 5-12, 2025

His Omnipotence means power to do all that is intrinsically possible, not to do the intrinsically impossible. You may attribute miracles to Him, but not nonsense. This is no limit to His power. If you choose to say ‘God can give a creature free will and at the same time withhold free will from it’, you have not succeeded in saying anything about God: meaningless combinations of words do not suddenly acquire meaning simply because we prefix to them the two other words ‘God can’. It remains true that all things are possible with God: the intrinsic impossibilities are not things but nonentities. It is no more possible for God than for the weakest of His creatures to carry out both of two mutually exclusive alternatives; not because His power meets an obstacle, but because nonsense remains nonsense even when we talk it about God.

What’s The Problem of Pain About?

This book is an attempt to answer the question, “Why do Bad Thing Happen to Good People?” as well as “Why do Bad Things Happen to Not-Good People, or Animals, or Pretty Much at All?” Why is there suffering among those beings and creatures that God created?

Lewis approaches these questions with a mix of Biblical wisdom, careful thought, compassion, and understanding. And the ability to not go too far (frequently) with his own insight, but to stop and say, “I don’t know.”

This is an honest, if imperfect, attempt to wrestle with these questions, put them in the right context, and assure the world and the Church that there are answers.

Some Weaknesses

This is the work of someone who is still relatively new to the Faith as he wrote it, and that shows. There’s a lot of vaguely Christian speculation. But not quite enough dealing with the text of Scripture to base this speculation on.

Chapter 5, “The Fall of Man,” is a great example of this. It contains a lot of nonsense—and by the end of the chapter, he’d lost me completely (not that I didn’t understand him, I just couldn’t stay with him). Still, I liked most of it, and given the presuppositions he started with and stated (as much as I’d want to tweak them), I could ride along with his argument and enjoy it. The last paragraph of the chapter was okay and went a good way to getting me to stick with the book.

A Few Good Points

I don’t know that I have the patience to work through these ideas—and this would post would end up going in a direction I try to avoid if I did. But I rather enjoyed these quotations and like thinking through these ideas, so let me just paste them here as an example of the highs that this book can hit—and the thoughts it can provoke.

From Chapter 3, “Divine Goodness.”

We want, in fact, not so much a Father in Heaven as a grandfather in heaven—a senile benevolence who, as they say, ‘liked to see young people enjoying themselves’, and whose plan for the universe was simply that it might be truly said at the end of each day, ‘a good time was had by all’. Not many people, I admit, would formulate a theology in precisely those terms: but a conception not very different lurks at the back of Many minds. I do not claim to be an exception: I should very much like to live in a universe which was governed on such lines, But since it is abundantly clear that I don’t, and since I have reason to believe, nevertheless, that God is Love, I conclude that my conception of love needs correction.

From Chapter 6, “Human Pain”:

Confessors as well as martyrs are saved, and some old people whose state of grace we can hardly doubt seem to have got through their seventy years surprisingly easily. The sacrifice of Christ is repeated, or re-echoed, among His followers in very varying degrees, from the cruelest martyrdom down to a self-submission of intention whose outward signs have nothing to distinguish them from the ordinary fruits of temperance and “sweet reasonableness’. The causes of this distribution I do not know; but from our present point of view it ought to be clear that the real problem is not why some humble, pious, believing people suffer, but why some do not. Our Lord Himself, it will be remembered, explained the salvation of those who are fortunate in this world only by referring to the unsearchable omnipotence of God.

From Chapter 7, “Human Pain Continued” (which might be my favorite chapter, although the preceding one is close)

But if suffering is good, ought it not to be pursued rather than avoided? I answer that suffering is not good in itself. What is good in any painful experience is, for the sufferer, his submission to the will of God, and, for the spectators, the compassion aroused and the acts of mercy to which it leads.

So, what did I think about The Problem of Pain?

If any real theologian reads these pages he will very easily see that they are the work of a layman and an amateur. Except in the last two chapters, parts of which are admittedly speculative, I have believed myself to be restating ancient and orthodox doctrines. If any parts of the book are ‘original’, in the sense of being novel or unorthodox, they are so against my will and as a result of my ignorance. I write, of course, as a layman of the Church of England: but I have tried to assume nothing that is not professed by all baptised and communicating Christians.

As this is not a work of erudition I have taken little pains to trace ideas or quotations to their sources when they were not easily recoverable. Any theologian will see easily enough what, and how little, I have read.

Despite many good things Lewis wrote in this work, these two paragraphs that close the Preface might be the truest. Lewis makes some serious errors here, misreading Scripture and showing an ignorance of theology (what he says about Total Depravity is the easiest illustration of this). He’s a layman, he’s allowed (many who read this will be quick to point the same is true of me—and I assure you, I’m just as aware as Lewis was). There’s a part of me that wishes he’d continued in his efforts to not write this.

Still, he did. And I do appreciate him wrestling with so many important ideas here—if nothing else, the way he framed the questions and thought through his answers demonstrates that “The Problem of Pain” can be responded to, can be shown to not be an insurmountable problem. Best of all, Lewis demonstrates that a thoughtful believer can have questions, can struggle, can find things difficult, and yet continue to believe.

Lewis has greater works ahead (I know because I’ve read some of these), and while I ultimately find his work here to be wanting—I respect the effort. I find a lot worthy of chewing on—but sadly, there’s a lot of it that must be ignored.

I do recommend it as a tool to make yourself consider some difficult ideas, and to find some good ways to think about them.

3 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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REPOST: Lessons From Lucy by Dave Barry: America’s Funniest Human Tries to Learn a Few New Tricks from an Old Dog

By HCNewton

On January 29, 2025

In Dave Barry, Dogs, Non-Fiction

I remember reading this in July 2018, thinking that Barry was preparing to say goodby to Lucy. I mention this only because he only said goodbye to her this week. Color me flummoxed. But also, how could I not dust this post off in her memory?

Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog

by Dave Barry

eARC, 208 pg.
Simon & Schuster, 2018
Read: July 19, 2018

Before I say anything else, Barry has set up an Instagram page (well, probably not him, actually — he states in the book he doesn’t understand Instagram) for his dog, Lucy. You should absolutely check it out and then come back to read what I have to say about the book. Dog Pictures > my blog. Pretty near always.

With that out of the way . . . Dave Barry has been a dog person for most of his life, one of the many reasons I like him. I distinctly, and fondly, remember columns and/or references to Earnest and Zippy (the emergency backup dog) years ago. Those two make a brief appearance in this book, but they aren’t the focus. The focus (if you can’t tell from the title) is his dog, Lucy. At the time of writing, Barry and Lucy are the same age — 70 (or 7 times 10 in her case), which means that both of them have many fewer days ahead of them than behind — which sounds awfully morbid for Dave Barry to talk about, but he does so frequently and purposefully.

As they’re at similar stages in life, Barry notices a huge difference between the two — Lucy is far happier and seemingly better adjusted than he is. So he sets out to try to learn a few lessons about life from her, which he passes on to his readers. Things like Pay Attention to the People You Love; Don’t Let Your Happiness Depend on Things; and Don’t Stop Having Fun. None of these, Barry knows, are original or ground-breaking — they’re pretty much common sense. Yet, they’re the kind of common sense things that he (like many/most humans) doesn’t actually do a great job at.

The result is a mixture of a Self-Help book and a Humor book — humor about himself, his life, as well as dogs. Sometimes the swing between the two genres can be jarring, but that’s pretty rare. For the most part, he moves easily between the two, taking the readers along with him on this ride. I can’t tell you how many times I went from grinning, chuckling or laughing out loud to getting misty-eyed within a couple of pages. It seems that Barry has learned a little bit about writing over the decades.

I’ve loved Barry’s humor longer than either of us would probably care to admit. One of his strengths is finding a way to take an old joke, or at least a joke everyone’s made before — like, say, I dunno, dogs sniffing each other’s hind-quarters — and make it feel fresh and new. More importantly, funny. He’s also able to make jumps from premise to punchline that no one expects. There is, for example, a Hugh Hefner joke where one doesn’t even come close to belonging — and it works perfectly. Even knowing that, you won’t see it coming until you’re snickering at it.

As for the heart-felt material? It works pretty well, too. I don’t think anyone will walk away from this book thinking “Wow! That was insightful. I never would have thought of it on my own!” Nor do I think Barry was trying for it. But, readers will appreciate the reminders to live like Lucy (or their own dog), and the way Barry phrases things might add some freshness to the concept. Which is all anyone can really ask.

I really don’t know if this is Barry’s best — but it’s up there. The ratio of Attempted Joke to Funny Joke is pretty high, I’m not sure if I can think of a higher one in his ouvre. Lessons From Lucy is, without a doubt, his most mature, thoughtful and touching work (that’s a pretty low bar, I realize — a bar he’s worked hard to keep low, too). Couple that with me being a sucker for a Dog Book — even if it is a semi-Self Help book — and I can’t help but give it 5 Stars. This is a winner, no matter what.

—–

5 Stars

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Simon & Schuster via NetGalley in exchange for this post — which is my honest opinion and pleasure to give — thanks to both for this.

REPOSTING JUST ‘CUZ: Deep Dark Night by Steph Broadribb: High Stakes Danger for Lori Anderson in the Windy City

By HCNewton

On January 23, 2025

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Steph Broadribb/Stephanie Marland

Deep Dark Night

by Steph Broadribb
Series: Lori Anderson, #4

Kindle Edition, 320 pg.
Orenda Books, 2020

Read: January 16-17, 2020
Grab a Steph Broadribb book from your local indie bookstore!

I’ve always felt an element of fear about the jobs I do. In the right dosage it can help you. It gets your adrenaline firing, makes you think clearer, faster—gets you alert and ready to tackle anything that comes your way. But if the fear builds too much, all that good stuff swings things around; the nerves make you hesitant, jumpy and too cautious. That’s when you start making mistakes. And mistakes, in my world, can be fatal.

After barely getting to take a breath following the events of Deep Dirty Truth, Lori finally gets the chance to work off her debt to FBI Agent Monroe. This puts Lori and JT in Chicago trying to get the mobster Cabressa to take possession of some stolen goods. Once that’s done, a series of dominoes will fall and Monroe will be able to put him away for a very long time.

So he insists, anyway.

Step one involves Lori getting an invite to an incredibly exclusive Poker game, Step two involves giving her a crash course in playing Poker so she seems mostly credible in the game. (this isn’t presented as a comedic segment, but I chuckled at this part of the book—also, I’m jealous, I wish I could learn how to play like this).

Now, every thriller reader knows what will happen next—no plan, no matter how thorough, how well-thought-out no matter who’s involved, will work. If for no other reason than it would produce a dull novel. But also, every thriller reader has heard the line, “no plan survives first contact with the enemy” and knows it to be true. The questions that need to be answered are: how badly will the plan go awry? and How will Lori and JT react to it?

So let me assure you, when this plan is derailed, it’s derailed in a spectacular fashion, providing a lot of danger for our heroes, peril for those around them, and more than enough tension to satisfy a hungry reader. Lori and JT respond appropriately, not perfectly (which would be boring), but they display the stamina, resourcefulness, and tenacity we’ve come to expect from them.

The poker game collected quite the interesting mix of players—sports figures, politicians, as well as shady characters like Cabressa. When things go wrong during the game, it opens things up for a lot of drama and conflicting interests causing trouble for all involved. Suddenly, Lori and JT can’t focus solely on getting Cabressa to fall into Monroe’s trap—they have to worry about survival—their own, and as many others that they can help. Sure, Cabressa is still their target, but there’s a lot they have to go through before they can make him a priority.

I’m not going to get more in-depth than that, I’ll leave it there and say there’s more than enough going on plot-wise to fuel a book at least half again as long as this one. Broadribb has stacked the deck against the pair and it’s great to watch them try to navigate the situation.

The game takes place at the top of a pretty high building in Chicago and the action centers around that location, stories above the ground. In the real world, I’m pretty acrophobic—and occasionally (okay, more than occasionally), a movie can get me to feel the anxiety that heights can bring out in me. I don’t remember ever feeling symptoms while reading a book, but I did here. It’s not like Broadribb focused all that much on the height and risk of falling (it was there, but she didn’t belabor the point), but something about the way that she told the story, flicked that particular switch in my brain. There’s something very disconcerting about sitting in a comfortable seat (on the ground level like a sane person) but feeling like I was standing in a precarious* location several feet off the ground. I’m not promising that anyone else will experience what I did, I assume the rest of humanity is a bit better adjusted than I am, but for me that was an unexpected “bonus” to the book.

* Yeah, fine, my definition of a precarious location applies to perfectly safe—even benign—spots.

I’m a little worried about the long-term health of Lori’s elbows. She uses them so often as weapons, she probably heads back to Florida with at least one of them horribly bruised. I don’t remember this being the case in the previous novels, maybe I just forgot—or maybe she’s just relying on the technique in these circumstances (I remember more than once the narration in a Jack Reacher novel talking about the usefulness of that tactic compared to the use of a fist).

As far as long-term character development goes, Lori and JT start a conversation they’ve needed to have since, well, since we met the two of them about Dakota and why Lori didn’t tell JT about her before she did. This will prove helpful in the future and provide the opportunity for the relationship to grow and change. The two of them have some sort of plan going forward about their careers and daughter, but we’re going to have to come back to find out what they have in mind. Seeing these two deal with each other and their daughter is almost as rewarding to me as the action-hero kind of thing is, and Broadribb’s featuring both sides of Lori like this is a real strength of the series.

For my money, this is the best of the series—she’s got a real handle on these characters by now and knows just how to put them through the wringer in a way that provides real tension and thrills. I got more wrapped up in this than I expected to (and I had pretty high expectations at this point in the series), and it was absolutely worth it. Book five cannot arrive soon enough for me.

If you haven’t met this bounty hunter yet, you need to—either in the pages of this book or the beginning, either would work (but you might as well just buy the set all at once, you won’t be satisfied until you read them all). Deep Dark Night will win Broadribb some new fans and confirm those readers already along for the ride.

4 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Robert B. Parker’s Hot Property by Mike Lupica: Even Tough-As-Nails Attorneys are Mortal

By HCNewton

On January 20, 2025

In Authors, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Robert B. Parker, S-Z, Spenser

This has taken me far too long to get to. But I’m here now.

Robert B. Parker’s Hot Property

by Mike Lupica

DETAILS:
Series: Spenser, #52
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: November 26, 2024
Format: Hardcover
Length: 334 pg.
Read Date: December 3-4, 2024

She closed her eyes again and was still, and I was afraid she’d gone back to sleep. Three tough guys in here with her, as tough as she had ever known, but she had always considered herself to be as tough as we were, even making her way in a mostly man’s world. But now she had found out what all of us found out eventually, that tough was always the one with the gun.

What’s Hot Property About?

Rita Fiore is shot while walking to the gym. It’s serious—no one knows if she’ll make it. Spenser, Hawk, Frank Belson, and Martin Quirk assemble at the hospital to wait for word and begin plotting how they’ll find those responsible.

Quirk and Belson will oversee the official investigation, and Spenser will take on the one that they all anticipate will get results. Hawk will be waiting in the wings for when he’s needed.

There are plenty of people who’d be interested in hurting Rita, sadly—a few dissatisfied clients, and many people that she faced off against in court and who came away hurting. Spenser starts there and then starts looking into her personal life, too.

Both of these angles end up revealing more than Spenser expected. Then someone dies—and Rita’s health remains uncertain. While she and the doctors do what they can to keep her going, Spenser, Hawk, and others will have to make sure she’ll be safe outside the hospital.

Honest Question

Do we know that Quirk and Belson are friends with Rita? I don’t remember them interacting in the books before—but we’re on 52 now, it’d be easy to forget. When she was a Norfolk County D.A., she probably didn’t interact with them much (if at all). And I don’t see how a litigator—particularly a defense lawyer—for the kind of firm she works for has a tendency to befriend Homicide detectives (or vice versa).

Lupica clearly knows his Parker lore, so I should assume that he’s right to portray things this way. But I just don’t remember it, and I can’t see why they would befriend her.

I do like the way this all played out, so I’m not complaining, either. It’s just pointing to a lacuna in my memory and it bugs me.

Susan

Susan always said that the problem with a good idea was that once it got inside your head, it was almost impossible to get it out.

I thought I might have one now.

One in a row.

I thought this was a decent usage of Susan throughout this book—she does a little more than just serve as an excuse for a plot recap and some banter (which even Atkins slipped into, although never as much as Parker did toward the end).

I was disappointed in her early reaction to Rita’s situation—but I should’ve trusted that Lupica wouldn’t leave her as petty (but not insensitive).

Lupica’s Style

“You’re a pretty funny guy,’ he said.

“Yeah,” I said, “but I’m trying to quit.”

Some of the humor lines felt a bit forced, but they still worked. It frequently felt like Spenser was trying to hone his crowd-work before his next stand-up gig, rather than just an inveterate smart-ass.

But that does bring up Lupica’s style as a whole. I’ve seen some people online (and in the comment section here) talk about how he doesn’t match Parker’s (or Atkins’) style. I think this is a good thing—I think he seemed to shoot for Parker’s voice with his Sunny and Stone novels, but here he’s not trying (or he’s doing a really bad job of it, probably the former). I don’t remember the voice in his Spenser debut, Broken Trust.

Instead of trying to mimic, he’s taking the path that Reed Farrel Coleman chose for his Jesse Stone books—he used his own while staying true (more or less) to the characters. Spenser and Hawk banter, Susan and Rita exchange suggestive dialogue with Spenser, Tony Marcus is obnoxious and code switches his diction on a whim, and so on.

Obviously, some people are going to prefer one take over another—I can actually argue both ways (and I think if you look back at what I’ve said about all the post-Parker writers you’ll see me doing that). But for now, I like what Lupica’s doing.

This is where I invite Robert Germaux to demur in the comment section (or in a Guest Post if he has a lot to get off of his chest). 🙂

So, what did I think about Hot Property?

“The dogs bark,” I said, “and the caravan moves on.”

Walsh raised an eyebrow. When I tried to do that, Susan said it looked as if ‘d developed a twitch.

“First Tennyson with you, and now Arab proverbs,” he said. “Are you absolutely certain you’re a private detective?”

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked myself that exact same question lately,” I said.

While I’m not completely sold on all aspects of this book, I do think it was an improvement over Lupica’s first Spenser novel (and I considered that his strongest Parker-verse work!).

It was an interesting choice to go diving into Rita’s personal life—as well as seeing some of her legal work that didn’t require a certain P.I. to help. It was a look into Rita that we’d never really got before. I don’t know that her creator would’ve made all the same choices with her but the current torch-carrier did right by the character (and Christopher Farnsworth followed up on this well, but that’s for another day).

Lupica had all the requisite twists and turns to keep the reader guessing, the pacing just right, and there were some real sweet moments (and some not so sweet) between characters in ways we don’t typically get to see.

It’s gotta be hard to find new ways to satisfy readers in the 52nd book in a series, without just pumping out replicas of earlier books—but Lupica has done that here, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he brings us later this year.

For readers used to this series or those who are looking for a new one to try, this Hot Property is worth your time and attention—you’ll be glad you gave it a shot.

4 Stars

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Category: Authors Page 6 of 123

What’s Installment Immortality About?

More Mary

Elsie and Arthur

So, what did I think about Installment Immortality?

What’s The Abolition of Man About?

English Education

The Tao

One Issue that Troubles Me

The Appendix

So, what did I think about The Abolition of Man?

What’s Aftermarket Afterlife About?

Luck Runs Out

Choice of Mary

Hail The Aeslin Mice

So, what did I think about Aftermarket Afterlife?

A Bit of Personal History (feel free to skip)

What’s The Pilgrim’s Regress About?

A Couple of Things That Helped Me

So, what did I think about The Pilgrim’s Regress?

What’s Buried Secrets About?

The A Story and Jesse

The B Story and Everyone Else

Farnsworth at the Helm

BTS Question

So, what did I think about Buried Secrets?

What’s Buried Secrets About?

The A Story and Jesse

The B Story and Everyone Else

Farnsworth at the Helm

BTS Question

So, what did I think about Buried Secrets?

What’s The Problem of Pain About?

Some Weaknesses

A Few Good Points

So, what did I think about The Problem of Pain?

What’s Hot Property About?

Honest Question

Susan

Lupica’s Style

So, what did I think about Hot Property?