Thin Air
By Robert B. Parker (1995)
In case you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m a bit of a Parker fan. I haven’t reviewed all his Spenser novels, but I’m working on it. Thin Air is number 22 in the series, if I’m not mistaken. I’ve enjoyed most, though not all of them. I enjoyed about 80% of Thin Air.
Spenser ‘s police friend, Frank Belson, has a new wife, Lisa St. Clair. She’s about ten years younger than him, very attractive, and a minor radio personality just outside of Boston. Frank goes to see Spenser, tells him that She’s missing, but doesn’t want help. He’ll find her himself. That all goes fine and well until Belson is shot and put into a coma. Spenser charges in to save the day.
As he does, he discovers that Lisa has a past. Her real name is Angel Richard. She spent time in L.A., and she did some shady work. Spenser follows some leads, discovers she had a bad boy for a boyfriend at one point. Spenser focuses on him, and Bob’s your uncle.
Okay, so why did I only like 80% of it? For I think the first time, Parker used the 3rd person to show the victim’s perspective. The novel, otherwise, is written in the first person, as most such novels are. I found the third person sections to be a little long and didn’t really add to the story. In some ways it actually detracted. Specifically, it focused the reader on the one possible bad guy. There was no question. Also, I found the contents of the third person (victims) section and the first person (detective) sections covered the same info.
Still, the typical snappy dialogue was good. Instead of Hawk, there was a Spanish speaking Hawk-like character who filled those shoes, Chollo. They fought the bad guy, manipulated some local organized crime, and saved the girl. All-in-all, a good enough read.
B.S. Donovan 