All that said, however, I believe that there are better
writers working in
this genre today. Writers less wedded to "codes of conduct"
and more willing
to shake up the comfortable lives of their antagonists. If
Spenser has grown
a bit stale, it's likely because Parker tries too hard to
pump out a new
book in that series every year -- he seems to enjoy it too
much. I'm hoping
that his companion Jesse Stone series and his new series (to
be introduced
in the fall) about a female P.I. named Sunny Randall will
draw his energies
away from Spenser for a while, maybe allow that wise-cracking
Boston gumshoe
to recharge. I'd prefer fewer Spensers if it meant better
ones -- books with
less predictable plots, more character development for its
star, and far
less whining from Susan Silverman...
-- J. (Jeff) Kingston Pierce
-----------------------
<< NEW IN JANUARY MAGAZINE >>
April 1999 marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of
Ross Macdonald's
first Lew Archer detective novel, THE MOVING TARGET.
To celebrate, the online literary magazine January is
publishing a series of
essays and interviews related to the author and his works.
We've also
invited dozens of modern crime novelists -- from Lawrence
Block and Sue
Grafton, to Michael Connelly, S.J. Rozan, Richard North
Patterson, Laura
Lippman, and Richard Barre -- to share their thoughts on
Macdonald's legacy.
Look for the Ross Macdonald series at: <http://www.januarymagazine.com/>
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