The Professional

A Spenser Novel

De: Robert B. Parker

Narrado por: Joe Mantegna

A knock on Spenser's office door can only mean one thing: a new case. This time the visitor is a local lawyer with an interesting story. Elizabeth Shaw specializes in wills and trusts at the Boston law firm of Shaw & Cartwright, and over the years she's developed a friendship with wives of very wealthy men. However, these rich wives have a mutual secret: they've all had an affair with a man named Gary Eisenhower- and now he's blackmailing them for money. Shaw hires Spenser to make Eisenhower "cease and desist," so to speak, but when women start turning up dead, Spenser's assignment goes from blackmail to murder.

As matters become more complicated, Spenser's longtime love, Susan, begins offering some input by analyzing Eisenhower's behavior patterns in hopes of opening up a new avenue of investigation. It seems that not all of Gary's women are rich. So if he's not using them for blackmail, then what is his purpose? Spenser switches tactics to focus on the husbands, only to find that innocence and guilt may be two sides of the same coin.

With its eloquently spare prose and some of the best supporting characters to grace the printed page, The Professional is further proof that "[t]here's hardly an author in the crime novel business like Parker" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).

©2009 Robert B. Parker (P)2009 Random House

Another wonderful Spencer book

As with an earlier reviewer I, too, have been reading the Spencer books for a very long time. I have either read or listened to them all from the first book and have always enjoyed them for what they are - light reading with an interesting story to tell, but with no serious moral issues at stake.

I would not normally have reviewed this book since I have not reviewed any of the previous Audible Spencer books I have listened to, but was convinced to do so by some of the negative reviews I saw. Robert B Parker was a master of the short sentence and short chapter. His books are full of "He said" and "She said", but they are at the core of his writing style and, over time, I have become so wrapped up in the story and the characters that I no longer even notice. Rather it is the regular characters in the book, their relationships with each other and the underlying humor that have made these books so enjoyable, at least for me. Add to that an interesting story, the process of unraveling what actually happened and who did it and the masterful reading of Joe Mantegna and you have a pleasant couple of days of listening.

I enjoy these books so much that I often listen to them again when I want to spend a couple of days just relaxing. For me, the pleasure is in the listening and light humor more than in the "who-dun-it". If you are looking for the Maltese Falcon, you are not going to find it here. I, for one, am truly going to miss seeing more of these books since Mr. Parker recently died and I assume there is no one to continue the series.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who just wants a pleasant relaxed read, but I would also recommend that they start with some of the earlier books since much of the pleasure from the book involves the relations between the characters and that is something that you need some history to understand.

Lots of twists

Always a great story from Mr. Parker! Enjoyed this throughly. Spenser novels are the best for listening to as we travel.

Reader does a great job

The reader does a great job and the book is very entertaining. It's on my better book list.

Heard Parts of this on XM Book Radio

Would you consider the audio edition of The Professional to be better than the print version?

I got into listening to this story on XM Book Radio. Unfortunately they only played an hour at a time and I was missing chapters. I like the way Joe Montagna reads the story. I agree with some of the others about the

Just What I Was Looking For

Robert B. Parker doesn't disappoint. The Professional delivers the kind of story that's perfect for the genre, and the narrator is just the right choice.

Mantegna's great!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Professional to be better than the print version?

The narrator made this book great, especially in his voice characterizations. His voice for the muscle, Boo, for example, is worth the price of the book, in my opinion. The one problem with the audio version is really caused by Parker's writing style: the number of the times the phrase "he said" and "she said" appears in this book is in the hundreds; and that number is obvious when the book is read aloud. Mantenga's performance, however, outweighs the aggravation caused by the "he said/she said" issue, in my opinion.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes. This is the third of Parker's books that I have read or listened two, and I have enjoyed the plots of all of them. I haven't finished this book yet, and I still don't know "who done it."

Which scene was your favorite?

Any scene with the mobster Boo... :). Also, the character Hawk has some funny lines, as always.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed out loud on a few occasions, and often listened with a smile on my face and an occasional chuckle. Very enjoyable book!

Parker pleaser

An Exceptionally clever plot. Perfect reading by Joe Montagna. This one will stay with me.

Some positive feedback

I respectfully disagree with the first two reviews posted on Audible that expressed significant disappointment with this book. Perhaps if this was the first Spenser book I ever read (or listened to) I would have been disappointed. Having not missed a single one since the very beginning more than 20 years ago, this book was exactly along the lines of what I would have expected from Robert Parker. Spenser played his role as he always does, Susan and Hawk added some interesting perspectives, and many of Spenser's old friends played their reliable parts. The story wasn't the best one Mr. Parker ever wrote but it entertained me and I listened my way through it in less than two days and I was satisfied when it ended. I recommend this book most particularly for anyone who likes Spenser. If you haven't read him before, try one of Mr. Parker's earlier Spenser books first and you'll eventually get around to reading this one as you won't be able to stop following Spenser's travails. I can't wait for the next one and I'll happily take Jesse Stone or Virgil and Everett when Spenser is not available as all of Mr. Parker's series are entertaining (but read each series in order if you have the ability to do so--it's much more fun that way!). --A huge fan

Classic Spenser!

What did you love best about The Professional?

I love anything Spenser.

If you’ve listened to books by Robert B. Parker before, how does this one compare?

I like Joe Mantegna as the narrator

What does Joe Mantegna bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Joe brings each character to life. He changes inflections appropriately.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not really

Any additional comments?

I always love the relationship with Spenser and Susan. I like that she had a more prominant role in this book. Since Mr. Parker is gone, we have to savor what he's left us.

Good story, good voice, great for listening.

If you could sum up The Professional in three words, what would they be?

Blackmail, sex, and mystery

What did you like best about this story?

I am a Spencer fan. The stories are good, they move along, the characters are interesting.

Which character – as performed by Joe Mantegna – was your favorite?

Spenser and Hawk vie for my favorite

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no. I listen while I commute