Pale Kings And Princes by Robert B. Parker
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

" I loved the way her calf tapered to her ankle. I loved the way she chewed slightly on her lower lip as she decided which blouse to put on top. Watching her was timeless. Sound seemed to stop. Light seemed clearer. "

There may be several reasons for readers to like Pale Kings and Princes (1987), Robert B. Parker's 14th installment of his Spenser series. Spenser's love for Susan would be one of them. Hawk's character would be another. For some readers also the occasionally witty writing and some clever repartees. I don't believe anyone would enjoy the novel for its silly premise of the plot that there exists a small town in Massachusetts, which is a center of a big cocaine operation, and most people in town, including the entire police force, are participants in the conspiracy. After all, we know that no conspiracy that involves more than a handful of people is feasible. Oh wait... I forgot...

Anyway, let's recap the setup of the plot. The publisher of a regional paper hires Spenser to find out who killed a young reporter who had been investigating the cocaine operation. Naturally, the local police are all on the take, so they will not give Spenser any help. But don't worry: the author conjures a clever, ambitious, and basically honest state trooper, who will help Spenser find the truth, after two more people are killed. There is also superhuman Hawk:

"'We stay here,' Hawk said, 'we gonna have to shoot up a mess of Wheaton cops.'
'I know,' Susan said.
'There ain't but maybe fifty of them,' Hawk said.
'But then all the other cops in the world will be on our case,' I said.
'We may run out of ammunition,' Hawk said."

The plot culminates in a silly shootout, which inspired me to consider an alternative title for the novel, Pale Plot and Climax.

Despite the silly concept of a massive conspiracy and all the clichés, I almost enjoyed reading the novel, relishing wittyish passages like:

"'Tired?' Susan said.
'And hungry and in the throes of caffeine withdrawal, and sexually unrequited for six days,' I said.
'There are remedies to all those problems,' Susan said. 'Trust me, I have a Ph.D.'
'From Harvard too,' I said."

Two-and-a-quarter stars.


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